<p>Just wondering what the deal is with these. My d has two friends that got these (full ride to great schools). One is hispanic middle-class, the other wealthy and caucasian. Neither has great grades or test scores (but average to above average). Both were involved in ec's at their schools, but nothing spectacular. I looked at the Posse website, and I couldn't really figure out what the deal is. Posse's goal seemed to be to find kids who wouldn't normally apply to competitive schools, then give them full scholarships to go to these schools and provide them with moral support. I'm still scratching my head. Why should someone who is not financially disadvantaged, has grown up without any obstacles to success, and who has average achievement, be given a full ride to a great school? I must be missing something here. Please enlighten me!</p>
<p>This might give you an idea of what their main objective is in clearer terms and what they expect from the students in return.</p>
<p>[Posse</a> Foundation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Foundation]Posse”>Posse Foundation - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>And actually not a full ride. It’s full tuition.</p>
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<p>You probably are. They likely have qualities or achievements of which you simply are not aware.</p>
<p>I was a posse finalist this year, so I might be able to shed some light.
The Posse foundation made it pretty clear: they were looking for future leaders. When the winners are selected, they go into an 8-month training program, where posse staff works with them on how to succeed in college, how to land internships, etc. While in college, they meet with a staff member, mentoring them along the way. This leads to their really high graduation rate of posse winners.</p>
<p>I can enlighten you,nova2nola. My son is a Posse Scholar from Los Angeles attending the University of Wisconsin in Madison. It is a very competitive scholarship and not easy to be selected as a Posse Scholar. When he was applying he went through 4 rounds of interviews/exercises before finally being selected. He had a 4.0 GPA UW and a class rank of 10 out of maybe over 500 students in his high school class. His ACT composite score was 32. Posse believes in selecting students that have attributes and qualities that do not show up on a normal application. They select about 10 students per Posse to attend a particular institution, It is a full ride for tuition but they need to pay for every thing else. During their senior year, each Posse Scholar attends weekly two hour training sessions with Posse staff from January until late August, right before they begin their freshmen year. They cannot miss any of these meetings even for vacations. Once they reach their chosen institution they also attend weekly meetings with a Posse Mentor for the first two years of college. What the Posse organization is looking for primarily are those students who are academically doing well but also ones who they can see potential for leadership opportunities on campus. They provide the support and activities to allow these student to succeed on their prospective campuses and the students do very well. My son did not need the Posse Scholarship to get into college, nor did he need it to succeed, but it has been a wonderful organization to be associated with. Look up their website at possefoundation.org and see all of the wonderful things they have accomplished and what their scholars have accomplished. </p>