Hi all,
I’m a rising senior living in CA and I intend to apply to SDSU as a safety. Recently I found out about a merit scholarship they have (http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/merit-scholars/index.html) and since I fit all the criteria, I’ve decided to find out more about it. Does anyone know how competitive this scholarship is? Or how much money it awards? I can’t seem to find more information.
Thank you in advance!
I don’t know anything about that award, but I can tell you that the CSUs aren’t known for much merit, generally speaking.
Hopefully, someone here knows the number of awards and the amounts.
What is your situation? What do you need your net cost to be for college?
If you have the minimum 32 ACT and GPA, then there are other schools that will also give you large merit awards.
If you are from one of the San Diego area high schools, you may be eligible.
When they say local, they mean within San Diego zip codes.
I was also trying to find out more information since this scholarship was mentioned today in another post by @RoundGenius. No details on the amount, # of applicants, how many are awarded and other criteria beyond what is stated on the website.
@mom2collegekids I thought CSU’s didn’t give much aid either but this scholarship makes me think otherwise.
The tuition without living costs (I would commute from home) for SDSU is affordable and so is UCSD’s tuition (once again, I would commute from home), so money isn’t a huge issue when it comes to these schools because I can commute. However, I do want to go to medical school and it would be nice if I could graduate without debt. My parents want me to take out a couple thousand dollars in loans every year to chip in/make me accountable so to speak, so that I’m motivated to get a job to pay the loans, but if I could get a scholarship that would eliminate the need for these loans, that would be great.
@“aunt bea” Thank you, I do fit the criteria for eligibility.
@Gumbymom Yes, it’s strange, also because I know quite a few people attending that school and I’ve never heard of any of them getting a scholarship…I’m tempted to ask admissions or the FA office, would that be a good idea?
I think contacting the FA office is a very good idea. I am surprised this scholarship is not made aware to local high School seniors. Did you ask your counselor?
@Gumbymom I have not; granted, we’re not back in school yet.
President Hirschman created this award to keep particular high achieving and highly involved local student leaders in the county by attending SDSU. There were 6 Merit Scholars in the first year (the 2013-14 school year). There were double or triple that amount the next year. At least in the first years of the program, eligible students were interviewed by faculty and staff. For my child, he was scheduled for a personalized tour, lunch on campus, interviews with deans, a professor in his major, and the coordinator of the scholarship. I believe he was expected to be on campus from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day. For my kid’s award, he is required to maintain a 3.5 GPA throughout his four years at SDSU, and the scholarship is renewable every year. Recipients of the award usually live on campus freshman year as they are also in the Honors College and it is mandatory for all Honors College freshmen to live in the dorms. In addition to grades and test scores, a huge amount of weight is put on the applicant’s level of extracurricular activities and leadership positions held in high school. All the scholars that I’m familiar with, are all current campus leaders and highly involved in research and campus organizations. As far as the scholarship amount, it varies apparently, so it is best to contact the Merit Scholars’ coordinator for specifics.
@ninemuses Re:the scholarship - I don’t know about this past year, but in previous years, SDSU also contacts the applicants who are eligible for the scholarship, and encourages them to apply. The timeline went like this… My child applied to SDSU at the end of November, about two and a half weeks later, he received his acceptance, and a few days after that he received a mailing telling him about the scholarship, and encouraging him to apply. He didn’t apply right away, and he received a reminder phone call.
Thank you @Fish125 for the information. Since the amounts vary, is there a need based component involved that may determine the amount? I would also assume there is no guarantee that any individual will receive the award as stated by the another poster on a different thread, so something you cannot count on until you have it in hand.
@Gumbymom - It is strictly merit. Need is not used in determining the amount. I’m not sure if the amount actually does vary but we were told at the time there was a range. It may be they have X amount set aside each year, and then they divide it up amongst the number of recipients for that year, but I just don’t know. When he was going through the application process, it was such an intensely busy time with work, school, family, and life, I can’t remember the exact specifics, but it was very generous, especially for a CA public university. There are lots of perks, too.
I wouldn’t personally count on receiving the scholarship. We know several 4.0 UW Aztecs with very high SAT/ACT scores who are not Merit Scholars, but I’ve never asked them if they applied for the scholarship. But, even with his high scores, my kid never looked at SDSU as a “safety,” even as a local. There are too many variables each record-breaking application year to feel secure enough to view it as a safety anymore. Plus, at that time, the deans/faculty did interview him for the scholarship, lots of in-depth questions, and we were never given the impression that it was an easy scholarship to earn.
Thanks for the great information and the prompt reply. I am sure your son was very deserving of the scholarship.
He’s a very hard worker, and has had an exemplary Aztec experience. For him, it is the perfect college, but it isn’t an easy one academically, and I think sometimes incoming students/applicants don’t realize the rigor of the education, and are very surprised/stunned after their first set of midterms!
I agree that SDSU can be a rigorous university. My younger son is going into his 3rd year as an Aztec and CS major and has found the curriculum very challenging. He has actually had to work hard compared to HS to maintain decent but not stellar grades at SDSU. Many of his friends teased him for attending SDSU over a UC, but again it has turned out to be a great fit.
@Fish125 Wow, thank you so much for all the information! Congrats to your son for receiving this prestigious scholarship.