<p>Any real chances of getting a scholarship if you have been accepted ED and are already bound to Wash U? I'm thinking that the scholarships are mostly used to persuade RD candidates to choose Wash U versus other options. I just don't want my daughter spending Xmas vacation writing scholarship essays if her chances are almost non-existent!</p>
<p>Well, I got into WashU ED but I was given a ton of money and a full-tuition Ervin scholarship (I applied for the RD Ervin as opposed to the ED Ervin). I have more money than I need to attend WU so I get a large refund check each semester. So, it is definately possible for a student to get merit scholrships even if they are ed admits</p>
<p>Jeffwun's case is more of an exception than a rule. Most of scholarships recepients are RDs. These scholarship are designed to attract Ivy-caliber students and those usually do not apply ED. </p>
<p>But do not get discouraged yet, you might get one.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'd agree, my case might be rare, but I posted it, to show that its not impossible. WU already had me commited to going, and they were giving me $40,000 in need aid...but I still got a merit scholarship. I urge you to apply for as many merit scholarships as possible, you never know what you'll get</p>
<p>To Jeffwun,</p>
<p>I am a very hardworking parent of a newly admitted student. I find it quite disturbing that you were "given a ton of money" and a "full-tuition" scholarship, and then receive a "LARGE REFUND check" each semester! Is this typical of how Wash U's financial aid/scholarship process works?</p>
<p>I have worked very hard all my adult life, saving and sacrificing to be able to pay for my child's college education, and I will have another 4+ years of major hardship to get my child through Wash U. It just doesn't seem right that you are getting "refund checks" while many of us are just barely getting by.</p>
<p>Am I the only one who feels this way???</p>
<p>Well, my case isn't typical. A couple of students will get a refund check, but very few get one as large as mine. Keep in mind that the purpose of a refund check is not to pay one to come to college. It is for misc expenses that are calculated in your expected cost of attendance. The COA is made up of tuition, room and board, and anything else that one needs to live @ the university (haircuts, laundry, random stuff, books, etc). You can have things added to your COA(the cost of a computer, etc). So if your COA is 50,000...the University is permitted to give enough aid until you hit that 50,000 mark. So one room and board and tuition are paid for (~45,000) the extra $5,000 is given to the student as a return check. How a student uses his or her return check is up to them though. </p>
<p>In my case, WU was very generous in giving me aid(need and merit) cause I actually needed it. My parents wouldn't have been able to send me to college had I not have gotten scholarships. Also, WU allows you to keep your outside scholarships without detracting from the need based aid they give you (they will only start deducing need based aid if you hit the COA mark). I have two outside scholarships, one I am deferring for grad school, and the other is factored into meeting my COA. For example, once I got the Ervin scholarship, my Eliot scholarship was reduced to 12,000 so that I had enough to meet my COA but I wasn't going over it. When I recieved a 2,500 outside scholarship, I tld them to add the cost of a 4,000 laptop to my COA, so I was able to keep the laptop without getting my aid reduced (I wasn't gaming them, I actually purchased a 3200 macbook pro and 1,000 in programs). Next year; however, I can expect my my eliot scholarship to be reduced by about 2,000 because my COA will be decreased by 2,000 since I already have a computer.</p>
<p>So, the moral of all of this is that WU will try very hard to help you meet the COA through a number of different sources. You can also help yourself by applying for outside scholarships. Don't think that refund checks are like wasting money on people who already have enough, because they are only extra financial aid dollars (usually from merit sources) that are given to students so they can pay for things outside of tutition and room and board that they actually need for school</p>
<p>Jeffwun,</p>
<p>I really didn't think that WashU was "paying you" to go to college... But, your situation is quite difficult to understand for the "average" family who has to save and sacrifice and work to pay for a $4,200 (!) Apple laptop. (By the way, you could have gotten a very reputable Dell for A LOT cheaper. See dell.com.)</p>
<p>Just wondering, are you working at all to help pay your COA? You haven't mentioned that.</p>
<p>No I am not paying anything to meet my COA nor do I have to do work-study. Am I spoiled, not necessarily. Most of my financial aid comes from merit money that I earned from my performace in high school. This is money that all students, regardless of family situations, can attain. I used fastweb and searched for outside scholarships like all seniors should do. I didn't want my parents to pay a dime for me to go to school, so I did what I knew was necessary to do so. The need based aid that I get from WU is to meet my demonstrated need. Because of WU's financial aid policy, they won't take money away from you until you hit your COA. </p>
<p>Now, does my situation happen to most students? No; however, it CAN happen to every student. Its nothing complicated, complie as many outside and merit scholarships as you can.</p>
<p>And BTW, I hate PCs so I wouldn'tve been able to do with a dell and I got the most expensive macbook pro because I do a lot of video and music editing.</p>
<p>when did you hear back from the Ervin Program Jeffwun? and i am wondering is it a good idea to talk about the experience of moving from country to country in the essay? (b/c it's kind of diversity related too)</p>
<p>Well I wasn't an ED Ervin, so I had to go through the RD process. However, I believe the decisions for ED ervins have been released this year. A student I hosted called me and told me that he got it, so I assume letters or phone calls have already gone out or should be going out.</p>
<p>If you are doing RD Ervin, then you'll probably hear back a day or two after finalist weekend. At least, thats how soon I was notified. I think that I was told that I was a finalist in about february.</p>
<p>As for your essay, it sounds like a great topic! Whatever has genuinly impacted you and is important to you is always a good topic because it will enable your true voice to come out. Best of luck!</p>
<p>thank you for the reply:) i'm applying RD. it's amazing they send out the finalist letters so early! since Jan 15th is deadline...that means they choose finalists in just 1 month. it makes me a little nervous that i haven't turned in the app yet.</p>
<p>okay, i was worried that they would say "your moving experience isn't directly promoting diversity" but i will talk about my involvement in Culture Club too. now i just have to fix my draft :D</p>
<p>i was an ED ervin but that deadline has already passed. however there are several ed students who applied for ervin RD and still got it like Jeffwun and at least a few other students. also i spent my time after i got in ED applying for outside scholarships which helped to contribute to my financial aid. the big scholarships for washu, rodriguez, danforth, and ervin are the most well known but there are also smaller ones through the individual colleges, like the school of engineering you can apply that i know a few ED kids recieved.</p>
<p>The committee that reviews scholarship applications is independent of the admissions committee. So, theoretically, the scholarships shouldn't be incentive driven to attract non-binding students.</p>
<p>What is the Danforth scholarship? It's not listed in the Scholarship brochure.</p>
<p>you can't apply for it...your hs counselor or a teacher must have nominated you for it</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure teachers can request nomination forms, though. There were a bunch of extras floating around my high school last year.</p>
<p>I was an ED applicant who was awarded a Danforth Scholarship. </p>
<p>The school chooses the scholarship recipients w/out regard to ED/RD, but I do believe they take it into account when determining scholarship amount (full v. partial tuition) </p>
<p>I don't think it's a waste of time to apply (although I did at the time! Ooops!)</p>
<p>what did you answer as your greatest achievement, blue_green? do you think it'll be okay if i write the same essay for Danforth as well as for the Honorary Arts & Sci scholarship?</p>