<p>you never know what is fact or fiction with these scholarship stories. I wouldn’t bother wondering about what others get its non productive and will make you crazy. It’s a crap shoot and you not only have to have good grades you need some luck also.</p>
<p>These stories are true, because these kids are friends of my d and I know the parents.</p>
<p>While you may know the students and parents, you really do not know all the facts about the admissions/scholarship decisions. Even they don’t really know everything. The admissions decision is made on both quantifiable things (GPA, SAT, class rank, difficulty of schedule, APs, ECs, etc.) and non-quantifiables (interests, passions, “fit,” etc.) and on how these match the needs of the university. If the university needs oboe players but has lots of international relations (Model UN) students and your kid plays no instrument but is heavy into Model UN, then the oboe player with the slightly lesser GPA or SAT or whatever might get the nod. And, there is no definitive way for you to know what specifics each university is looking for - sometimes you can figure some of it out and occassionally the information that whatever your kid has is needed might be shated with you (by a coach, band director, whatever).</p>
<p>As SopranoDad said, agonizing over it is non-productive and will make you crazy. This is an exciting time in your child’s life, so focus on the positive and enjoy it.</p>
<p>I agree with K9 and sopranodad. There is no sense in agonizing over it. Make your peace and move on. UD was by far the stingiest with DD. However, as she finishes her junior year, she continues to have a wonderful experience at UD and, for us, that’s what counts. BC, perhaps I am reading into your posts something that isn’t there, but it seems that you are not happy with UD already (poor merit money, not good enough class stats, bad dorms, crime). I’m also assuming that you aren’t sharing the negativity with your DD who happily got off the waitlist. 
Best wishes to both of you!</p>
<p>I did not go to a 4 year college so I am a newbie at all this. My D got a grant called “General Fund Grant”. Does anyone know if that is that merit-based or need-based? I can’t find anything about this online. Thanks!</p>
<p>I wonder where I can get the stats of Merit Scholarship.</p>
<p>The stats for merit scholarships for 2009/2010 can be found in the Common Data set for UDel. This is not the recent entering class Fall 2010. They might post the pdf a year later.
[UD</a> Office of Institutional Research](<a href=“http://www.udel.edu/IR/cds/]UD”>Institutional Research and Effectiveness)
So for merit awards:<br>
Number of students in line A (reference p.21 —pdf you can download it) who had no financial need and who were awarded institutional non-need-based scholarship or grant aid (exclude those who were awarded athletic awards and tuition benefits) = 599 First time incoming freshmen.
The average merit $ for that was $5,746. for 1st time full time freshmen (non-athletes).
SAT scores and GPA are also included in the pdf for the freshman class.</p>
<p>If you look at the profile for the Honors Program Freshman Class of 2014, you will see that there were 466 enrolled in the program.
[Freshmen</a> Class Profile, Honors Program, University of Delaware](<a href=“Honors College | Challenge. Enrichment. Community.”>Honors College | Challenge. Enrichment. Community.)</p>
<p>Despite the data being 1 year apart, maybe not hard to guess where some of the merit $ is going. However, 142 athletic (not included in the first set) $ was much higher with the average award being $9,239.</p>
<p>This is not to say that all is written in stone for the initiatives of UDel and what they are looking for in the admissions process. You could have a hook or exceptional specific, but it could give you an idea of your chances by where you stand in the percentages. The numbers will vary a bit since UDel is getting pickier but can provide a rough guideline.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the detailed information! I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>I knew I had it but wanted to cite the references. Believe me, I scoured these boards looking for info too. 
Best of luck to you!</p>