Not getting a scholarship

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi, I applied to case EA (known for its scholarships) and was expecting at least a small scholarship. But, I got nothing. I called yesterday to confirm it and they did, then I asked an adcom why and she just gave me the runaround. "Well admissions standards may have been higher this year. You are free to write a letter to the dean of admissions requesting them to reverse this, but I don't want to get your hopes up; chances are very low that you will get it reversed."
The scholarships at case are very formula based. This is the data from last year (the scholarships give more this year though).</p>

<p>Trustee's Scholarship $24,000/yr
-students must be in the top 10% of their graduating class, and have composite SAT scores of 1500 or a composite ACT score of at least 35</p>

<p>President's Scholarship $19,400/yr
-students must be in the top 10% of their graduating class, and have composite SAT scores of 1400 or a composite ACT score of at least 33</p>

<p>Provost's Scholarship $14,400/yr
-students must be in the top 15% of their graduating class, and have composite SAT scores of 1300 or a composite ACT score of at least 31</p>

<p>I have:
800 math, 700 verbal, 730 writing
780 math IIc, 770 math Ic, 750 chem, 690 lit
3.75 UW, 4.25 weighted ( I know it sucks but I've taken straight APs)
Rank is top 3% at very competitive public high school
solid ECs.. including science olympiad nationals with a medal, future problem solving president 3 years and internationals 2 times with placing, volunteering, job, etc
Uncle's whole family went to case
also I got into BC honors using the same application</p>

<p>So I just don't know what to do; I don't have the money to pay for full tuition. I had just decided before that I was going to go to case, because I assumed I'd get some scholarship based on the fact that everyone from my school got a good one last year with weaker stats. What steps should I take to reverse this decision???</p>

<p>By the way my best friend's father is a top professor at case and knows the admissions people and is going to try to talk to them today. Will that do anything??</p>

2

<p>??? You should have gotten at the very least a small scholarship. Your stats clearly put you in range for their top scholarship. You should try to get it changed, no question. I bet the adcoms made a mistake because your not getting a scholarship at a formula-based school doesn't make sense at all.</p>

<p>Getting a professor's input is a very good step, and writing the letter to the dean explaining your situation would be another. </p>

<p>Good luck! I hope you get this reversed, especially since your situation puts me in doubt of my chances of full tuition at Case!</p>

3

<p>It might help if you manage to get good merit aid from a college that is ranked as high as Case.</p>

<p>Your applying EA may have hurt you unless Case requires EA applications for consideration of merit aid. If Case doesn't require that, they may have assumed that since you obviously love Case, they don't need to offer merit bait to land you. It also may be that Case has been so successful getting students like you from your high school or city that it uses merit aid now to attract students who are desired, but are not as likely to attend Case without merit aid.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the replies. I don't think Case has anyway of knowing that I have a strong interest in going there. I think my application shows that I have a good chance to get in a school ranked higher than Case. I also said that I was applying for fin aid, which would show that money is a factor for me. Also my essay hints that I'm not exactly the richest person as well. If I don't get merit aid, I cannot and will not be attending Case. I've already been accepted to higher ranked schools, but my parents and I have decided that I will go to case to save money for undergrad. Not to mention it's close to home, gives a lot of AP credits, and has good engineering. I was planning on turning down MIT (if I get in, deferred EA) for case with money...</p>

5

<p>any more suggestions?</p>

6

<p>Given your stats and their requirements, it makes no sense you didn't qualify. I would definitely appeal.</p>

7

<p>atomicfusion,</p>

<p>I am sorry that this happened to you but if you read case' information it states the following:</p>

<p>Trustee’s Scholarships of $25,700 are awarded to selected entering freshmen. Eligibility is based on academics, including high school performance (GPA, class rank), strength of high school curriculum, involvement in school and community activities, evidence of leadership, and standardized test results. </p>

<p><a href="http://finaid.case.edu/FINAID.aspx?Scholarships&option=Trustees%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://finaid.case.edu/FINAID.aspx?Scholarships&option=Trustees&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>President’s Scholarships of $20,800 are awarded to *selected entering freshmen. * Eligibility is based on academics, including high school performance (GPA, class rank) and strength of high school curriculum, involvement in school and community activities, evidence of leadership, and standardized test results.
<a href="http://finaid.case.edu/FINAID.aspx?Scholarships&option=Presidents%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://finaid.case.edu/FINAID.aspx?Scholarships&option=Presidents&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Provost’s Scholarships of $15,700 are awarded to selected entering freshmen. Eligibility is based on academics, including high school performance (GPA, class rank), strength of high school curriculum, involvement in school and community activities, evidence of leadership, and standardized test results. </p>

