Merit Scholarships

<p>So, I am currently working on applying for scholarships at Wash U, and my essays for the Annika Rodriguez Scholarship is very very similar to the one I am submitting for the Ervin Scholarship. Does anyone know if either selection committee would have access to my essay for the other? I guess, I mean will it hurt my chances at one of the scholarships if the essays are similar? I understood the programs themselves to be similar, although it is possible I misunderstood/missed certain aspects of each. Any insight is helpful! What are your thoughts on the similarities and differences between the Ervin Scholars program and the Annika Rodriguez program? Thanks for your help!</p>

<p>Even if the board for either has access to your essay for the other, it’s unlikely they’ll read both essays. They already have a lot of essays to read. And you ARE the same applicant applying to both. They’ll probs just keep in mind how many other scholarships you are applying to. I’ve heard they do that.</p>

<p>The Ervin scholarship was historically for Blacks and the Annika scholarship was historically for Hispanics. That’s also from just what I heard. Not sure if it’s true - anyone want to back me up?</p>

<p>Yeah about 3/4 of the recipients for Ervin are African-American, 3/4 of Rodriguez are Hispanic.</p>

<p>Thank you! I realize that my race puts me at a disadvantage for these scholarships, but I figure that it never hurts to try. One more question- for the Ervin Scholarship, it asks in which activity I take the greatest pride. Do you think it’s ok if I use one of the same activities that I later talk about in the big essay? Otherwise, I can choose a different answer, but I think my response might not be quite as strong. Thanks, and good luck to any one else applying for scholarships!</p>

<p>Does anyone know how many students are chosen as finalists for the honorary scholars program in arts and sciences? (mylonas, moog, lien, compton)</p>

<p>It varies by scholarship. Some invite only about 30-50 but then in interviews they decide who gets half and who gets the full scholarships. Others invite more but not everyone gets something.</p>

<p>There are not a lot of merit scholarships at Wash U however. Less than around 100 a year get some form of merit scholarship per class year, about half for hall tuition, and half full tuition. (Summer scholars and what not not included since those don’t count).</p>