<p>I know according to the website I have to have an A gpa (weighted?) and at least a 2250 SAT in order to be considered. However, I still have a few questions.</p>
<p>What is an A gpa converted to the 100% system?
Is rank at all a factor? Will ranking outside of the top 10% disqualify me?
How much will an outstanding essay help me?
Is there a specific reason as to why so many great candidates have been denied?</p>
<p>I'm only wondering because a lot of people who I'd think would have been more than worthy of the scholarship have been denied. It's very worrying to see all the high stat applicants here on CC getting scholarships for a measly 3500 at what is supposed to be a cheap in-state school.</p>
<p>A lot of good students apply to Rutgers. I think it helps if you get your application in as early as possible. I also think that, depending on what school you are applying to, parameters may vary a bit.</p>
<p>Selection Criteria</p>
<p>Rutgers scholarships are competitive awards. There is no set of numbers that will guarantee a scholarship or scholarship amount. Most past scholarship awardees were in the top 10% of their high school graduating class, with many in the top 5%; most had A or A- high school grade-point averages, and most had combined SATs of at least 1950 or 30 ACT or higher. New Jersey and out-of-state students are eligible.</p>
<p>The amount of scholarship also depends on the school within Rutgers, as each has a certain pot of money to award. Based on her stats, we thought D1s award was on the small side, however we were pleasantly surprised with a letter over the summer awarding her a bit more. We think they were a bit conservative in the initial award phase and then based on actual acceptances had a bit more to hand out and re-looked at all candidates.</p>
<p>A son of my friend went to Rutgers with Presidential Scholarship, honor college, etc., most (if not all) of his classmates at honor classes were Ivy admitted but chose Rutgers for various reasons; Valedictorian or Salutatorian from their high school is a norm, so the ranking is definitely counted, they are all high calibers young men and women; I think the SAT 1950 is on the low side of criteria unless you are an URM, he had 2340+ and 2nd highest GPA at his high school. </p>
<p>For the last couple of years, Rutgers has raised the bar for Presidential (although they may not have updated their website info), purely for increased competition of highly qualified pool of applicants, as a matter of fact, it happened in all State Universities.</p>
<p>I think an outstanding essay can definitely help. I mean, they don’t require letters of recommendation, so that’s really the one way you can make yourself stand out in the applicant pool.</p>
<p>4.0 = 100%
3.7 I think is what they considered an A-</p>
<p>My school doesn’t rank, but I got Presidential this year.</p>
<p>The amount of scholarship also depends on the school within Rutgers, as each has a certain pot of money to award. Based on her stats, we thought D1s award was on the small side, however we were pleasantly surprised with a letter over the summer awarding her a bit more. We think they were a bit conservative in the initial award phase and then based on actual acceptances had a bit more to hand out and re-looked at all candidates.</p>
<p>re: Rutgers Presidential. I have a Rutgers’ handout from last December here. I validated this information in person at a college fair with an admissions person. She was very cut and dried. Rutgers works on numbers only for the Presidential Scholarship. They don’t consider class rank because most people don’t know their class rank and/or schools haven’t done them by application time. They don’t care about recommendation letters, won’t even read them. They don’t care about your essay either. Strictly numbers.</p>
<p>It says “minimum 2250 combined SAT or an ACT score of 35, AND an A grade point average.” Not an A-, an A, which she said means 4.0. For weighted, they use their own weighting system (they count some classes and not others), so you can’t predict how it will be calculated.</p>
<p>I tried working with newspaper numbers from last year. It looks like less than 1% of the entering class got Presidentials. (I think the numbers were about 117 awards for an entering class of about 10,000.) If you meet the criteria, they have an unlimited number of awards. </p>
<p>Things have changed. The ACT requirement, for example, is higher than last year. I think it was 34, not 35. It used to be relatively easy to get a Presidential. I have 2 relatives that got them over the past 10 years; not anymore.</p>
<p>If you need free tuition in NJ, I believe the only option other than the Presidential, is a community college. For that, I think you have to be in the top 20%. </p>
<p>BTW: Anyone now a junior might want to consider dropping any AP or honors class (or any class, for that matter) in which they think they might not get an A/A+. A-s and B+s in honors/AP math have cost my D the scholarship.</p>
<p>It’s so frustrating, all the tricks you need to consider in this game.</p>
<p>Some day I’m going to start a thread called “If I’d only known…” to help parents of sophomores and juniors. Or is it already here somewhere?</p>
<p>Step one would be “if you have emergency funds sitting in a bank account, get them into a retirement account, pronto.”</p>
<p>Hey guys!