<p>I think this is where the gray area is because Case does not state that **every student ** that falls into these categories will automatically receive a scholarship.</p>

8

<p>I know not every student does, but all students last year did who went from my school. Also everyone on CC did. I mean sure if I comitted a felony or something yeah I woudn't expect a scholarship, but my ECs, Recs and essays were solid. I think I should have at least got a lower scholarship.</p>

<p>strength of curriculum: 11 AP classes, the rest all honors, hardest possible curriculum
involvemnt in school and community: 200 hours of service, science olympiad state and national medals, future problem solving state and internationals rankings, job
evidence of leadership: president of FPS for 3 years</p>

<p>I honesty believe I should have at least got provost's if anything. I don't see any weak spots in my application...</p>

9

<p>The VAST bulk of financial aid from colleges is need-based, not merit-based. </p>

<p>When you file the FAFSA form containing the income and savings information for yourself and your parents, a EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) will be calculated. Each colleges has a COA (Cost of Attendance) that includes tuition, room/board, and misc expenses. The college's financial aid office will then calculate your NEED by subtracting the EFC from the COA. The college will then try to provide enough grants (tuition discounts), loans (probably federal), and work-study jobs to make it possible for you to attend. Different colleges will give you different finan-aid packages and you are interested in the grant/loan ratio. For example, a college with a COA of 44K might give you 20K grant and 5K in loans while another college with the same COA might give you 10K grant and 15K in loans. Even though the aid is 25K in both cases, the first college is better because you don't pay back grants.</p>

<p>The system is basically set up so that the rich pay full price and the poor are heavily subsidized. There are two problems. One, you don't have to have a lot of money because they consider you rich. Once a family's income approaches and goes over $100K/year, the EFC goes up extremely fast. For a family where both families work, a combined income of $100K/year is not that high. The other problem is that even with a $20K/year grant and $5K/year loan, you still have to come up with $15K/year on your own. This is still a lot of money.</p>

<p>I would understand that merit aid is very rare, and talk to the finan aid office about options with need-based aid.</p>

10

<p>First of all, is the decision of the financial aid office final?</p>

<p>I agree with NSM that applying EA could have hurt you as a student has until 2/1 to be considered for scholarships. Your EA could have been seen as demonstrated interest. I understand that at other schools you may have to apply EA in order to be considered for merit money. Your GPA could have also hurt you because there will be some with perfect gpas vying for these same scholarships. You can only talk to your application not the entire pool. </p>

<p>From what you posted there have been changes from the way students were selected last year to the way they are being selected this year. </p>

<p>
[quote]
By the way my best friend's father is a top professor at case and knows the admissions people and is going to try to talk to them today. Will that do anything??

[/quote]
</p>

<p>While you have nothing to lose from asking him to speak on your behalf, you will definitely have nothing to gain and this person speaking on your behalf is not going to help your situation (remember this person is getting free tuition by the virtue of working for case and really does not have a dog in this fight). </p>

<p>The bulk of the applications to Case are coming RD, and Case knows this.</p>

<p>While the whole case situation may seem frustrating right now, but move on. Don't let the experience define you because or keep you from pursuing other opportunities. I am quite sure that there are a number of schools that would love to have you and would be willing to offer you merit money also. You will end up where you need to be and the money will follow.</p>

<p>Boston College saw this and is show you that they have love for you. Congratulations on being admitted into the honors college. Have you been invited to be a presidential scholar?</p>

11

<p>The thing is that Case is the only school that I was planning on getting mert money from. I had decided to go to case a few weeks ago. All my other schools I won't get money from. I realize that possibly it could be different because of EA but I looked on the case CC threads and everyone there has gotten a scholarship with similar or weaker stats. It makes no sense that I didn't at least get a smaller scholarship. Also, I really don't feel better knowing I'll get financial aid... I'm going to grad school after undergrad so I wanted to save a lot of money because I'll have tons of debt from grad. </p>

<p>Yeah my lower gpa probably hurt me, but my rank and schedule show that I was taking the hardest possible classes.</p>

<p>And I won't be attending Case without any merit scholarship... why would I when I can go to a better school for the same price... but I wanted to go to Case for a lower price...</p>

<p>I have not been invited to be a pres scholar, that either means I'm not or that they haven't sent out the letter yet.</p>

12

<p>And it's not technically "final", the adcom said on the phone that they would review it if I want but not to get any false hope because it's unlikely anything will change.</p>

<p>I can't really move on. Considering as how I just lost 80,000$ I feel I was qualified for for no apparent reason, and now I really have no options available.</p>

