Hi all,
Background: I was admitted for fall 2016. I have a 4.5 weighted 4.0 uw gpa. My m+cr SAT was a 1450.
Issue: My portal was updated with financial aid info last week and I was dismayed to find out that I had only received the provist scholarship when my stats qualify me for the presidential. Today I received my admittance packet in the mail congratulating me on receiving the presidential award. I am very confused as to which award I have revicieved. I called the financial aid office today but it is already closed (time difference between CA and PA whoops!) . I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else? Is it likely that I will get upgraded to the presidential scholarship?
Thanks!
It’s probably a clerical error. Is your financial aid letter available on the portal yet? It will also say on that which scholarship you have. It is probably presidential, I wouldn’t worry. Congrats!
@jnkam24
My FA letter is available. That is where it says I got the provist scholarship instead of the presidential. Thanks!
@Katecat27 your stats are presidential and your acceptance letter says presidential, it should be fine. Good luck.
I’m also a President’s Scholar (from California as well!) and I didn’t have this issue on TU Portal. On mine, it says I have to submit the FAFSA in order to receive any aid but since it’s a merit scholarship I don’t think I have to do that. I wasn’t planning on filing the FAFSA anyway, so I hope it isn’t an issue. For your situation, I don’t think it’s anything to be too concerned about. As long as you have the physical letter that says you’re a President’s Scholar, I’m sure you’ll be fine if any issues do come up!
@JPhilly99
Good to know I might not be the only OOS from CA! Where are you from?
Thanks! I’ll have to call tomorrow bc I missed the office hours for today. Hopefully all goes well.
They were really helpful when I called the admissions office about OOS orientation so I’m sure they can help. And I’m from San Diego, how about you? I haven’t committed to Temple yet, but I did go over to Philadelphia for Experience Temple Day on March 13th and I was very impressed. It’ll be between Temple, UCLA, and Berkeley (if I get it) for me, but Temple’s looking pretty good! @Katecat27
@JPhilly99
OOS orientation? I’m from OC. I’m sure SD will be hard to leave. I haven’t visited yet (wont bother if I don’t get presidential), but the programs look great. What’s your major?
I can’t imagine they will deny you the President’s scholarship under the circumstances you describe. Best of luck !
I called today and spent like an hour being passed back and fourth between departments. They corrected it though, so it was worth it! 
>:D<
Maybe I’ll be an Owl! :-bd
Update- My FA award still shows as provist. If it doesn’t change today should I call again tomorrow?
It seems like everything on TU Portal takes a while to be updated, so I’d just wait it out for a couple weeks honestly. If it isn’t fixed by then, try calling just to check up on the whole process. For the OOS orientation, apparently it’s held from August 23rd-24th, which coincides with move-in days (August 23rd, 24th, 25th). I’m assuming those dates are applicable to honors housing too, but I forgot to ask for clarification on that. My major is Biology, I’m a hopeful pre-med. I originally had my sights set on a UC but what Temple is offering might be too good to pass up. They really emphasized their focus on research which I thought was really neat, and if you’re also a science major they have a brand new Science and Education Research Center (lots of lecture halls, classrooms, and labs) so that was definitely a plus. And believe it or not, but I’m actually kind of tired of the weather here! I think a new city and new climate would be refreshing, but I doubt I’ll be saying that when it’s 25 degrees outside and snowing!
Let me know if you have any other questions about the campus or Philadelphia, I’ll do my best to help! @Katecat27
@JPhilly99
Ugh I’d kill to live in SD but I understand wanting a change. A new city could be a great experience. I’m definetly looking at the UCs too, but temple looks pretty good with the FA. I’m a buis/Econ major though. I’m glad I won’t have to book a flight just for orientation! The fly in four looks like a pretty good deal. What UCs are you thinking of?
I’ve never been to philly, so how much of a culture shock am I in for coming from SoCal?
