<p>Penn State, it does make a difference and if you wait till the last minute, you can end up in a quad just due to the date of your deposit.</p>
<p>I realize that. But for families where $24k in scholarship money can make a difference, I predict that next fall many accepted students will wait til Nov/Dec timeframe to deposit in hopes of getting one of these offers. The risk of getting stuck with a less desirable dorm situation is a risk many will take to save that much money. Besides, waiting til Nov/Dec to deposit will still be before many who haven’t yet been accepted. </p>
<p>People are going to try to “nail down” when these offers were sent out and then deposit after they’ve determined that their child won’t get one. </p>
<p>For those who will pay any price, they won’t choose to wait.</p>
<p>My point was that this scholarship will not be offered to students next year. PSU Live clearly states “About $12 million in scholarships will be awarded this year. The remaining funds will be reserved for renewing the scholarships for subsequent years based on the student’s academic achievement.” ([Penn</a> State Live - Penn State announces new scholarship awards](<a href=“http://live.psu.edu/story/63228]Penn”>http://live.psu.edu/story/63228))</p>
<p>With the expenses brought on by the scandal ($26M in legal and PR, $60M for the NCAA and the victim’s lawsuits yet to come) I’d be very surprised if there was another scholarship of this size in the near future. The majority of Penn State’s merit scholarships are awarded to students who are currently enrolled and are being rewarded for stellar performance.</p>
<p>1moremome, I did not know that Penn State has more than the usual not so many merit awards for upperclassmen. At most colleges, those awards are small and few students get them, with few exceptions for some special departmental grants. Is it so that “the majority of Penn State’s merit scholarships are awarded to students who are currently enrolled anda re being rewarded for stellar performance”? I’ve not heard anything about this, and I know many, many top Penn State graduates including those who have gone on to top graduate/professional programs. Not a one got more than the Honors college award when first applying.</p>
<p>Yes, I am talking about departmental grants and scholarships. I would not say that they are more than the merit awards at other schools, just that they are more than the merit awards for incoming freshman, which, beyond the SHC scholarships, have been few and far between. I’d be surprised if this way of doing things changed in the near future; they just don’t have the budget for it (and it seems that things can only get worse in the near future, considering the scandal and the attitude of the current governor).</p>
<p>*My point was that this scholarship will not be offered to students next year. *</p>
<p>And, I think parents will think…hmm…this year’s scholarship offers seem to have “come out of the blue”, so maybe next year if apps are down, the school will come up with another offer.</p>
<p>Why would anyone be certain that future offers won’t happen in a similar way?</p>
<p>just that they are more than the merit awards for incoming freshman, which, beyond the SHC scholarships, have been few and far between.</p>
<p>Right. Which is why this year’s offers were such a surprise to families. Don’t know why that poster a page or so back was wondering why people thought that the SHC merit scholarships were essentially the only merit offers in the past for frosh.</p>
<p>Penn State does not have much in the way of merit awards for incoming freshman. That is very clear on their financial aid and merit award pages on their web site. I did not know that there was much in merit money in the future, because I never heard anything about anyone getting any from there. Can;t find any info about them on the website either. Doesn’t mean there are not any, however. My son got a very nice grant his junior year at his little LAC, and there is no info on that on his web site either. You can’t depend on these things anyways. Who knows how one’s student will be doing at college? ALso who knows if the marks for the awards will be given and what department offers them? Nice that the possibilitiy exist, however, for all Penn state students.</p>
<p>mom2, I don’t know that waiting to see what comes “out of the blue” is going to change the mind of someone who would attend anyway. Ultimately, a few might end up being disappointed and end up going elsewhere but for most that can afford it and have PSU as their first choice they are still going to attend. The ones who waited because they couldn’t afford it still won’t be able to afford it.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, this is the first year PSU has had more international undergrads (full pay @ OOS) than grad students. I would not be surprised to see PSU putting more effort and money into recruiting internationally (and they would not be the first) as a way to make up for a slide in domestic applicants. And the quality of these students is very high.</p>
<p>You are right, cptofthehouse, the merit awards for current students can only be considered “gravy”.</p>
<p>mom2, I don’t know that waiting to see what comes “out of the blue” is going to change the mind of someone who would attend anyway</p>
<p>And that’s why I said that those who are willing to full pay won’t care. I said that those who have financial concerns may care and therefore may delay in hopes of getting an offer.</p>
