Merit Scholarships

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Richmond
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<p>You will be considered for UR merit scholarships as long as you either submit your admission application materials by December 15th online, postmark your admission application materials by December 15th, or if UR has already received your admission application materials by December 15th.</p>

<p>There is NOT a separate application. We just need your regular application materials. Once you have submitted everything or sent it out via postal mail you can call the Admission Office if you would like to ensure we have received everything.</p>

<p>If you are a finalist for our Richmond Scholars program, as part of the merit-based scholarships, you will be notified by the beginning of March of the admission year.</p>

<p>More Info on Richmond Scholars Program:</p>

<p>One out of every 15 incoming first-year students at the University of Richmond will receive a full-tuition, merit-based scholarship.</p>

<p>Through the generous Richmond Scholars program, the University awards these scholarships to 50 members of every incoming class (each consisting of approximately 750 students). Recipients have demonstrated extraordinary academic achievement, exceptional personal qualities and potential for ongoing contributions to society.</p>

<p>All domestic and international first-year admission applicants are eligible for consideration.</p>

<p>Richmond Scholars Program Benefits:</p>

<li>Full-tuition scholarship, renewable annually, valued at approximately $140,000 over four years</li>
<li>Eligibility for a one-time $3,000 grant to support a student-selected activity that enhances the academic experience</li>
<li>Priority course registration</li>
<li>Special faculty mentors to guide students and help them fulfill their potential</li>
<li>Complimentary tickets to selected cultural events in the Modlin Center for the Arts</li>
</ol>

<p>To learn more about the Richmond Scholars program visit:
[University</a> of Richmond: Merit-Based Scholarships](<a href=“http://admissions.richmond.edu/financial/scholarships.html#1]University”>http://admissions.richmond.edu/financial/scholarships.html#1)</p>

<p>Edited based on
Extract from Jeff Kent, Admissions Rep '09, Facebook Group Richmond Class of 2013</p>

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<p>I would like to see the stats of the kids that got these scholarships. I have to believe that the “holistic” selection is code for “diversity or need based.” Daughter is 4.0 UW, 2280, lots of ECs, top 2 % of class…and not even a finalist.<br>
Given Richmond’s class profile, that should put her in the top 2-3% of their class. If 7% of the students get this award, and it is truly merit based, how do you explain that she didn’t even get into the first round? </p>

<p>I am not sure this school is worth $50K per year when compared to some of her other choices and scholarship offers. </p>

<p>Can the kids who won the scholarships post their stats?</p>

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<p>daffinito, I can’t speak about the selection process at Richmond but I can tell you that it felt completely fair to me as a parent. Following is information on my daughter who is NOT a minority but was granted a Richmond Science Scholarship. She too has a 4.0 UW gpa with a 36 ACT, the val of her class of 350+. She had taken 6 AP classes prior to this year and has 5’s on each of them. This year she is taking an additional 6 AP classes. She will be the first from her school (and I think the school district) going to Richmond. She is involved in a few EC’s but very heavily in those and wrote some very unique and memorable essays.</p>

<p>If you don’t think the school is worth $50k, that’s of course your and your daughter’s choice. My daughter too had many choices since she was admitted at all the schools she applied to. At many of them, she received no scholarships at all. Her decision was to go to Richmond.</p>

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<p>There would be no reason for the scholarships to be “need-based” when UR can and frequently does provide financial aid grants covering almost the entire cost of attendance.</p>

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<p>Daffinito, my daughter was offered the Oldham Scholarship at Richmond. She has similar stats to sharonohio’s daughter. She is not a minority, was 2220 on SAT, valedictorian, 4.0, many EC’s, many APs, very strong writer, and a few very unusual accomplishments for high school student. She felt the competition was very tough. </p>

<p>I am sorry for your daughter. She sounds like a fantastic student. My D was accepted to some schools, wait-listed at others, and Richmond gave her the best offer. I think you just have to choose what you think is the best option.</p>

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<p>daffinito, I am sorry for your daughter. But I need to point out that Tom said in an online chat during the application process that Richmond Scholars have to show a big passion for something. I noticed you said your daughter has a lot of ECs. Are they spread in different areas or are they focused on something specific?</p>

<p>I am a Robins Science Scholar and I clearly showed passion for science, especially chemistry. I have a GPA of 9.98 out of 10 (I am Romanian and it’s a different grading system), SAT 2100, not so many ECs but most of them were focused on science. I participated in an international chemistry contest and now I am taking a gap year to do research at a local university. I applied this year though, so the research thing was taken into account. If you have any other questions or comments, feel free to ask.</p>

<p>sharonohio and auntcc, I would like to contact your daughters. I am eager to meet future spiders, but so far I haven’t talked to any scholars. If they want to, please, PM me their email address or their name to search them on facebook.</p>

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<p>Thanks all. I get what you are all saying about the “specialization.” Your children all sound terrific. My D is an artist, she submitted an art portfolio which her art teachers and private art studio owner thought was great. She spent last summer in Italy in an Art and Architecture program through Duke university and wrote about her desire to minor in art and combine that with her international relations major. Seems like she had that box checked, but who knows? She really wants to go to Richmond, it’s just the affordability issue, and the scholarship was much needed for that. We didn’t qualify for need based anything…but I don’t care who you are $1000 a week is huge. It’s also hard to swallow when you see similar students with similar quals getting full rides.</p>

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<p>Just thought I would share my stats as well in case this helps future applicants</p>

<p>4.0 unwgtd GPA, 2370 SAT (1 sitting), 5s on 5 APs as of junior year, 800 and 790 on SAT IIs, President of two organizations (and an active member my other three years of HS), 500+ hours of community service with leadership awards, varsity swimmer, extensive summer work experience in my field of interest – not a minority or legacy (and I know I had a really strong recommendation bec my guidance counselor showed it to me !)</p>

<p>I ended up receiving the Robertson Scholarship from Duke so did not take the Richmond Scholarship I was offered, but otherwise I would have been at U of R next year.</p>

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<p>collegeforme91–Good luck at Duke! We’re sorry to lose you at UR, though.</p>

<p>I think the thing for everyone to understand is that merit-scholarship decisions are not like a track meet (where those who cross the finish line first always get the medal). They are more like a gymnastics competition where there are a lot of pieces and parts in motion (i.e. multiple events and apparatus) and it is judged by a group of people who can disagree. There are a lot of nuances in the process and hundreds of people with similar stats that we have to choose from among. They all have wonderful qualities and it is very hard to choose. I’m sorry your student is disappointed, daffinito. I’m sure she is also outstanding.</p>