Also, it was updated today:)
That’s good to hear! Honestly I was only in Philly for a couple days but if anything the people just seem a little more working-class and “grittier” than Southern Californians if that makes sense. Less focused on materialism/how they look and more about functionality and getting from point A to point B, which makes sense when the weather is 50 degrees out and blowing rain! But everyone I spoke to at Temple was super nice, they were all surprised to hear that I was from San Diego. Most of their students are from the East Coast, but apparently there are a handful of West Coasters. And just a heads up, Southwest and American Airlines generally have well-priced flights to Philly, with American running nonstop routes. Could be worth looking into their mileage rewards programs if you end up choosing Temple!
They did emphasize the fly-in-four initiative a lot, it definitely would make sense to sign up for it (although you probably wouldn’t really need it between full tuition coverage and priority registration for classes). I looked around the Fox School of Business, the building seemed very nice and centralized. There was a neat scrolling banner of the stock market updated in real-time, you’d probably think that’s cool.
I applied to Davis, Santa Barbara, LA, and Berkeley. I was accepted to the first three and I’ll hear back from Berkeley tomorrow. LA and Berkeley are really the only two that could sway me, I’m not crazy about SB’s reputation as a party school and Davis is a little too “small town” to me. Also I kind of just want to get out of SoCal in general so Berkeley seems like a nice fit (if I’m accepted). We’ll have to see though! It’ll be a tough decision. @Katecat27
@JPhilly99
I did Davis, SB, SD, R, & Cal. I got into the first four and still waiting on Cal tomorrow. I like SB, but not crazy about the party school thing. R & D gave A+ FA so I’m considering them. haven’t visited Davis yet.
Glad to hear Fox looks good. That actually does sound really cool, like our own mini NYSE.
Tbh I’m nervous about the weather. I’ve never seen snow actually falling from the sky so I’m not sure how I’ll deal. I live in flip flops and shorts. North cal looks good for a change but not extreme. Temple is looking great though. It will be a hard decision. May 1st is coming so fast.
@Katecat27
Congrats on all your acceptances! Davis was never high on the list for me so I didn’t bother visiting, but I’ve heard their campus is very green and has some nice, mature trees. The FA definitely makes it worth checking out. I ended up getting rejected from Berkeley, but honestly choosing between Temple, UCLA, and Berkeley would be impossible. At least it’s just between UCLA and Temple; it’s still so hard though! Hopefully Bruin Day will help me make a decision.
I’ve never seen snow falling from the sky either, but I don’t think it would be too hard to adjust as long as you buy adequate clothing and limit your time outdoors. Plus everyone will be inside studying anyway! I’m sure the winters in Philly feel long, but if anything it might help students focus on their studies rather than enjoying the weather.
@Katecat27 @JPhilly99 Hey I’m also from SoCal (north SD county)! I attended Experience Temple on 3/13 and it’s really my top choice right now–the full tuition scholarship and honors perks really make it tempting. I got into bioengineering, and I plan to be on the premed track.
That’s funny, we were there on the same day! We might’ve even been on the same flight! I’m from east county (El Cajon area) and also plan to be on the pre-med track with a Biology major (and hopefully a Spanish minor). I agree, having tuition covered and gaining the benefits of the honors program is extremely tempting. If Bruin Day doesn’t completely persuade me, I’ll definitely end up at Temple. Do you have any reservations about Temple or are you pretty set on going there at this point? @danceologist
@danceologist
@JPhilly99
Clad I won’t be the only Californian! I’m still trying to schedule a visit (my job doesn’t want to give me any days off :-w ) but I like what I’ve heard about it so far. They’ve called me twice in the last week asking if I have any questions. I know it’s a big school, but I appreciate that they have taken the time to personally call. I’ll be visiting Davis, Berkeley and SB this week, but I’m definetly keeping my eyes on temple. I did ask the one who called today if they had many OOS students. She said they did but mainly from the east coast. She was from Illinois