<p>There are 1800 students in SHC out of about 38,000 undergrads; that would make them just under 4.7% of the student body. If you excluded those scholarships and considered only other merit money wouldn’t there be twice as many students in the upper classes receiving merit aid as freshman? (Math is not my forte, I admit.)</p>
<p>mom2, But I don’t see what difference delaying a decision makes. For PSU isn’t it the same if you commit in January or commit in May?</p>
<p>mom2, But I don’t see what difference delaying a decision makes. For PSU isn’t it the same if you commit in January or commit in May?</p>
<p>The difference seems to be with merit awards. Those who didn’t get the merit were the ones who deposited early. Those who still haven’t deposited (still deciding) have gotten these surprise merit awards.</p>
<p>Do we know for sure that the scholarship is being offered only to those who have NOT sent in a decision? The sampling here is really too small to make that conclusion, and the “commitment” is not binding, so I am not convinced that is a criteron. Perhaps someone can call and ask if that is a factor. </p>
<p>The merit awards to upperclassmen who have achieved admirably would surely not exclude those in SHC, would they? Also, those awards would include those many students transferring in from satellite campuses as upper classment–I know students who have gotten those, reducing what is left for those who started at UP from the get go.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse, I asked that very question two pages ago. (Regarding the"commitment", if I remember correctly, even the deposit is refundable. A good number of students deposit and then do not attend. The university is aware of this, I’m sure.)</p>
<p>mom2, I understand that people think that. I was referring to this comment–</p>
<p>As for the PSU deal…next year it’s going to be interesting. the word is getting out that you shouldn’t deposit early. So, next year, people will sit back on their heels waiting to see if any of these $6k or so offers come in.-</p>
<p>I don’t see what difference delayed decisions make to PSU, whether a student “commits” in November or sits back and waits till May. If their decision is going to be based on aid, that is fine. But as long as they commit by the deadline, the outcome is the same.</p>
<p>Spoke with an admissions counselor about this. Claimed the offers were not just based on stats, but “other” factors that could not be shared. </p>
<p>It was also made clear that once the student was offered admission, if he or she had not received the scholarship offer, there would be no future offers. In other words, the decision was made at the time of the admission offer unrelated to submitting a deposit.</p>
<p>maggiedog, your statement that admissions made clear that the scholarship offers come only when admission is offered directly contradicts the situations cited by the OP and carly135 described in the first few pages of this thread.</p>
<p>I, too, doubt the truthfulness of what Maggiedog was told.</p>
<p>I think that when PSU realized that apps were down, they came up with these offers. Yes, maybe at that point, many had already accepted/deposited, so no need to offer those kids anything. However, the school likely looked over the more recent apps of the students who hadn’t yet been accepted, and threw in some merit with some of the acceptances. </p>
<p>I think PSU has gotten some angry calls from people so they’ve come up with this response.</p>
<p>I believe the scholarships came into existance in December or thereabouts and those students accepted as of that date were awarded then, even though their packages were already sent out. From that point forward, the scholarship awards may be included in the acceptance packages. That is what I get from this, anyways. It doesn’t make sense that the scholarships exclude those who have sent in their deposits as they are not binding and it is done as a matter of course. I think it was just the way it worked out for some people on this board and this is just a tiny portion of those awarded scholarships.</p>
<p>I do hope PSU does continue such a program My son has been interested in the school and a merit award would be nice. Penn State has always lagged behind Pitt in terms of merit money. This is a very nice development.</p>
<p>The scholarships don’t come with the acceptance letter but a week or so later. I think the decision to award the scholarship is made with the acceptance decision which would explain why those who were accepted prior to the scholarship’s existence aren’t receiving awards.</p>
<p>My child was accepted the second week of November and received the Provost letter the 14th of December, the same day PSU made the press release. My friends’ child was accepted a week earlier than mine and their numbers, ECs and stats are comparable. They, however sent their deposit in before the Provost announcement. No offer for them. Who knows what criteria PSU is looking for in an applicant, but based on anecdotal evidence on this thread; those who had committed already are not being considered. True, it is a small sample size but no one has come forward to say that they received an offer after ED, which I find telling.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to bash PSU, to the contrary, I like PSU and am grateful for the financial help and recognition of my child’s hard work in HS. I just hope those that deposited early aren’t being penalized.</p>