<p>For example, Alabama gives a full tuition scholarship for a 3.5 GPA and a 32 ACT (or corresponding SAT</p>
<p>Bama takes whatever the highest GPA is on the transcript and doesn’t convert UNLESS the school is using an odd system. </p>
<p>a student with a 3.2 UW, but has a 3.5 Weighted and the necessary scores, gets the money.</p>
<p>So is your school uses a weighted system where AP students end up with GPAs of 4.3 or 4.5, then that’s what Bama uses…Bama doesn’t recalculate. </p>
<p>Students who attend schools that don’t weight can get screwed if a higher GPA is needed for merit. If a student has a 3.4 unweighted, and the school won’t weigh the honors/AP, the student can lose out on tens of thousands of dollars. At Bama, if your school doesn’t weight, IF YOU can provide your GC with a weighted equivalent and have her write it on the transcript, then Bama will accept that and use it. There are a few parents on CC whose kids got their large merit that way. </p>
<p>However, some Texas schools use a 6.0 scale and those need to be converted. There have been a couple of incidents where the conversion wasn’t favorable, but with a phone call the conversion was fixed.</p>
<p>Thanks M2CK for the details on Bama - my daughter who is just arrived on campus last week (and absolutely loves it) “had it in gear” from freshman year on, so I didn’t have to get as involved in the nitty-gritty of the scholarships.</p>
<p>OHMomof2 - if your D likes Miami but is interested in OOS schools, have her look at Bama. Bama looks and feels like a larger Miami. Both have beautiful tree-lined campuses, a preponderance of red-brick Georgian style of architecture, active Greek systems, great Honors Colleges and generous scholarships. In addition, Bama throws in warm weather, Southern hospitality and great football! While Bama has about twice as many students, the campus is easy to navigate doesn’t seem as large as schools of comparable size.</p>
<p>Thanks! Right now she really wants to go northeast and/or be in a city. </p>
<p>Miami (and OSU) are the default good-student options at her HS so she isn’t too interested because “everyone from HS goes there”, and it’s so rural. She has a strong desire to go away. To be fair she hasn’t visited, and she definitely will. Bama is on the list because of the scholarship (and she will apply if her test scores get up to full tuition level) but she isn’t too interested in the south unless in Atlanta - we have family there - and she is OK with the idea of Emory. This may all be due to a preference for places she knows</p>
<p>It’s funny dealing with a young rising junior. Geography she has down, interests (math, science) she has down. Interest in prestige she has down. NOTHING else!</p>