I got the Presidential Scholarship at all 3 Rutgers campuses (New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden).
It is a WONDERFUL scholarship, but, as the most prestigious scholarship Rutgers gives, it is not easy to earn.
If you want a good chance at earning this scholarship you must have:
–At least a 2250 SAT score in ONE TEST(although I understand that if you want the scholarship at NB campus, it may have to be even higher, while you can get away with a lower score for the Camden/Newark campuses).
–Top 5% of your graduating class. This is a MUST.
–Live in New Jersey.</p>
<p>The scholarship is great though. My letter says that I get Honors College, guaranteed honors housing each year, and my scholarship is usable for 4 years as long as my GPA stays about 3.0. From what I have heard, a LOT of people choose this scholarship over Ivy League schools. I myself am between Rutgers/UPITT (even though I was accepted to Duke, Northwestern, and Yale) because their scholarship offers have been so generous. I also hear that the Honors program at Rutgers is AMAZING. </p>
<p>Also know that Rutgers has lesser scholarships for NJ residents. They’re still a great way to help pay for school. I know Rutgers is a great school, and you will have a great time here. </p>
<p>If you don’t have all of these and you’re stuck without financial aid the best way to go is the NJ STARS program. If you’re in the top 20% of your class (and I think there is a certain SAT requirement too, but you can look that up) you can go to any NJ community college for free. Remember, you can always go to a Community College for 2 years and transfer to a better school. This way you’ll be saving a lot of money!</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that the essay is required to be considered for any scholarship at Rutgers, and you must apply by the deadline (think it was Dec 1 this year). Each school will have their own parameters, and the cutoffs will depend on the quality of students applying. As people have posted here many times, a 2250 is not an absolute cutoff for Presidential.</p>
<p>Actually, something interesting happened to me with the cut-off for the application.
I had submitted my original application online mid-November, but apparently only to Newark/Camden campuses (i got the presidential scholarship there as well).
When I found out that I hadn’t applied for NB campus, I reapplied to Rutgers NB on 3/28/2012. I got accepted to Rutgers NB on 4/2/2012 and I only got the scholarship yesterday! Sooo, this year they may actually be flexible with the cutoff.</p>
<p>msshristi which schools did you apply to, exactly? Looks like you applied to SAS on all campuses? I am surprised you would get a Presidential after the deadline, but I suppose you initially applied on time.</p>
<p>I applied to Rutgers Newark SAS and Rutgers Camden SAS initially. They were just my back up schools since I really wanted to go to Brown/Duke.
But since I got accepted to Brown/Duke, I realized how deeply I will be in debt so I decided to choose a school where I got a full scholarship. Since I had NO INTENTION of going to Camden/Newark (my mom forced me to apply), I immediately reapplied to New Brunswick SAS.
I’m actually pretty surprised I got a Presidential in April, too. Just shows that everything’s worth a shot.</p>
<p>If I may ask, what is your major? My D has several friends who have gotten great scholarships at great schools. Other comparable students have not. The catch seems to be scholarships in general are going more to engineering applicants. I was wondering if you’re engineering too.</p>
<p>As for the criteria I put down in the earlier post, it is in writing in Rutgers’ own pamplet, “Financing Your Education” for this year. I talked to Jaclyn Rodriguez in November. She said you had to apply by Dec.1. Again, she, and the pamplet said “minimum 2250 combined SAT, etc.”</p>
<p>I hope they have loosened the requirements. I’ve heard of students getting additional unexpected scholarships at Rutgers after they were admitted. I also know the governor has repeatedly said it is a state priority to keep smart people in New Jersey, so maybe they have improved the offers. Maybe because mssrichti had already been accepted at top schools, he had leverage and they increased the offer to him. It’s not clear if he told them.</p>
<p>My point is don’t get your hopes up too high, or assume you don’t have to have a backup plan. And good luck to everyone.</p>