<p>I was invited to interview for the Presidential Scholarship weekend in February. I am from out of state and this will be my first interview like this. Can someone please tell me if there is an "unofficial dress code"? I am a female.
Thanks!</p>
<p>First off, congratulations! Secondly, Presidential Scholars weekend is a pretty big deal for prospective students at High Point University, and the suggested dress attire is definitely business formal. Usually, boys wear suits and the girls wear pant suits or an appropriate skirt/top, with appropriate shoes. Think of it as you would a job interview… dress like you would dress at a job interview, and I would recommend even bringing some of your work/projects (if applicable) and maybe even a few copies of your resume. It could never hurt to be over-prepared. Most importantly, DO NOT be nervous. Seriously, do not be nervous…you were invited for a reason! It is an incredible weekend, filled with tons of opportunity, I hope you enjoy it…get excited!</p>
<p>Thanks PP - and what about for the reception on Friday night? My parents are wondering as well for themselves. - can you let us know?</p>
<p>Congratulations! May I ask when you received your letter?</p>
<p>GotCurls, for the Friday reception, most people stick to that Business Professional attire. However, a lot of parents do dress more Business Casual, so I’d say a happy medium between the two! Whatever you decide, make sure you’re all comfortable…it’s supposed to be an enjoyable weekend!</p>
<p>DB13 I received my letter a little over a week ago. I forget the actual date, but it was sometime right around Christmas.</p>
<p>PP - thanks so much for your help!</p>
<p>GotCurls: Congrats! Welcome to the High Point University family! You will do superb here on Presidential Scholarship weekend!!</p>
<p>Thanks Shootingstars15!</p>
<p>Directing this post to folks who have attended the scholarship weekend in the past. I will be attending with my daughter this year and was wondering which of the breakout sessions are most beneficial. For example I see that the Honors Program overview and Financial Planning sessions are at the same time. I am very interested in hearing about the Honors Program but am afraid I may be missing something from the financial presentation. Also does anyone know what is covered in the “Student Development Programs and Services” presentation vs. the “Computer Programs and Technology” presentation. Appreciate any feedback you all may provide.</p>
<p>Does anyone know why the 6 year grad rates are so low at HPU? Its around 50%. Student loan default rate is pretty high too. And the little chart on the site with info about how many people get these presidential scholarships is empty so does anyone know how many of these are big as in over $20k and are they guaranteed for all four years assuming a GPA requirement is met? How about the smaller ones of $10k or so? How many of those? Trying to figure out how much might have to be borrowed with a PLUS loan by the parent to fill the gap since there is no institutional aid beyond the $5500 Stafford loans on the Net Price Calculator for me unless I win a Presidential scholarship.</p>
<p>We received our scholarship offer on Friday, 3/8. Lovely presentation, but it was far less than that which was delineated as typical in the parameters in the descriptions of the various levels of awards. These descriptions have been on the website for the last 6 months and now they are suddenly -poof, no longer there. The award amount was very disappointing since we love High Point and this turn of events will make it difficult to swing financially. I find it curious that the descriptions of the various levels and the associated “typical” GPA and test scores are now not available to be viewed. My son exceeded the GPA and scores of the typical minimum $12,000 award and was just shy in scores for the $20,000 award. I figured the higher award was a long shot, but based on past history of what I’ve read I thought the lower award was a good bet. I can’t remember the names of the associated levels and can’t refresh my memory because the info is no longer on the site. I wonder if anyone else fell this far short. I mean you can’t get much better than a 4.0 unweighted from a rigorous private prep school and in the 92nd percentile in the S.A.T. Very affable young man who I’m sure interviewed well, sports, clubs, church, service- so I’m very confused. This was disheartening. I wonder if there is less funds to distribute this year than previous years. And I wonder if one can inquire where the candidate fell short from the “typical” parameters… Anyone else have a similar experience this year (Feb, 2013)? Or is it the old demand/supply situation? Lots of folks are paying sticker price to attend High Point. We have lots of very generous awards on the table from other well regarded universities, but of course High Point is the hot lick right now and I’m sure they know that they don’t need to be as generous. Hate to be a skeptic but it feels this way. BTW- It was a lovely weekend and thy put on the dog, but I sort of feel duped on some level. Wonder what others are feeling at this point…???</p>
<p>From what I am hearing from other parents at different schools, go back and ask them to reconsider. It is like a sales process, let them know what you have been offered at the other schools and see if they will increase their award. Sometimes it works. One of my friends had to fax one school the other’s award sheet for them to meet or beat the other school’s offer. Once the school was able to confirm the amount, they beat it. High Point’s endowment isn’t very big, so they can’t be as generous as some others.</p>
