<p>Does anyone know when we will find out about Merit Awards (i.e., Trustees, Presidential and Marquis?)</p>
<p>Trustee’s and Presidential scholarships notifications go out some time between mid-Decmber and mid-February. Marquis and Purdue promise in April when you receive the financial aid package.</p>
<p>do you have to apply for these or are you automatically considered?</p>
<p>No clue for Marquis and Purdue Promise since I’m OOS (they don’t apply to me), but for Trustee and Presidential you are automatically considered if you applied by November 15. I think department based scholarships require a separate application, and of course FAFSA for need-based.</p>
<p>Our daughter received notice of her Trustee scholarship about a week or 2 after her acceptance letter. Made for a very Merry Christmas for all! She was also invited into the UHP, which has been the best perk yet. As a member of the University Honors program, she has priority signing up for classes. For next semester, she was able to register a few weeks before her classmates. Honor students get priority registration over everyone else…it is the best perk yet! She also chose the Lyceum Learning community…also at Purdue, if you chose a learning community, you are almost guaranteed housing, since they place these requests first.</p>
<p>is your daughter class of 2016, or someone already there? Just wondering when we will hear for 2016</p>
<p>She is a freshman…with co-ops, she actually will be the class of 2016!</p>
<p>I got my award letter pretty late, around early March. You’re automatically considered for presidential and trustee scholarships. And you just need to fill out a fafsa to be considered for the Marquis. As for Purdue Promise, I am not a 21st Century Scholar, so I could not be considered.</p>
<p>From what I heard they made cuts to scholarship funds, wonder how much better than the pack you have to be in order to get them…</p>
<p>Edit: is the award letter only sent home or is it also conveyed through some online methods?</p>
<p>I don’t remember my daughter hearing anything online about merit awards. I believe need-based awards can be viewed online.</p>
<p>I guess you have to wonder if they cut down Purdue scholarships due to lack of funding or if it’s to keep it competitive (if that’s the word I’m looking for). IU and Purdue are both Indiana public universities. I qualify for $10,000/yr worth of automatic scholarships from IU, yet I feel like my chances are average at best of receiving any kind of merit scholarship from Purdue. Is there some part of the process I’m missing here as to why one school hands out automatic versus the other being entirely competitive, even though they are both public in the same state? Because as I understand it, Purdue used to have automatic scholarships as well.</p>
<p>Purdue had gotten a number of complaints from handing out scholarships based on GPA and test scores alone instead of the well-roundedness of the applicants so they changed to give the best overall candidates a chance at money.</p>
<p>They should get complaints about using their own “Core GPA” calculation as criterion for scholarships. In an effort to normalize, they’ve essentially devalued honors/AP courses. Then the admissions process degenerates into only considering only SAT/ACT scores with superficial consideration for grades.</p>
<p>My kids’ high school (top-100 nationally ranked) offers dozens of AP and IB courses. A student with grades of 92, 92, 89, 88, and 87 in all AP/IB courses will get a 3.4 on Purdue’s scale (and a HS academic average of 4.94). Likewise, a student in ‘on-level’ classes with grades of 91, 92, 88, 90, and 95 would get a 3.8 on Purdue’s scale (and a HS academic average of 4.14).</p>
<p>The latter student may well be a success, but he is far less prepared for the rigors of college than the former. In addition, the former student is ranked near the top-10% of his class, while the latter is near 50%.</p>
<p>Here in Texas, the automatic admissions rules from the state legislature for Texas and Texas A&M has made the top-N% (10 or 9) a very important goal. Students at an extremely competitive HS have to decide it they want to spend all of their waking hours trying to get admitted to UT based on class rank, ace the SAT, or go elsewhere.</p>
<p>I think a lot of schools use their own GPA recalculations and that doesn’t bother me much, who’s to say an AP class at one high school isn’t easier than a non-AP class at another? It’s difficult to equalize GPAs across courses and across schools.</p>
<p>However I’m still left bewildered by the decision to award ‘well rounded applicants’, which pretty much is just a means to say they are going to give money to whomever they want.</p>
<p>Based on their core GPA, my son’s recaluculated GPA is a 3.97, his ACT score is a 31, with a combined English/Writing score of 30. When they were doing automatic awards, those stats make him eligible for the Trustee award. But this year…not a penny. </p>
<p>Perhaps he wasn’t well rounded enough for them? He’s been admitted to engineering, but has been involved in his school’s performing arts groups throughout junior high and high school (choir and drama), he’s studied abroad over a summer, he is the president of his school’s Spanish club and the vice president of the science club, he’s spent the past 2 summers volunteering with Habitat for Humanity…</p>
