My son was recently accepted to Clemson but denied an Out-of_State Tuition Scholarship. He scored a 34 on the ACT and because his school does not rank students, we assumed he would qualify for the maximum award for a student from NC. The high school he attends is small and exclusive. It attracts very bright students and, consequently, if he were ranked then he would not be in the top 3 or 10% of his class of 28 students. His grades are not weighed so an A in AP Calc is the same weight as an A in General Math. Within his school, ranking doesn’t mean much and to apply it beyond makes even less sense. The sample size is too small and it is not a class of your typical students. Has anyone else run into this issue and do you have any suggestions on what to do?
There is another thread regarding OOS Merit Scholarships. On their site, Clemson states that students with high stats and not in top 10% of their class will still be considered for Merit Scholarships. HOWEVER, when I contacted them directly questioning my son not receiving one (Non-ranked HS), I was told “If you are from a non-ranking HS, they look at your school profile, WGPA comparisons with other students applying with similar GPA scales, past applicant info from that school, the strength and rigor of the HS curriculum, the number of As VS Bs…” While they state that students not in top 10% with high test scores will be considered for merit, they told me that they NEVER award scholarships to those who are not at least in top 15%.
Honestly, if I were you, @Confoundedmom , I would reach out to them directly. If he was in the top 10% of his class, there is no reason why he should not have received anything.
Mine has a 31 ACT/ 1390 SAT, which is still above their minimum for merit, but in his non-ranking HS, his 4.8 WGPA falls within top 25%, not 15%. Large class over 500…
GOOD LUCK! This has caused a speed bump in our decision making. We have put aside quite a bit, but 6 other schools, one with a higher ranking Engineering program, have offered significant merit scholarships.
OP, really surprised that you got no merit aid with those stats. We’re in the same boat OOS with 32 ACT and 4.05W GPA and school that doesn’t rank; and, no merit aid. Interestingly, when I did the NPC recently, it came back with zero merit aid. When I’d done the NPC a number of months ago, it showed the $7,500 estimated merit aid projection. My D is likely going to pass on her offer of admission in favor of other more affordable options. It doesn’t change the fact that we LOVED Clemson and will always have a soft spot for the school. Good luck to you and all others in your final decisions. It’s not an easy one, for sure.
And @Confoundedmom I agree with @mommamo1 : I’d call the admissions office to see what’s going on. It can’t hurt and definitely might help! Good luck with all.
Apply to Alabama and you will get a better scholarship based on GPA and SAT/ACT only. Besides you will enjoy beating them in the Football championships …
It is crazy how hard it has gotten to get Merit Aid to Clemson. My son has a 35 ACT and 3.87 GPA and did not receive any aid. His HS also does not rank and it is one of the top HS in NOVA. He got 26K from Alabama.
We have the same problem. My son is a double legacy at Clemson, has a 1510 SAT, 33 ACT, 4.3 GPA and since our high school doesn’t rank he got nothing regarding our of state scholarships. Very disappointed
@MomMartha @wakectyregret - Do your high schools not rank or do they not release the rank to colleges? Our high school does not release the rank, but will tell the student their rank if they ask. Having that “internal” rank would be very beneficial to you.
Also, I would suggest sending a note to the financial aid office at Clemson asking them for a good time to call them when someone can have your son’s application and stats in front of them. You can ask them to tell you why they did not qualify. I have to believe that your high schools sent Clemson some information on ranges of GPA’s and that Clemson’s calculation did not have them in the top 15% of their class. That is why I think it is important for you to know what your school sent them and what your son’s rank is.
Clemson does not withhold merit scholarships just based on the fact that a school doesn’t rank. I agree with @Zline if you’re interested, contact Clemson to find out the why.
Wow @MomMartha and @wakectyregret - I hear you on this. My OOS D’s stats are decent, albeit lower - 32 ACT and 4.05W with no class rank - and we’re in the same boat. She also has the Alabama Presidential on the table, which is pretty close to the offer you can’t refuse. The Clemson NPC calculations seemed to foreshadow this change in OOS merit aid situation: we did it a few months ago and it auto-populated $7,500 and when I did it recently (in the last 60 days or so) it came up as zero. She’s likely going to pass on Clemson for other more affordable alternatives. Good luck to all!