<p>Did anyone call to see what happened to the chart about presidential scholarships?</p>
<p>First off, thanks MandyMD for the message. I tried to respond but apparently I don’t have enough posts to allow me to do so. But your response was helpful and appreciated. .<br>
Since I posted I found the printed literature given to us from the Scholarship Weekend. My memory was spot on. Son’s award was well below associated stats/award amounts. I would have to imagine he is not the only one in this boat and that is why the information was taken off the website. Also, I was well aware that HP isn’t as generous as perhaps some other schools. I guess we were just looking for the amount that they themselves had on their website for the Pres. Scholarhsip levels. Also, Dr. Quebin made it clear in his address to the parents at Pres scholar weekend, that don’t bother trying to negotiate using offers from other schools; they aren’t interested in comparing. And “cost” isn’t everything according to him, when you consider the “extraordinary” nature of their school. His words. Not mine. While I get his meaning, I’m not interested in getting in over our heads financially. I still plan on calling to inquire, but don’t expect anything to come of it. They fill their class every year with plenty of people willing to pay sticker price.</p>
<p>Maybe that is why less than 80% of freshman return for their second year and less than 50% graduate in four years. Data from the Education Trust website…I asked where the graph with the $ for scholarships was when I called and was told I would be called back. That was four days ago. I am not drinking the Kool-aid anymore…</p>
<p>To Stcoprmater: Yes I agree with your theory on the grad statistics and loan defaults. You could be on to something. Everything I had read on line led us to believe the scholarship amount would be in line with the outlined parameters. Ours was 4k short on the low end and 7K on the high end of the range. And he was well above those associated parameters so logic tells you he should have been towards the higher end of the range. HP has become quite popular and their ranking continues to rise, so they know they have a product people will pay for or as you point out, go in debt for. As much as we loved the culture there and I admire all that Dr. Quebin has done with the place, we will not be able to afford it. We have another child in college too and I don’t want my student to come out of college in heavy debt, nor do I plan on spending my retirement to cover the cost. Not getting a call back for 4 days is very bad customer service and certainly not “extraordinary” treatment so I’m starting to smell a rat in regards to the scholarship chart/descriptions. Very disappointing to say the least.</p>
<p>I called again to find out if I could get some basic data on COA for next year and the woman I spoke with literally berated me. I feel like they woo you with this scholarship weekend and then when they don’t give as generous an award as was expected figure the student will find the money somehow. I have never encountered another school that was so cagey about cost and aid. All the links on the site for the Presidential Scholarship say the page is no longer there. What is that about? Every other school is so willing to help and aren’t all secretive about merit aid…</p>
<p>The link is up on the website regarding the presidential award structure. My son is a freshman at High Point and he couldn’t be happier, he is inspired everday and loves his professors. He already has had amazing opportunities. Please keep in mind High Point has grown and demand has increased in the past few years. This may be reflected in the amount the school has to offer in merit awards. I can tell you that there are many scholarships available to students that can help with tuition depending on activity or academic department. I have my son get involved with as much as possible to help offset the costs.</p>
<p>I really don’t like the whole process at HP for academic merit. It cost me, my husband and daughter about $1500 to fly down for the weekend to attend. Granted it was a nicely choreographed weekend but the weird part was the choreography of it was it’s undoing for my daughter. She would have probably gone if not for that weekend. It was a little to “stepford wives” for my daughter. </p>
<p>We got nice gifts, a lovely fancy dinner etc… but had to spend a good penny to be considered for something my daughter had earned already. She got offered exactly what the site said she would last year based on her gpa, test scores etc… </p>
<p>Oh and when she arrived for her first interview of the day the teacher doing it didn’t show up! she interviewed with a student who basically said don’t worry these don’t influence thing much unless you are a total idiot. lol… Not what I wanted to know or hear after I spent the money and time as well as having my husband take off work, and cancel patients to be there! To me the weekend was merely a ploy to get us down there for another sell on the school. All in all it turned us off.</p>
<p>A colleague told me the other day that his S was accepted at High Point … BUT, only if he agreed to attend summer school on the campus before his freshman year at a cost of $8K. Can this possibly be true? I have no reason to doubt my colleague, but I have never heard of anything like this before. Maybe this young man’s GPA and test scores were on the borderline, but in that situation I would think the college would either admit him and then require him to take some remedial courses, or else they would reject him. My colleague said he has crossed High Point off the list, in his opinion they are just doing this to squeeze money out of the families.</p>