@TheCaptain67 Sorry, I took a reread of your comment regarding special consideration at Mercer. I should have clarified myself better, so my apologies. What I meant to say is that students who were eventually going to be given full-tuition or higher awards were obviously not getting special consideration at the competition, I believe (based on what I saw) that when scholarships were awarded, there were a certain group of students that were being specifically looked at by admissions (students with higher GPA’s and test scores). So I believe that even before the competition, these were the students who were up in the running for these scholarships (but the students wouldn’t be aware). For example, two students competing, one with a 4.0 and 2200+ SAT for example, and a student with a 3.5 and 1850 SAT (these are not my stats), wouldn’t be the same in the competition. The one with the higher stats would be up for the higher scholarship awards. I was informed that the Presidential Scholarship was an all-equal competition, but this just didn’t seem to be true. I say this because when I was at the competition, I found out that Stamps scholars were already being interviewed. Normally, the top students from the competition (based on the interviews), would advance to the Stamps scholarship competition. This wasn’t the case. Before my interview had even started, some select students were already interviewing for Stamps.
So basically, what I mean to say here is that there was no “special” consideration for any student at the competition, but the interviews carried very little weight. Your comment regarding Mercer competing with students on the Zell-Miller Scholarships makes sense in this regard.
Additionally, I would add that Mercer’s incoming class size is something like 900. It can be inferred that majority of the students will have attended either the Presidential Scholarship competition, or the Heritage Scholarship competition.
Finally, I would still say that Mercer is a great institution. These types of practices are not something that should be fully surprising, since of course, Mercer wants a stronger incoming class, in a state with a lot of competition for good students. I think Mercer is a great school, but I wouldn’t attend the competition again if I could go back. I’m glad for all the PS winners nevertheless, and wish you and any other student looking to attend Mercer all the best.
I believe (based on what I saw) that when scholarships were awarded, there were a certain
group of students that were being specifically looked at by admissions (students with higher
GPA’s and test scores). So I believe that even before the competition, these were the students
who were up in the running for these scholarships (but the students wouldn’t be aware)
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Based on the 15 minute interview, I would tend to agree with your thoughts on this.
[QUOTE=""]
Mercer’s incoming class size is something like 900. It can be inferred that majority of the
students will have attended either the Presidential Scholarship competition
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I don’t really think it is a majority. There were at least 7 kids from my daughter’s high school that went to Scholarship weekend, and out of the 7 only 2 enrolled. My daughter’s best friend ended up turning down the Presidential Scholarship to go to college up north in CT (and she did not receive any equivalent scholarship from the school she went to).
Interesting points for sure. Maybe it can be said that a significant portion of students of Mercer have attended some competition though. Anyways, I will most likely not be attending Mercer, but hope that these discussions can somewhat help in the future.
Another question…If you don’t get the Presidential Scholarship at Mercer, do you think a student still has a chance to hear from Mercer’s GAP for Medical School? If they do hear, do you think it is like the Presidential Scholars weekend where you are just one of so , so many that you don’t stand a chance as they are really focusing on the ones that received the Presidential Scholarship? Thanks
@crazysocks72 What I’ll say here is that from the website, 40 students are invited to interview. I highly doubt that 40 Presidential Scholarship winners are all Pre-Med or wanting to go the GAP Program. Also, from the website:
Applicants invited to an interview will be notified by e-mail by 5:00 PM ET Dec 24, 2015.
I guess that the best answer will come tomorrow, and I hope all goes well crazysocks72.
Has anyone heard if they made the cut for the next round for the Stamps Scholarship at Mercer? I thought the next interview was to be held at the end of January which is right around the corner.
I haven’t heard about it either @crazysocks72 I don’t know if that means I haven’t moved on or they are just running behind… I hope to hear back soon though!
Got a letter today from Mercer! I am a little confused by it but it doesn’t look as though I’m out of the competition… Did anyone else receive the same letter? Do you understand what it means?
My daughter will graduate in 2017. She has a 3.4/3.6 weighted GPA and a 31 ACT, hoping to get that to 32. But is this enough to even bother with going to the Mercer Presidential interview event? Has anyone gotten one with these similar stats. She doesn’t have a ton of extracurricular either. She was invited but it’s out of state so we’d have to do a lot to make the trip and wonder if she has any shot at it with her stats?
Hey there, I was also invited to the scholarship competition. While I do not think that I will be able to receive the top prize of the presidential scholarship. I do believe that I will be able to raise my base scholarship up a couple of thousand dollars. If your daughter is highly considering the school, then I recommend that she attends.
From your daughters GPA - it probably won’t be worth it unfortunately. While you’d likely mostly get an increase, you still would be paying a hefty tuition price tag. My guess is that she’ll be able to take a 24K Scholarship max. My guess is that with room/board/tuition at an estimated price of say, 48K, by Mercer’s Scholarship alone, you will still need to be paying 20-25K per year.
I had similar stats for the record - a slightly higher GPA and a close ACT score.
I do not recommend the Scholarship competition if the GPA is under 3.9 and the ACT is under a 33. It’s not really a big honor to attend, there are just so, so many people there competing that you almost feel that Mercer invited their whole applicant pool. It really feels bad. Mercer tries very hard and I appreciate that, but this scholarship competition is just something that I almost feel that I got tricked into going to. I wouldn’t recommend it very much.
So I attended last year - make sure to read my comments on how it was (which is in this thread) so you’re at least mentally prepared. If you’ve made your decision to go forward - I wish you the best and a great experience.
My daughter is currently a freshman at Mercer and attended the Presidential Scholarship competition last December. She did not receive the Presidential Scholarship, but she was able to raise her merit award by several thousand dollars by attending. She was also able to get an additional $5200 from the Zell Miller scholarship (private college students get a fraction of HOPE scholarship money compared to public college students) and Georgia Private School tuition equalization grant. Of course, these would only be available to in-state students, but stacked with her merit award, it made it an affordable option for our family. I do not think it is worth it to attend the Friday night welcome ceremony if you attend the weekend, unless you live far enough away that a hotel stay makes sense. Good luck to those competing this year. My daughter absolutely loves her Mercer experience so far.
Are there any last minute tips anyone has? Also, I was wondering if anyone could say how many interviewers there will be and the kinds of questions they ask. Thanks!
Did anyone else here do the competition this year? My D went and we are awaiting notification of the results (which will hopefully arrive mid-Jan).
How was your experience with the interview?
Stats?
@GAcollegemom6 I did. My counselor told me we would find out before Christmas. My interview went well. They seemed to like me and overall it felt good.
I hope to hear back soon though!