@MomMartha Just like @zline our HS does not release the rank but they have it and in the school manual they say they will release for scholarship purposes and military academy applications. Knowing how clemson puts such a premium on class rank, I contacted my daughters guidance counselor and found out her class rank was in the 7% of her class. I asked that he include that in his guidance counselor recommendation. Whether he did for sure or not my daughter did get the expected scholarship for her test Scores. I would suggest checking with you school and see if they will give you the internal ranking and if it is good then take it to clemson.
The underlying problem is the fact the HS rank plays such a huge part. I wish colleges would just move away from using rank as a criteria, as it is so inconsistent between schools and there is no reliable universal way to normalize it. Frankly, I think it is extremely stupid that many bright kids are forced to consider changing high schools in their junior year, just to get a higher rank elsewhere and increase their chances of acceptance and merit in college. School rank puts so many talented kids at a disadvantage, just because they go to a highly competitive HS. Sadly (but naturally), every parent wants his/her child to get the highest quality education available and will try to place him into the highest rank HS, without realizing that it actually hurts them down the line. It’s a vicious circle, and by the time you realize it, it is too late…
I am trying to understand whether it is necessary to apply to the Honors program to get Merit Aid from Clemson. Anyone know, or have experience with this from Class of 2023?
Confoundedmom – This makes no sense. Please check into it and re-post. Your son is in the very top of the kids who attend Clemson. I cannot imagine why he would not receive significant merit aid and be admitted to the honors college.
We have talked to admissions counselors and the Honors College in my daughter’s journey. Both have said no correlation—you can get merit scholarships without applying to their Honors College.
Do talk to your child’s GC about such situations. Those schools that do not rank and/or have so many high achieving students, have a small.class size are aware of the drawbacks of those features when applying to certain colleges. Two of my kids went to such schools, and yes, for getting certain scholarships, acceptances to certain schools and programs (particularly at large state universities), they were at a disadvantage.
My nephews went to a highly selective, small, high school and just missed the Cutoff for that 6% top of class that grants auto admit to UT-Austin. Was accepted to some highly selective schools but not to the state flagship Yes, it hurt, both in the wallet and ego.
Hi. My son is currently an engineering freshman at Clemson. He also scored 34 on the ACT, was his non-ranking very small NJ high school’s only National Merit Scholar last year 4 year varsity football/lax, captain of both teams sr. yr, very active in his schools theater program, etc. He was awarded the max OOS Merit Scholarship bc we didn’t qualify for any Financial Aid. (He also applied to, and was accepted to, the Calhoun Honors College and we now realize how incredibly important THAT is regarding priority class registration. I can not encourage that strongly enough!)
If Clemson is a likely a top choice for your student, I would encourage you to call your high school to ask them to speak with the Financial Aid Dept about your student. Emphasize to them that CU - a very large public university - relies on stats for out of state decisions and that it would be very helpful to you if they could please help CU understand the academic merits of your student. I bet it will help. (CU does apparently run out of merit awards as the year goes on, so do this sooner than later.)
I also encourage very interested accepted students to apply for other Clemson’s National Scholars Program for a chance at full tuition awards. https://www.clemson.edu/academics/programs/national-scholars/
Good luck and Go Tigers!!!
(PS, my son LOVES it at Clemson.)
I just did ran the NPC with my OOS hs jr 's stats just to see what the merit would be. top 1% 1590 SAT: 20k off 53, 094 COA…Hard Pass.
@BingeWatcher If your son has any interest in Clemson with his stats he could be a candidate for the long shot lottery ticket National Scholars Program mentioned by @LuvLABS and that comes with a full ride.
With those kinds of numbers it wouldn’t hurt to try if he really had interest in the school. If he doesn’t get it he then just goes to any of the schools that will no doubt be giving him much greater offers of merit money.
I totally agree! The HS rank is completely unfair if you attend a very high-achieving competitive OOS high school. This was the case for my daughter. Our HS does not rank but the Clemson admissions counselor told us that they use some formula with different variables to estimate what her rank would be. That being said, this prevented my daughter from receiving any merit aid. I did speak on the phone with the VP of something or other. A nice man but I got nowhere with my “argument” about the HS rank being very skewed as far as scholarship criteria. Very disappointing. That being said, my daughter still wanted Clemson.