<p>I am planning on applying to Penn State for Fall 2004. I am OOS, 4.3 GPA, 32 ACT, leadership positions, varsity athlete, community service hours. I am guessing I will be accepted but I am curious about merit scholarships and the honors program. Any insight would be appreciated.</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>You will obviously get in and I think you stand a good chance at getting into Schreyers. You will have to write to your highest tier on their admission essays, though.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, you don’t stand much of a chance applying for the Fall of 2004. Maybe try again in 10 years.</p>
<p>The information you provided is not detailed enough for a serious evaluation.
Two words of advice- don’t overlook the importance of the letters and give as much attention to these as you do writing the essays. My experience is that the letters are often the weakest part of most applications. More important than “teachers that like you” are referees who know how and are committed to writing strong letters. Needless to say, there has to be some amount of “like factor”.
Make sure your commitment to ECs come through in the application</p>
<p>Decent chance at Schreyer. You will get $4000 a year.
<a href=“http://www.shc.psu.edu/future/aid.cfm[/url]”>http://www.shc.psu.edu/future/aid.cfm</a></p>
<p>Take a look at the annual Schreyer honor college report to see what the competition is like.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.shc.psu.edu/about/annualReport.pdf?ts=123123127[/url]”>http://www.shc.psu.edu/about/annualReport.pdf?ts=123123127</a></p>
<p>Thank you for all the good information…minus the smart ass remark. Your help is appreciated</p>
<p>one thing to keep in mind. PSU has this quirk in their record keeping where the maximum GPA recorded in their system is 4.33 ONCE THE STUDENT ACCEPTS. Not sure why. May be they do a re-calibration, but even that doesn’t explain it. Anyone with a GPA of 4.34 and up has their GPA recorded as 4.33. During the admissions process we see transcripts of applicants in some majors/colleges with GPAs that are typically higher. Weighted GPAs of 4.4 and above are typical for successful applicants. I’m not sure why they don’t use the weighted GPAs reported by the schools. I only mention this because people may be directly comparing their weighted GPA on their transcripts to this scale and could be misled. Seems like the ranking of the SHC would go up if they reported the weighted GPAs as other schools do. I don’t mean to discourage anyone, but you should know the real competition.</p>
<p>Not 2 sound greedy but $4000 is not very much for scholarship from a honors program/college. Is this all I should expect in the way of merit aid?</p>
<p>interesting question. What exactly are the numbers for other HCs? The programs I am aware of that are equal to or better than PSU (virginia, UNC, Michigan, ASU) offer no significant financial advantages over normal need-based awards. Pitt claims scholars qualify for merit-based aid, from 2,000 a year to full tuition. But how many people qualify for awards much above 2000 or 4,000?
Thing about SHC is that EVERY incoming freshman gets 4,000. All ~290 students. Other honors program build “merit aid” into the equation with no amount indicated. There are other scholarships at PSU that are college-based that are reserved for the very best applicants; thus, are real honors and do not fall under the category of the term “merit-based aid” because they are not given out based on financial need. These can range from an additional 2,000 a year up to full tuition/room and board. You cannot apply for all the ones I am aware of. Students for these awards are selected from the applicant pool.</p>
<p>That is somewhat true. ASU has guaranteed freshman merit scholarships. Based on my stats I am guaranteed $13,000 year and then I can apply for additional merit aid. I guess I dont care if the scholarship is associated with the honors program or a merit scholarship. I just would need more than $4000 to attend Penn State</p>