<p>The only other school I could get a scholarship for is OSU, which is extremely hard, and I don't really want to go there.</p>

13

<p>Do you not feel that you would qualify for need-based aid?</p>

14

<p>I probably would, but I would then qualify for it at every other school. And I'm not really able to go anywhere with just fin aid I feel because I will be going to grad school after and will be in huge debt from that. </p>

<p>I'm really just focused on merit aid right now and why I didn't receive any.</p>

15

<p>Also I would not be so confused if I got a SMALL scholarship, but I got NONE at all when everyone on the Case CC forum got scholarships, almost all the large ones.</p>

<p>I just don't get what happened.</p>

<p>For a scholarship system so based on stats, I don't understand why everyone else with lower or equal stats got the top scholarships while I didn't even get a lower scholarship with higher stats...</p>

<p>Also I want to know what I can do to get this reversed. Seeing as how I feel I can't go there without a scholarship, I really have nothing to lose now, so I'd like all possible suggestions.</p>

<p>And my best friends father got a kid with a 1310 into cornell last year (even though he works at case), he's a leading medical professor who has great influence and has told me he thinks he can get it reversed. But I'd like more help too because I'm not entirely confident in it.</p>

16

<p>Unless you have a full-ride merit aid package, you are going to have to apply for need-based financial aid and then pay something. Partial merit aid will just reduce the amount of need-based aid that you can possibly receive!</p>

<p>Lets say that a college has a COA of $44K/year, and your EFC is found to be $15K/year. If you get the $24K scholarship, then your NEED is $44 - 24 - 15 = $5K and they will probably give you a need-based finan aid package of $0 in grants and $5K in loans. If you don't get the scholarship, then your NEED is $44 - 15 = $29K and they will probably give you a need-based finan aid package of $20K in grants, $4K in job-help, and $5K in loans. They only shove the loans at you up to a point. (Nobody is going to loan huge amounts of money to a college student.)</p>

<p>Certainly pursue the merit aid. Money is good and having a bird in the hand early is better; but you are talking about being limited to only OSU if you can't get merit aid at Case.</p>

17

<p>Well my parents are divorced and my mom makes around $35-40k/year (she is not remarried). My father makes around that too but I think he contributes around $300/month in child support. I think my father has about $25k saved up total in my college fund, if it still exists, which I'm not too sure it does. I've saved up about $2.5k on my own from working. Our house is probably valued at about $125k but its on a mortgage. </p>

<p>So will not getting a scholarship have any effect of what I have to pay in the end?</p>

<p>Is case going to give me more fin aid than any other school?</p>

<p>And still, like you said, money is still money. So I still feel cheated, confused, and helpless right now.</p>

18

<p>Getting the merit aid would be good because then you have it as a guarantee. Finan aid packages between colleges can vary alot and there is no guarantee that they will even meet your need or what the grant/loan ratio will be. However, for people in your income bracket, it works pretty well. You should try to run your numbers thru one of the free EFC calculators on the web. I know collegeboard has one. You might try making some posts in the financial-aid forum on CC.</p>

<p>In calculating the EFC, your income and savings are taken at a higher percentage than your parent's income and savings. For this reason, you don't want money in your name. For divorced parents, the non-custodial parent is expected to contribute towards the EFC just as much if they were still married. The value of home and cars is not used towards the EFC. The number of children in college at the same time is considered. Both parents have to send copies of their IRS forms to the college.</p>

<p>Once 2006 tax information is available (starting with Jan 1st), you (your parents) go out and fill out the FAFSA online. It is a government form. The government will then calculate your EFC and send it to any colleges that you specify. Some of the more elite colleges will also request that you complete a PROFILE at the collegeboard site. The info in the FAFSA and PROFILE are pretty much identical. Once you are accepted, the college will then make a financial aid offer to you.</p>

<p>I might bring with up with Case. If you can, try not to take things personally. Just don't think that everything is over if you don't get the merit aid. It is entirely possible that the need-based aid will make the merit aid irrelevant.</p>

19

<p>If your divorced parents don't have any other assets that you failed to mention, then I do think you will probably qualify for need-based financial aid. Hopefully your father has your college money saved in an account in his name, not in your name. I also recommend logging onto the Estimated Family Contribution calculator (EFC) at: <a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/college/finance/efc/match.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princetonreview.com/college/finance/efc/match.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

20

<p>But this is all really besides the point...</p>

<p>I'd just like to know why I didn't get this scholarship when every case student, and prospective case student has said I should have. And then what to do to get the decision reversed.</p>