<p>Okay, so I'm a little confused about something here and just needed some clarification. I could be completely wrong, but this seems odd. Here's the deal: I applied to St. Mary's as a safety and was accepted within a week and a half of submitting my application with an $11,000 a year Honors at Entrance Scholarship.
I'm confused, however, because I assumed I would also receive the Presidential Scholars Scholarship. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I'm a competitive student, and the average GPA for Freshman for last year's entering freshman was a 3.56, and the average CR+M SAT scores was an 1120. I emailed the admissions office and was told that while my accomplishments were notable and my grades and scores above average, only the top 7% of the admitted class receives Presidential Scholars Scholarships, and I fell outside of that range. I have a 3.9 UW GPA, 4.0 W, and a 1300 CR+M SAT score. Does anyone else find this a little odd given St. Mary's average GPA/test scores for freshman?
Sorry if this sounds like a case of sour grapes. It's really not. I'm just thoroughly confused because the admissions data on St. Mary's website doesn't match up with what I was told by the admissions office. If roughly 400 students are admitted for each class, and 7% of them have higher/better test scores and GPA's than mine, at least SOME of the data has to be wrong, right?
Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I received an Honors at Entrance scholarship from Saint Mary’s too, but my amount was $13,000 per year. You ought to check to see if you got this scholarship or some other. They seem to expect really really high SAT scores for their Presidential.</p>
<p>The Presidential Scholars Scholarship (PS) is very competitive and students are recognized as candidates in their admissions letter then are required to interview for the additional funding ($11,000) on top of the $13,000 that is awarded with the Honors at Entrance Scholarship.</p>
<p>With that said, candidates are usually in the top 5% of the application pool regarding their GPA and standardized scores with additional factors such as academic rigor and extracurricular involvement considered. As pointed out on the website, the PS scholarship candidates usually have around a 3.8 GPA with equally competitive test scores ([Scholarships</a> | Saint Mary’s College](<a href=“Scholarships | Saint Mary's College”>Scholarships | Saint Mary's College))</p>
<p>I hope that sheds some light and helps a bit with this situation.</p>
<p>@SamuelTaylor: You are correct, it is $13,000 a year. I got the amount confused with the Presidential Scholars Scholarship. Whoops! :)</p>
<p>I suppose the dealbreaker here was probably my test scores: only 30 ACT/2100 SAT, so I guess that’s why, even though I’ve taken 9 AP classes, am the editor in chief of my school newspaper, a 4 year varsity athlete, NMS commended, etc. Maybe the FAFSA will come through for me in this situation!
Thanks everyone for your help! :)</p>
I know this is from about 3 years ago, but just in case anyone else is doing research on St. Mary’s scholarships like I am, I’ll add my info to this thread. (It is also a backup for me). With my admission, I received the Presidential Scholarship (without an interview unlike what @DamienF mentioned). I’m not sure it was the test scores that hindered you since I got a 31 ACT/2010 SAT (though they may have considered the public school I come from). However, my unweighted GPA is 4.0 and my weighted GPA is 4.49. I’ve taken 7 AP classes and am going to have taken a total of 9 AP Exams. I’m also rank 1 in my class.
I got, “we are pleased to offer you a Presidential Scholarship in light of your noteworthy accomplishments. This merit award is equal to $24,000 per year and is renewable for your following three years of full time study at Saint Mary’s”
do I need to interview? I am really confused by the postings in this group