<p>So I'm accepted and waiting for the formal letter! Nervously waiting about scholarships--what might I get with a 2300 SAT, very high rank in a competitive HS, 9 APs, lots of ECs...? And if I'm not offered the Presidential, does that mean I won't have any shot at the DHS? I have no hooks except an EC talent. I can't attend unless Tulane offers a big scholarship.</p>
<p>You can be offered a scholarship which is not the presidential and still be considered for the DHS. With your stats - definitely a great shot at the DHS if you can put together a creative, unique project.</p>
<p>What type of projects get turned in for this DHS application? It was somewhat unclear to me when I read the instructions because it mentioned the 8.5 x 11" paper and then talked about mailing in a CD, DVD, etc. Thanks</p>
<p>Tulane Greg: so, if you are offered a scholarship that is not the presidential, how do you know that you are being “considered for the DHS?”…does it have to be in the letter with the scholarship?</p>
<p>rodney - The DHS requires the student to fill out an additional application. No one is “automatically” considered for it.</p>
<p>DaVinci - It is not just SAT scores but also your GPA/class rank (if available) along with the strength of schedule, EC’s and recs. However, if your UW GPA is in line with your SAT scores and the fact that you were allowed to take that many AP’s, you should get the Presidential. Also, while TulaneGreg is correct that Distinguished Scholar winners can get the DHS, I am willing to bet that 98% of past winners were also Presidential Scholarship winners. It just stands to reason. But again, if your other stats are as stratospheric as your SAT scores, you should be fine for the Presidential.</p>
<p>My HS doesn’t rank, but I am better than top 5%, and I think my HS will confirm if Tulane asks, but for scholarship purposes only. They only gives a weighted GPA on 100 pt scale. Will Tulane recalculate? Is there a rank that will qualify for the highest scholarships?</p>
<p>fc: I think you misunderstood my question; I know that the DHS requires a separate application (box project); what I was asking is:
Can a student who receives lower than the Presidential scholarship apply for DHS? Is it open to anyone or only certain applicants?</p>
<p>DaVinci92: It’s likely that your guidance counselor gave them more detailed information about where you fall within your class on the form that was submitted with your original application. It specifically asks for that kind of information.</p>
<p>I understand now, rodney. You threw me off a little with that “considered” part. Everyone that fills out an application is technically considered, but you meant a legitimate contender.</p>
<p>My opinion is that it tracks pretty closely with the merit scholarship awards. In other words, if Tulane already made the decision that you are Presidential Scholarship material vs. Distinguished Scholars, that will hold most of the time when it comes to the DHS. Does that mean the projects and the additional letter of rec are meaningless? Not at all, and there have been times when it has put a “dark horse” over the top. But a huge percentage of the time, it is really separating out those students with the very best stats that otherwise are hard to judge between.</p>
<p>I hope that isn’t a surprise to anyone, it is a merit based award and there are something like 1000-1500 apps every year, most of them (or at least a very significant number of them) from students that have Ivy type of stats. Therefore the winners are naturally mostly going to have been awarded the Presidential already.</p>
<p>kreativekat, no, my HS is really strict about the nonranking policy. They just leave that part of the counselor form blank. So Tulane would have to contact them, which they may not do. That is why I am asking if any particular rank is important for the DHS (or any of the other merit scholarships). I would have to ask Tulane to contact my counselor to specifically ask for rank.</p>
<p>fallenchemist, of the 1000-1500 who apply for the DHS, how many are offered it? Colleges usually have to offer more than they know will accept that kind of scholarship. It is a great one, but sometimes people choose a higher ranked college or get full rides from state schools, which I already know I have.</p>
<p>You are completely correct, DaVinci. Tulane has offered 75 the last couple of years (it was 100 before that, the reduction could be because of the financial meltdown a couple years ago), and typically between 1/3 and 2/3 of the students accept them. As you say, since these are students with the strongest academic records, they also get admitted to and sometimes scholarships to higher ranked schools. For example, I know one student my D’s year the won the DHS but also won a similar package to WUSTL, and chose that. In another case, a student was admitted to Princeton and while there are no merit scholarships, they were eligible for a financial aid package that made it about the same, and Princeton is no-loan I think. Finally, there are cases where the families can simply afford the tuition elsewhere and so they just go ahead and pay for Harvard or wherever.</p>
<p>As far as your school not showing rank, if Tulane has the raw grades they will see what they need to see. Clearly if you are probably top 5%, your grades are excellent so you should have no worries there. While there is no absolute rule about class rank, typically winners are in the top 5% of their class. I don’t think your school’s policy will hurt you, but hopefully your GC makes it clear to Tulane that they simply don’t rank.</p>
<p>My daughter’s high school did not rank. I don’t think that’s a big deal. She received the DHS. Without the DHS she couldn’t have attended. Put your heart and soul into your DHS application and then hope for the best.</p>
<p>The letter just came in the mail! Presidential Scholar, $25,000/year, and Honors Program. Tulane is getting me very interested in them!</p>
<p>Congrats! My D was admitted today and is hoping for the same. She’s a NMSF, 4.0 uw (4.5 w), ACT 35, SAT 1550 (CR/M), many ECs, etc. obviously … and is just really excited to have the opportunity to attend such a good school! She will be SO happy to learn she was accepted tonight when she gets home. Now she just has to finish that DHS application! :-)</p>
<p>DaVinci - That is outstanding! Heartiest congrats. Go visit if you can. There are special Honors Student Weekends in the Spring, keep your eye out for those. It’s good for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that if you decide on Tulane you can meet a potential roommate there, since you are all eligible for the Honors Dorm. Or if you both want another dorm, that works too. Kind of nice to get to meet your roommate first, I would think. Anyway, good luck with your DHS application.</p>
<p>Dad2ILD - with those stats, as I said before, I will fall over if she doesn’t get the Presidential. She certainly has an inside track for the DHS as well. What an outstanding student she is, those are just stellar stats. Is she likely to be valedictorian?</p>
<p>FC … Thanks. She works hard and we’re very happy for her, as you can imagine. To answer your question, no she is not valedictorian. Her high school is highly regarded and was just awarded the National Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence for 2010. Last year they instituted a policy to no longer report class rank or name class valedictorians or salutatorians. I imagine that she is among the top 5 in her school if I were to take a guess. We’ll keep our fingers crossed, and hopefully everything will work out in the end. What is meant to be, will be. Right?</p>
<p>Absolutely right. More and more schools are going away from the whole class rank/valedictorian thing. But universities do need some indication of how those grades stacked up at that school, what they really mean. I guess even at schools that don’t officially rank the GC’s often give an indication on their report to the university, at least a range.</p>