<p>I was wondering if there are any Emory merit scholars out there and if they can tell me what they did to win the scholarship! What exactly are they looking for- great SAT scores, impressive list of volunteer work, a 4.0, involvement in extracurricular activities- or extra stuff that most high school students don't do, like...traveling to Africa and helping starving kids, or founding your own business, or...things like that. I hope that isn't it. </p>
<p>Anyway, if anyone can tell me, I'd sure appreciate it!</p>
<p>You’ll need all of the above, expect maybe the “extra stuff” since even most Emory Scholars won’t have done any of that. A high GPA (3.9+), class rank (top 5% and many are valedictorians or salutatorians), SAT and ACT (2250+ or 34+), and significant EC involvement in your school and community that includes a lot of leadership in several organizations as well as lots of volunteer hours will all be crucial or awards in national competitions, along with strong essays and recommendations. Lack in any of these areas and your chances plummet, since with the Emory Scholars program they are essentially buying students who will likely also be accepted to Ivies and other top 15s (of course the adcoms will never admit to this). But even if you only make it as a semifinalist you’ll still get a $10k per year scholarship (but you won’t become an Emory Scholar and won’t be getting 2/3 tuition to full ride like the finalists do). One of the Scholars I know was valedictorian, got published in her research, and had a 2360 SAT, and now at Emory still has a 4.0 and just got the Barry Goldwater Scholarship. Another Scholar I know aced all his IB and AP classes at his gifted/magnet high school, got a 36 on his ACT, also did research in HS, and now at Emory carries a 3.95+ GPA, took graduate level physics classes as a junior, and maintains his grades while studying half as much as the average student here.</p>
<p>Pretty much, the program is designed to take students who would otherwise go to Ivies.
I’m pretty sure the first cutoff is almost exclusively SAT/GPA (2250/3.9) and decent extracurricular activities (you’ve got the activities for sure). At that point, you’re guaranteed 10k at least a year. Then, you have interviews and it’s all about uniqueness for the scholars program.</p>
<p>…Barry Goldwater has his own scholarship? Heh, anyways! Thanks for the info! Is it easier to get a scholarship for Oxford, though? People were telling me that if I raised my SAT scores I might have a chance, and a scholarship is really the only way I’m going to get to go…</p>
<p>Yes it is easier to get it at Oxford, at least stats wise but it’ll still be competitive. And the nice thing is that once you get Oxford Scholars, you also automatically become an Emory Scholar when you transfer. Also, until you get your FA package I wouldn’t assume you need a scholarship to go to any college.</p>
<p>Are you sure he doesn’t study that much collegestu(I know who you’re talking about)? He seems to study a really solid amount. He really takes pride in his academics and not only the “I want an A” side of it. When he is doing a project or assignment, he is really interested in learning more about the topic or solving the difficult problem (He is more likely to get into an assignment because he views it as kind of cool and I actually see him study and do problem sets for his classes a lot. In fact, TBH, I’ve seen him do others’ HW before. You should first question if average Emory students study all that much, and why other than their grade depending on it. Most Emory students would stop doing work if they noticed they were guaranteed an A- in a class for doing the bare minimum or just talking in class and writing a mediocre paper. This person would not. He enjoys the challenge). I guess the difference is, a lot of scholars, especially the non-preprofs., don’t always view academics as “work”. And this is indeed what is kind of rare at Emory and what the Scholars program seeks to recruit. It’s not more so snatching the student because they’ll make our stats. look better, it’s seeking students with a different type of attitude not prevalent on this campus that we wish to make more prevalent. We have plenty of students with top stats that gladly came here because they anticipated it being easier to make good grades at Emory than some of the Ivies that they could have gained admission to (this especially relates back to the pre-prof. question. Pre-profs look for good placement stats. and a sense that good grades are not hard to come by). They sought an academically laid back environment (relatively). The Scholars program seeks the student that doesn’t care to avoid academics. Students who can demonstrate amazing stats., extracurriculars, and an interest in being scholarly or intellectually curious are often chosen for this program. While not all scholars I know here have near perfect GPAs (there are also many non-scholars with this), they still demonstrate the latter two qualities and maintain an unseen uniqueness for a campus like Emory. They need to now extend this scheme of recruitment to the non-scholarship admissions process. Anyway, I know you’re trying to frame it as if the Emory scholars are darn near perfect before entrance into Emory and for the duration at Emory, but they aren’t. They are very interesting students and characters though. If you didn’t get into the Emory Scholars program and were interested in having a more intellectual set of friends, you would seek these students out. Fortunately, Scholars (unlike honors students at some schools), don’t view themselves as above (because they really aren’t. The gap of entering stats. and “measurable” intelligence is not near as high as it is at state schools with honors programs) the student body to the point where they segregate. They easily mingle with other members of the student body and even inspire a few people (as in get them excited about their academic plight at Emory). I would argue w/aluminum that high stats. only get you so far, and uniqueness will get one farther. Emory scholars program should be viewed like admissions for the top Ivies. Semi-finalist is like a waitlist and Finalist is like an admission on the spot. The committee has to see something special in you to give you the whole thing.</p>
<p>Thanks for that insightful answer! Based on what you have said, I think I might have a chance- at least at Oxford, anyways! While my stats are all very high, my SAT scores are right for Oxford but still need a little boost. I do fit into your description of students who are “intellectually curious.” I’ve always been known as the nerd who reads classics for fun and will willingly stay after class to discuss (debate might be the better word) US History with my teacher. :P</p>
<p>Awesome, so if granted an interview, you have something to talk about that will perhaps help distinguish you.</p>