<p>So, if you weren't able to schedule an interview, and you haven't heard anything from them by now, is it safe to assume that you aren't being considered for any of the merit scholarships?</p>
<p>I guess it's true that people who get interviewed have a better chance of receiving good merit aid, but it's not the only factor taken into consideration. i couldn't schedule an interview either, but got some good merit aid. whether that amount would have increased if i had gotten interviewed, i really don't know. but you can still keep your hopes up for getting a scholarship if you think you deserve it.</p>
<p>^^Are you at Rochester now, or did you apply this year? It's not me, it's my kid, BTW. :) I would think that his stats would be good enough to be considered for a scholarship at Rochester. If not, we have a low EFC and I hope he gets sufficient aid. I wonder if they don't bother to consider low EFC kids for merit $$? (All assuming he actually gets in, of course!)</p>
<p>I don't know if an interview is required or not to be considered for merit. My 2 sons applied and both did interviews. However, we did not hear anything about financial aid until we received acceptances. If I remember correctly, the acceptance and the FA package came at the same time a large folder. So if you haven't heard anything at all, then that doesn't mean you are out of the running for scholarships. The only students that have heard anything, I think, are those that are under consideration for the Renaissance Scholarship which is only awarded to 10 students. However, there are also many other merit scholarships that aren't awarded until later in the spring.</p>
<p>@ consolation
i applied this year and had quite a low EFC too. i got a mixture of merit based and need-based aid, which ended up fulflilling my need.</p>
<p>Same thing for my d - she got her merit scholarship as part of her acceptance letter. No mention beforehand. (Of course, she did interview, local to home, at one of their "road shows.")</p>
<p>Merit scholarships are awarded by the Admissions office, while need-based aid comes from the Financial Aid office. If your son qualifies for merit, your EFC won't matter. And the requirements for keeping most merit scholarships are extremely reasonable - "satisfactory progress", which is basically a 2.0 stay-off-academic-probation requirement.</p>
<p>If you're concerned about the lack of an interview, have your son call his regional admissions counselor and explain why there was no interview. Perhaps he could do a phone interview right then. (Hey, it couldn't hurt to ask!)</p>
<p>There is another recent thread "Rochester Renaissance Scholarship" where someone says the candidates are notified in 2-3 groups. So maybe there is still hope. . .</p>
<p>My son applied RD on Dec. 30. After he finished submitting the app, he tried to schedule an off-campus interview using the website, but the message "no local events" appeared. (We live in Arizona and won't be going to Rochester unless he is accepted.) So he called the admissions office and was told that the school had done interviews in Phoenix one day in early October -- before my son had even heard of UR -- so it was too late for that. </p>
<p>When he expressed concern that this would leave him out of the running for merit scholarships (since the website seemed to make it pretty clear that you had to interview for those), he was told that he would still be considered for the scholarships, because the school understood that not everyone could make it to campus or interview off-campus.</p>
<p>So, consolation, we are in the same boat as you -- keeping our fingers crossed that he will be getting some good news in the mail later this month.</p>
<p>I was accepted but did not interview. I received the Rush Rhees scholarship for $12,000 a year</p>