<p>Has anyone heard back from the Trustee Scholarship or Alexander Graham Bell Scholarship? When is financial aid money/grants actually given out? In the acceptance package?</p>
<p>I got my EDII acceptance package and I've yet to hear about FinAid.</p>
<p>They put up this Citizenship Match thing after you submit your FAFSA, which caught me off guard. Needless to say, I had to scurry and get that done.</p>
<p>fin aid comes about a week after your package
you will be able to find out online b4 you get it in the mail so chack there</p>
<p>Fin. aid came simultaneously with the acceptance, for me.</p>
<p>As far as merit scholarships I like to share our experience with S now a Sophmore. His stats suggested he would be in the running for the half tuition scholarship but when his acceptance came there was no mention of this even though a fellow HS student with lesser stats got his notice of a Dean's scholarship with his acceptance packet. S had been admitted to two schools considered more competetive than BU so we worried that they might assume it was his Safety. Being middle class there was no opportunity for finacial aid so the $67,000 (about) over four years would make a difference since it coud be used toward grad. or law school. S emailed the person identified as the scholarship contact, didn't hear back so I (parent)called after another week. The secretery said they had the email and we'd hear in two weeks. Two weeks went by and he was close to having to make a decision and the scholarship would really help tip the scales toward BU since neither of the other schools offered any merit aid. I felt ridiculous calling again but becaues BU's such a huge school, with thousands of admssions going on at the same time, I made one last call explaining I didn't want to seem pushy but was hoping to know soon either way since he very much wanted to choose BU over Tufts and NYU. Was told something was on its way and the person hinted it was good news. So finally info arrived that he had the half tuition scholarship.</p>
<p>So my point is that if your stats suggest you are a candidate for a merit scholarship and you don't hear about it upon acceptance do not be afraid to call/email and let BU know its your first choice school and that the merit aid will be an important deciding factor. (same with FAFSA aid)</p>
<p>What were your son's stats?</p>
<p>Its been a while but I believe it was 1420 on old SAT. 3 SAT 2s ranged from 690-790--top 5% of class, (decent suburban school but not a super achiever/famous school) GPA around 4.5. (W) So he was well within the range for expected merit aid. BU also gave additional merit aid for a 6 week summer study abroad program he attended following Freshman year. Something he may have never attended in his HS Days but the college experience and a few friends he met there provided a better sense of confidence and independence to take advantage of this opportunity. ECs/job were decent but no special claim to fame in activites or sports and no real leadership positions either. In my opinion both essays were mediocre. He wasn't a super outgoing type in HS in terms of relationships with staff, although well respected, so I would think he received very good references but not necessarily outstanding. (just a guess) </p>
<p>I think the merit aid is vey much based on SATs and GPA though. One floor mate received the same merit scholarship with much lower stats while another floor mate did so with SAT scores in the 1500s so I guess it all depends. They give the range under meit schoarship section of the BU web site.</p>
<p>Forgot to ad, these stats also got him into the BU Honors Program which gave him a chance to be in some smaller Honors classes with interesting trips, etc. The internship opportunities in Boston are excellent and cover a wide range of professions so just something to consider if you are also looking at less urban schools.</p>
<p>A friend's son was awarded a merit scholarship at BU with a 1320 so its a wide range. Are you aplying to CAS or another BU school?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the info- I am applying to CAS. Do you know how large of a merit scholarship your friend's son was awarded? I have a similar score (1330/1600 or 1950/2400, 620v,620w,710m), and have taken essentially all the hardest classes (8 APs by graduation), and have gotten straight As and A+s in all (except for an honors english class in 9th grade- B+). I have pretty strong ECs including a summer research project, over 100 hours of hospital volunteering, and leadership in a school club and youthgroup. On paper, I have no financial need, but in reality I can not afford to attend BU without aid. From this information and from whatever you may know, do you think I am a contender for scholarships and/or honors? Thanks so much once again!</p>
