<p>Hey, I’m going to be a senior this fall and will be applying to ASU as son as the application goes live, but I was curious about how much scholarships I’d probably get. I’m asking about MERIT aid not financial aid, cause yeah. I’m technically in state even though I live in Hawaii :)</p>
<p>My stats are:</p>
<p>SAT 1370/1600
GPA 3.9
AP US History 5 and AP Psychology 5
Extracurriculars: Speech and debate, tae kwon do, volunteering at the SPCA, sailing (I think theres something else but I can’t remember right now)
College credits: Will have completed 3 three-credit classes at various universities in addition to my AP scores</p>
<p>You’re eligible for one of the New American University scholarships that range from $2,000 to $10,000. I had a 3.9 and a 30 ACT and got $7,500 just to put it in perspective. You’ll probably get right around that, which covers almost all of tuition.</p>
<p>I got invited to apply, and I’m sure I would have gotten in (I know plenty of people who have stats similar to/below mine that went to my school and got in easy), but I didn’t even bother applying because it doesn’t really interest me.</p>
<p>I got the New American University Scholarship that oxolojo mentioned. Also, if you’re in-state and your parents earn under $60,000/yr. then you qualify for the Obama Scholars program. I’m an Obama Scholar and they covered $19,920 out of $21,920 of my fees(phew!) with grants and the aforementioned scholarship. The rest I just have to earn in work/study. Talk about saving me from loans! </p>
<p>Also, I don’t know if they’re keeping the AIMS scholarship, but you can get a tuition waiver with that if you exceed all areas. So in my opinion, ASU and the other in-state schools have much better financial aid than any other schools I applied to(UC/CSU/private universities). But wherever you go to, apply early for everything and apply to as many scholarships as you can! Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Sure, the benefits are nice, but you have to PAY for those benefits, haha. Honors students also have to write an honors thesis before they graduate, and obviously honors classes are harder than regular ones.
To be honest, I’m just not really seeing the perk of paying more and working harder than you have to in order to get the same diploma as everyone else. Most jobs aren’t going to care if you were in the honors college or not; some hardly even look at your grades.</p>
<p>Don’t let me deter you from applying; it really is a great school, I just don’t personally see the perks being all that beneficial.</p>
<p>And about the AIMS scholarship, it really is a life saver if you get it! Unfortunately you can only have either the New American University Scholarship or the AIMS (Regents High Honor Tuition Waiver) because they both are funded by the same program, but they do allow you to choose the higher of the two. In my case, the AIMS is worth more, but only about $200/year or so.</p>
<p>And I HOPE they keep it. They better. I earned it.</p>
<p>What seems to be the hype is that if they get rid of the AIMS, they’ll make sure to keep all of that money in the financial aid program. As in, it won’t be called the AIMS scholarship anymore, but you’re just as likely to earn some form of scholarship money if you have the stats that were required by the AIMS. I’m pretty sure that’s part of the reason they started this New American University Scholarship program (the class of 2014 is the first to receive these scholarships).</p>
<p>Well technically I’m in-state but I don’t actually live in Arizona and therefore I didn’t have access to take AIMS. So that’s not an option for me. </p>
<p>I get what youre saying about the extra work and stuff, but for me I just see the honors college as a way to stay on top in such a big school you know like honors classes are always less than 25 people and you have special advisors so you have easy access to that and priority registration which means you can know what classes to get and get them first and not have to battle the 65,000 kids who arent in the honors college lol. Plus honors kids have access to special study abroad programs, which I really wanna do, as well as the W.P. Carey Academy, the elite business program. And the dorms are really nice hahah.</p>
<p>I would highly reccomend going to tour Barrett and talking to them. My campus visit was what persuaded me to go to ASU and Barrett. I’m an incoming freshman so I can’t speak for the actual experience, but to me, the benefits seem to be worth it.</p>
<p>Definitely go for Barrett which will distinguish you from the rest of the ASU population. In addition to the many benefits that the Honors College offer, you will also be ahead in looking for internships and employment.</p>
<p>oxolojo: “And about the AIMS scholarship, it really is a life saver if you get it! Unfortunately you can only have either the New American University Scholarship or the AIMS (Regents High Honor Tuition Waiver) because they both are funded by the same program, but they do allow you to choose the higher of the two. In my case, the AIMS is worth more, but only about $200/year or so.”</p>
<p>I think you’re looking at this the wrong way. The AIMS scholarship covers full tuition every year, no matter how much it increases. This is a HUGE benefit. I was eligible for the AIMS waiver when I first started, and tuition was only around 4k. Now it’s around 8k, and the other scholarship I accepted (Provost’s), which was originally worth more per year, is now not as valuable as the AIMS waiver would have been. So, right now it looks like the AIMS waiver is only $200 more a year, with tuition increases, it could be thousands within 2 years. </p>
<p>Just an FYI. </p>
<p>Also, I would have to disagree with this statement, “Most jobs aren’t going to care if you were in the honors college or not; some hardly even look at your grades.”</p>
<p>In this economy, companies are looking for people who work harder. You’ll need to compete against people with perfect grades, great EC’s, and smart personalities. You’ll need anything you can to set you apart from the next person. Don’t limit what you do with your education because you don’t want to work hard! You’ll never get a quality job, or even a quality life, with that mentality. </p>