<p>And what irks me more is there is another student at his school with lower grades, lower standardized test scores, and a lower class rank that received the presidential award of $4000, I keep thinking that our letter must of got lost in the mail???</p>
<p>I was told at Purdue’s For Me that if we haven’t got a letter yet, there wasn’t one coming. I said they shouldn’t expect to see any tutition money coming from me because frankly, that’s just insulting that I KNOW my son was bypassed for student’s with lower stats.</p>
<p>My child’s stats are basically the same as your son’s (except slightly lower in unweighted GPA, only 3.93) – also an engineering student. Very well rounded student: Hundreds of hours of volunteer work, Civil Air Patrol squadron commander, glider pilot (soloed), 2 varsity sports (1 year as team captain), jazz band, auditioned non-school music group and still “no soup for her.” </p>
<p>Purdue is the only one of my child’s schools that did not offer substantial merit money. The other schools’ awards were primarily based upon GPA/test scores which made her a shoe-in for presidential scholarship money. What Purdue did offer was relentless marketing – customized mailers, posters, email, etc., at least three times per week. Oh that they spent as much money on scholarships as marketing. Needless to say, as Purdue is out-of-state tuition for us, we’ll be taking a pass on Purdue.</p>
<p>We feel the same way S w/similar stats …constant mailings /posters/emails… they spend so much money on that stuff and we threw most of it out. S did not receive any monetary offers and we will not be spending OOS dollars either</p>
<p>we still have not heard anything yet, and are OOS but a classmate at my son’s high school was awarded $10k per year with very similar stats. I’m guessing GPA must be the most important factor in the process. When we were at Purdue Scholar’s Day, they told us that they do not redistribute scholarship monies turned down. It’s interesting to follow kids on this website who have been awarded money from Purdue, but also have many other offers to weigh against. I suspect that in the end they do not end up distributing even half of the funds.</p>
<p>It’s a shame that Purdue, while trying to increase its yield of superior students, is losing the battle to other schools because of how it awards money.</p>
<p>i have pretty good stats but have not received anything. i’m also in state. they send so much stuff in the mail! they could give me a scholarship if they didn’t spend so much money on all the informational things they send to admitted students in the mail.</p>
<p>Here were their awards/requirements for the 2010-2011 school year, just 2 years ago:</p>
<p>Trustees and Presidential Scholarships
Admitted students who meet the academic criteria for these awards will receive them automatically if they complete their admission application by November 15. Students who meet the application deadline may submit new SAT or ACT test scores for scholarship consideration until January 1, 2010. New scores must be sent electronically from the testing agency. Only domestic students are eligible for the Trustees and Presidential scholarships.</p>
<p>Trustees Scholarship
Value: Up to $10,000 per year for out-of-state students; up to $8,000 per year for Indiana residents
Criteria: Core GPA of 3.8 on 4.0 scale plus an SAT of 2000 or higher or a score of 30 or higher on both the ACT composite and ACT combined English/writing. The scholarship is renewable.*</p>
<p>Presidential Scholarship
Value: Up to $7,000 per year for out-of-state students; up to $5,000 per year for Indiana residents
Criteria: Core GPA of 3.8 on 4.0 scale plus an SAT of 1850-1990 or an ACT composite of 27-29 and an ACT combined English/writing of 27-29. The scholarship is renewable.*</p>
<hr>
<p>Now who knows what their criteria are. It doesn’t seem to be heavily GPA based since the other student at my son’s school has significantly less than his 3.97 (best guess around a 3.8). Also It doesn’t seem to be heavily test score based since the other student at my son’s school has a significantly lower SAT and ACT score. They’re from a small school so have very similar classes and activities. </p>
<p>The differences? She’s a female, which my son said gave her preferential treatment. </p>
<p>Another difference is my son’s classmate’s parents are both Purdue alum…</p>
<p>Purdue is IS for us and now I’m eager to contribute to Indiana’s ‘brain drain’</p>
<p>As stated, I’m not exactly sure what Purdue was looking for, but you are right JRCSMOM, now that you quote the stat’s of the other student who did receive money it does not seem fair and my daughter completed her application in October; had it been two years ago she would have received the $10K. Being a female is obviously not the determining factor or she would have received $$'s.</p>
<p>Are the alum parents contributing large $$'s to alumni association?</p>
<p>We are very lucky, my daughter has plenty of other merit scholarship offers plus an ROTC scholarship which she could have used at Purdue - she will be using it at another school :).</p>
<p>Best of luck to your son – he’s obviously a winner and will do well at whatever University he chooses.</p>