<p>does anyone know of an IWU merit scholarship that I saw listed on a scholarship website, but which I could not find on IWU's website? can you point me to a link, or confirm that this is a current scholarship that is offered by IWU?</p>
<p>it said--
Illinois Wesleyan University (Illinois)
offers the following:</p>
<pre><code>* $4,000-$10,500 a year to students in the top 25% of their high school class with at least a 28 ACT or 1240 SAT.
</code></pre>
<p>My D1 got a $10,000 merit aid with a 30 act and a strong soccer backround.</p>
<p>code, is this different than an 'alumni scholarship'? what was the name of the line item in the FA pkg ?</p>
<p>The merit scholarships come from a variety of sources, some of them are endowed scholarships. IWU awards the scholarship based on their current criteria (i.e. the post above by idic5), then they decide where the funds are coming from. You don't apply for specific endowed scholarships, they are just one of the sources of financial aid open to the finaid department for distribution of funds.</p>
<p>is the scholarship renewable?
say, if my grades in college is fantastic, will my alumni scholarship becomes "president scholarship"?</p>
<p>Has anyone received the amount of merit aid they have received this year? My daughter is going to be a frosh in 2010 and we are trying to decide if this will be financially feasable to consider Wesleyan. We won’t qualify for financial aid. She has a good shot at being a national merit finalist, and also might play volleyball for IWU. I know they don’t give athletic scholarships, but hopefully they could put a good academic package together for her. Any thoughts would be appreciated.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I understand the questions of the above 2 posters, but my D was accepted at IWU for Sep 09 admission, and was awarded a merit scholarship. The paperwork leads one to believe that scholarship will be awarded every year, given adequate academic performance. I’m not sure what label they put on the award.</p>
<p>Do you mind giving me an idea of the amount of the scholarship she got and her ball park GPA and test scores?This will help to give us a rough idea of what my D will get if she gets accepted. We are visiting IWU in a little over a week.</p>
<p>ACT composite was 31, in top 5% of her class. She got $17 k. We are also out of state, which may play a role; I believe IWU is trying to attract more OOS students since it is dominated by Chicago kids.</p>
<p>Hope you enjoy your visit. My D loved it when she visited as a junior.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing. That is a great scholarship! What a great opportunity to go to an excellent school. I have a feeling since we are in state we will get less. I am just hoping it is somewhat affordable. Good luck to your D!</p>
<p>Thanks, nkl. It is the only school she applied to that we’ve heard back from so far. In another 3 weeks, we should know the lay of the land, and where she’ll be attending - which will predominantly be determined by the costs. IWU is definitely in the running, I would be very happy with that choice!</p>
<p>Nkl-D1 has similar stats as Chi’s D and package was similar. We are from IL. Also, IWU was the ONLY school that offered us grant aid, so I wouldn’t rule out applying for FA. D1 had a few higher merit awards at other schools, but in the end it balanced out. At minimum they may offer a job and some loans. All students are guaranteed loans. The merit awards are renewal based on academic performance. I think you need a 3.0 to continue to receive. </p>
<p>Tuition increased almost 5%, but FA budget was also increased by 7%. At the end of the day, it was cheaper for us to sent to IWU than it would have been to send her to U of I.</p>
<p>Good to know they offered you grants for aid. We will definitely try for it. How much merit aid did they give though, if you don’t mind my asking. I am worried it will be out of our ball park.
How great that your D can go to IWU for less than U of I.
Funny- a week from nowin one day, we are visiting IWU in the morning and U of I in the afternoon. Should be quite the contrast for my daughter. We’ll see what she thinks.</p>
<p>nkl811, let us know how your college visit went, and what you and your D thought of IWU!</p>
<p>We are visiting on Illinois Weslyan on Monday. We visited Marquette earlier this week and my daughter really liked it. Her thoughts on IWU are that it is probably too small. Maybe the visit will change her mind. It sounds like you either really like IWU or you don’t. I will let you know how it goes. I have heard it is a great school so I am anxious to see it myself.</p>
<p>Another cheaper to attend IWU than U of I story here. My child would not even apply to U of I-too big!</p>
<p>Stats-32 ACT, top 10% of class, various high school activities-2 sports, some drama, scholar bowl, math team, couple academic awards</p>
<p>IWU awards: $12,000 Alumni Scholarship (renewable dependent upon maintaining 3.0 I believe), grant (we have 2 in college, they came within ballpark number of FAFSA 
), Stafford loans offered (subsidized and unsubsidized—he will take, cheap interest rate!) and work/study</p>
<p>Right now it is his top choice. The only school that gave IWU competition in my son’s mind was Washington University (one of his best friend’s is going there and they were going to room together). After the Scholar’s Day visit in March he said he liked IWU better (has visited each school twice for in-depth presentations). He was wait-listed at Wash U so his decision is easy. Right now we are still evaluating all his options, but I’d say it’s almost certain my son will be at IWU this fall. We have visited 8 top schools. </p>
<p>momoffive</p>
<p>momoffive, can I ask if you are an Illinois resident?</p>
<p>nkl88-D1 attends and loves IWU, but D2 thought it was too small for her. Ironically, Marquette is one of D2’s final choices, so I am familiar with both campuses. Great schools in their own right.</p>
<p>Mom5-your situation sounds just like ours last year, only it was University of Chicago not Wash U. Scholars day turned it for D1, really had a good visit and we kind of knew when we left that was going to be it. We certainly haven’t regretted the choice.</p>
<p>Chi-I mentioned like Mom5 that it was less expensive for us than U of I. That is true, but we knew quickly that a school the size of the flagship was not right for D1. The fact that IWU was cheaper was a bonus. We started out our search by thinking of the name schools, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Duke. All absolutely great schools, but not a fit for D1. It turned out to be less of a chase for the well know name and more of a situation where D1 could thrive. As you will see from your visits, U of I and IWU have similar statistical students, but a completely different feel to the campus. It truly comes down to a large school vibe versus a small school vibe.</p>
<p>Yes, we are Illinois residents.</p>
<p>Ds knew he wanted a small school feel. And re: U of I—from going through the application process with U of I with ds1 and talking with friends…we knew pretty much we would have to pay full tilt at U of I (great bargain if you are a 2-income high earning couple, not so much if you live in the lower cost (and earning) parts of the state). U of I is a very expensive state university imho! Highly ranked and dh attended, but expensive. Of course dh attended back in the day when he could practically pay 100% of the cost from his summer factory work. This certainly isn’t true today (even if the factory jobs are to be found, which they aren’t). But I digress…</p>
<p>In addition to Wash U, my son looked at Northwestern, Notre Dame, Hendrix, St. Louis University, Knox and some other not so well known smaller schools where he could get substantial merit aid in case the economy went really south by the time he was deciding. He decided not to apply to ND (but child #3 and 4 liked it, so visit was worth it). He hasn’t heard from Northwestern and likes IWU best of all the schools he has heard from.</p>
<p>IWU campus is certainly beautiful. </p>
<p>I see parent’s orientation is June 21. Maybe we will see you all there!</p>
<p>momof5</p>
<p>parent’s orientation?! I didn’t know there was such a thing. Will have to check into that. </p>
<p>Thanks both of you for your comments!</p>