<p>Personally, I have a 3.98 GPA, graduating with Honors from Barrett, have had 3 internships (including one at a major corporation), and participated in various on-campus clubs, and I’m still worried about getting a good job when I graduate. Good luck to you…</p>
<p>I definately agree with christalena…employers do look at your college grades, and a lot of your references will be from your professors or the people you interned with. Twenty years ago my parent’s employers looked at their college grades, and Lord knows the economy has gotten WAY worse…</p>
<p>It was my understanding that it only covered tuition freshman year, and then you had to pay the difference as tuition increased. I haven’t really been given the information on renewing it though, so I could definitely be wrong.</p>
<p>And in reference to the Barrett thing, as I said before, definitely don’t let me deter you from applying if you choose to. I know I personally have the drive to work hard if not harder than most (while I don’t have a college GPA yet, I did graduate high school with a 3.9 as well, and I have done a few courses at other colleges and received all As, but they don’t transfer to ASU because of the way the grading system works) and I’m going into a field I love. Personally, I’d rather do something I love and work hard enough at that than work my butt off just to get a job. A job is a job, but I have passions.</p>
<p>I’m not saying I won’t get good grades. I have to maintain a 3.25 to keep my scholarship. But since in college honors courses aren’t weighted, you’re working harder to keep your 4.0, not to achieve your 4.6. Just like high school, I’d rather get an A in a regular course than a C in an honors course.</p>
<p>There’s more to an honors course than just being “harder.” My experiences with my honors courses were 10x more beneficial than any regular course I took. For instance, professors got to know me more than any other students, and I can use them for references. I studied abroad with two honors professors who were heads of their fields. In one of my honors classes, a company actually contracted us to do statistical work for them, and we got to present our findings to the head of the company. And that’s just a few. Beyond classes, Barrett is a total experience. They have entire offices designated to help you figure out what you want to do with your life, and help you get there. Trust me, no other department will do that for you with such passion. I now have a connection to thousands of people purely because of my choice to be a part of Barrett. Even if I never knew someone in Barrett, just the fact that I went through the same experience is something we all share. </p>
<p>If you’re looking to do business in the future, just do a cost-benefit analysis. Ok, so it costs you a lot of extra time and a little money to complete all your work as an honors student (boo-hoo), but the benefits outweigh the costs by an unknowable amount. </p>
<p>But even then, it really comes back to my point. If you’re not even willing to work a little harder to show that you are capable of it, then how do you expect companies to appreciate your work in college? Like you said, we’re all getting the same degree. So, what can you do with your degree to show them that you’re different, better, more valuable, worth spending money on? Ok, maybe Barrett isn’t the way to do that for you, but I still think you should do something more than just “go to college.” Just something to think about.</p>
<p>Yeah - another thing to consider is that if you do graduate from barretts, employers will see that you “graduated with honors” or however ASU phrases it. So if you’re looking at two resumes on your desk, same school, same GPA, same major, even same extra involvement and stuff, which one would you choose? You can graduate or graduate with honors.</p>
<p>And it’s not all about getting the job - I agree that barretts is a total experience, they also offer a lot of neat opportunities that the general ASU population doesn’t have access too, such as special talks by really cool people, honors-only study abroads, and very importantly - guaranteed small class size. </p>
<p>The small class size in a school where most gen eds have several hundred students in them I mean come on that’s a really nice benefit and most honors classes are conducted discussion-style too, so you’re more involved and not just sitting there with 300 other students listening to a lecture in all your classes. </p>
<p>In addition, Barretts has really nice dorms and great food!</p>
<p>Personally, I’m definitely going into Barretts if I do decide to go to ASU. I prefer a challenge in my studies. I mean I am going into something I love too, business and entrepreneurship is a passion of mine and on top of that it’s something I’ve got a mind for. I’ve been bored all throughout high school because almost none of my classes have both interested and challenged me so far. When I’m challenged, I actually perform a lot better. I don’t know why but that’s just how it works. :)</p>
<p>Actually, oxolojo is correct. The AIMS scholarship only covers what tuition is your freshman year and you pay the difference of it goes up in the next few years. The AIMS scholarship was still bigger than the Provost one this year so I obviously picked the AIMS. I am an incoming freshman and I received the AIMS scholarship. I am also a Barrett student and I think that being in the honors college has a lot of benefits. I plan to go to graduate school and anything to make my profile more competitive is a plus. Barrett is getting harder and harder to get into. I talked to the Dean of admissions myself when I applied… and he made me really nervous because he said they were filling up really fast and they were getting applications like never before with amazing students. I figure since I have been doing well in honors classes forever (and AP classes since high school) I might as well do them in college. It just depends on how good of a student each person is and how much they can take.</p>
I’m an incoming freshman so I can’t speak for the actual experience, but to me, the benefits seem to be worth it.</p>