<p>I never knew that NW provided merit scholarships. But today in my admissions package I received a letter than I am a Founders Scholarship recipient and get 22K. Apparently they take 50 in total. Anyone else get that? I mean I didn't even apply for fin aid at NW so I am wondering whats up with this.</p>
<p>wow---that is incredible...i didnt know they gave out merit scholarships...that has been a strict policy of their's for like the last 20 yrs</p>
<p>from their own website, we do not award merit awards....</p>
<p>that is very odd</p>
<p>It's apparently new. I guess they are tired of losing kids to HYPSM AND to other "lower" ones that offer merit money. Merit based scholarship is like an armament race; more and more are going be pressured to join. I hate schools <em>buying</em> people. I just hope NU joining the race won't jeapardize its commitment for need-blind admission and financial aid.</p>
<p>Actually they did receive my FAFSA and stuff(guess I just forgot that I sent it over). So it might have to do with fin aid anyways. </p>
<p>There are two more posters who received the same thing so I wonder if they also applied for fin aid or not?</p>
<p>I doubt that's the case. I don't see why they need to put a fancy title to a need-based scholarships for 50 people. It'd be really tacky and silly.</p>
<p>At first, I thought it's related to the new initiative they announced not long ago to give full-ride (all in grants) to low-income families -- like the ones Harvard has but on a more conservative scale (not <em>every</em> one with < $XXX income would automatically get it). But apparently this is another new development.</p>
<p>mahras2,</p>
<p>Just curious, is that 22K for just the first year?</p>
<p>NUGrad5555,</p>
<p>They seem to be slow in updating things on their website. For example, the WCAS still has no link to Kellogg's undergrad program (though McCormick site has it); "Fast Facts" (under admission) still shows 2009 data...</p>
<p>They offered me $7500 per year and 30k in total. I did apply for financial aid and it was determined that my need was $7500, so that might be why. I'm also curious to know if that 22k is per year and what your need was.</p>
<p>And I'm sure they gave out more than 50, the letter said they expected 50 Scholars to go to the school.</p>
<p>csquare,</p>
<p>Can you guess why they put a fancy title to it then? You seemed surprised with it in another thread and that's why I thought it's something new. But looks like the amount is what you expected after all. Were you just surprised with the name? I was an international and didn't qualify for any aid. This is an area I am not familiar with. </p>
<p>By the way, is cost a factor for your decision to attend NU?</p>
<p>I also got the Founders scholarship. I applied for fin. aid and I was awarded a grant from Northwestern in addition to the $7,500 (per year) Founders scholarship because my need was greater than what the scholarship provided. From the information they sent me it sounds like the founders scholarship was definitely merit based, it's completely separate from need based fin. aid.</p>
<p>I got scholarship money too, $9000 of it to be more exact. In the category it said, "Northwestern scholarships," and I know it was not exactly need based, considering the fact that at both Cornell and WashU, I only received like what 3-4K in loans</p>
<p>As indicated in the school web site, the "Northwestern scholarship" is a need-based scholarship.
<a href="http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/freshman/financing/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/freshman/financing/</a></p>
<p>^^this is need-based aid. i got 20k+ as Northwestern Scholarship and believe me, I am not a 20k scholarship worthy candidate. they just put their grants in the name of "Northwestern Scholarship"</p>
<p>I swear it isn't completely "need based." Two of my friends who were also accepted into northwestern, both with incomes within of 3000 of me, get absolutely nothing but worthless loans</p>
<p>I also got the 'Northwestern Scholarship' which was worth over 20,000.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure it's need-based.</p>
<p>I'm sure the NU Scholarship is need-based, but I think its definately partly based on merit since I have a few friends that didn't get it and they were definately in financial need. Btw, I got ~30k.</p>
<p>My EFC is 50,000 and I got a letter last week saying I'd gotten the Founder's scholarship. I was a little confused, because I didn't think they gave out merit based aid, and my family (according to FAFSA) doesn't have any need. Sadly it's only a drop in the bucket...</p>
<p>Ok, y'all are getting confused. The Northwestern scholarship that you guys are referring to is need-based, quoted from their fin aid site:
[quote]
The Northwestern Scholarship is awarded to students based solely on demonstrated financial need. Because all students admitted to the University have proven themselves both in academic settings and in extracurricular activities, we do not offer merit-based scholarships. Students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and who complete the financial aid process are considered for a Northwestern Scholarship.
[/quote]
What mahras, sarahc, and myself are referring to is the FOUNDERS scholarship, which is DEFINITELY new this year and merit-based. NU has never offered merit-based scholarships before.</p>
<p>I will scan my letter about the Founders Scholarship if you guys want to see it.</p>
<p>That being said, while they presumably determine WHO gets Founders Scholarships based on merit, they might? take into account financial need when determining HOW MUCH each Scholar gets. Because as I mentioned, my yearly Founders Scholarship amount exactly matched my determined financial need. But evidently that wasn't the case with sarahc. Or, if you don't have any need, as in lothar's case, they might just give you a fixed amount. This sounds kind of similar to the UCLA Regents scholarship - if you don't have fin need, you get $5500/year, period. If you do have need, they cover all of it.</p>
<p>mahras - was your 22k a per-year amount, or total?</p>
<p>^ "If you do have need, they cover all of it." UCLA Regents, I meant.</p>
<p>In any case, the merit-based Founders Scholarship just subtracts from whatever need-based award you would have otherwise gotten.</p>
<p>And in response to Sam Lee, yes, money is pretty much the only thing stopping me from going right now, since this scholarship is all I'm getting, and UCLA costs less than 20k for me.</p>
<p>I hate how having planned for college comes back to bite you in the ass. I have a decent sized college savings, but its from when my family had a much much higher income! If we didn't we'd qualify for tons of aid, but since I do I qualify for almost nothing. Its ridiculous- its not that much money.</p>