<p>I think you are a strong candidate for at least the $10K grant. My S won the half tuition $15K scholarship with 7 APs, most rigorous curriculum, 4.5 or so weighted, 31 ACT. But he applied early decision and ED candidates have priority consideration for these scholarships.</p>
<p>Oh wow, that's encouraging! I didn't even know that as 15k scholarship existed that was pure merit based. Thanks so much for the info!</p>
<p>Does anyone know if international students have an ACTUAL shot at merit awards, especially at the Trustee Scholarship?</p>
<p>I don't think ED kids get priority for scholarships. In fact, one could make the case that an ED applicant is confirmed while a RD might need the merit aid to convince her to choose BU. But I may be incorrect on that one--best to check with the school. Is this on the web site? </p>
<p>Check the BU web site and search under merit scholarships and they will explain the range of scores. I think you would defintely get the 10 K Dean's Scholarship. My S only had 3 APs, although one was double credit, because with a block schedule HS thats all he could schedule. Its mostly based on SATs/ACT and GPA though. The other scholarship is half tuition so that may be, say, 17 K your Freshman year but equal to 20 by your senior year since it goes up with tuition which is a good thing. If its still the same, the Deans schloarship asked that you complete a FAFSA type form even if you didn't qualify for regular financial aid since it had some bearing on that one's merit decision which made me think that if you had a 1400, for ex., and parents earning a million a yr. you might not get the same consideration as someone earning 120,000 per yr. But there isn't any real formula and the half tuiton one was ONLY based on merit so you didn't have to fill out a FAFSA. We did anyway just in case he was only considered for the 10 K one. You can also go on line and check the Honors average stats. You do not need to apply for the Honors Program. They'll send you a letter about it upon acceptance if you meet the criteria.</p>
<p>There was a special event within the accepted students weekend in April just for Honors candidates. My S reluctantly attended it and was concerned there were many "nerdy" types there, although not all, but that didn't hold up in his Honors classes and activities since most kids probably aren't obsessed with it and woudn't attend anything special for Honors kids, like that pre-admission event. My S refused to consider an Honors dorm for that reason even though they are tops and one is even a magnificant Bay St Rd. Townhouse, and wouldn't attend the Honors weekend in NH in early Fall. Stiill, others may be very involved in the Honors sub group and take advantage of special opportunities/s they offer. This is a a plus for being in the top 20% say of a school in an urban area since you get more opportunities like this, especially for internships/research, than you would if you attended a school where you fell in the middle.</p>
<p>BU has other scholarships listed too such as MLK, a BU grad.</p>
<p>From the BU website:</p>
<p>In addition to early notification of admission, students who are admitted under Early Decision I or II will be given: </p>
<p>Priority consideration for housing</p>
<p>Priority consideration for the half-tuition University Scholarship </p>
<p>S is also in Honors and has taken two courses but does not participate in any special Honors programs.</p>
<p>Well thats settless it then, thanks K, so it must help then to do ED.</p>
<p>MAXY,
Looks like there are about a dozen merit scholarships on the web site and it specifies that only the Trustee and University Scholar ones are available to internationals. Can't guess what the % is but it may help if you are from an under represented country. I think BU has an international population in the 10% range with many students from India /Asia.</p>
<p>The site has the average of 1445/3.9 for University Scholars and 1343/ 3.7 for Dean's scholars with 3.4 /1263 for a 5K grant for kids that don't qualify for financial aid. Not much but certainly something to cover half of room/board. Is Trustee the full tuition one? If so, I think it has much higher stats.</p>
<p>Remember though that it means 50% were below the average so anyone has a decent shot if they are in the range.</p>
<p>dogs, thanks for your reply. Unfortunately, I am not from an under represented country, so that won't help...:-|</p>
<p>Maxy, It may come down to how high your stats are. Are they way up there? Again, if you woud defintely attend BU if offerred a spot now is the time to send an email mentioning that and you could also ask the question about the merit scholarships to show that it is important to making your decision.</p>
<p>so we find out if we got trustees or not when we find out if we were accepted or not?</p>