Just wondering if anyone has any information regarding the weight of stats v. project for the DHS? Since most of the discussion surrounding the scholarship seems to revolve around the project, I’ve been thinking that is the main component…but my stats are probably below those of most who have received the scholarship in the past. I did receive a partial merit scholarship already, and I feel rather confident in my project…does the project count more than the stats, or vice versa?
I have been told most people awarded the DHS already had the highest merit scholarship prior (the 32k one).
It depends --I know DHS winners in the past few years -who were Distinguished Scholars ($30K) as well as Presidential ($32K). I don’t know if there were any winners who received lesser scholarship amounts but there may be. While there is no published or absolute minimum threshold “stat-wise” or criteria “holistic-wise,” it’s a safe bet that the DHS and Paul Tulane applicants should be in the top or at least very close to the top 25% of the applicant pool. Once they make that cut the quality of the project in comparison to the others is determinative in the selection of the award winners.
while I do know of a few others who got the DHS with my same scholarship amount ($27K) from doing extensive digging on here, I’m unsure of those people’s stats…I think most of my concern is due to my SAT score–my GPA/difficulty level of courses/ECs are about on par with past DHS recipients, but my SAT score is sort of my weak point (1440) and while I’m confident in the quality of my project, I’m wondering if this will keep them from ever even evaluating my project, as earlier threads have implied that academic qualifications are considered first. @trackmbe3
Just for informational purposes for future applicants: I totally forgot I knew this, but Rowan Born, a Youtuber who made videos about her college application journey last year & was accepted at Tulane with a $27K scholarship, did apply for the DHS, and while she did not receive it she did mention in this > (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OFm2OGouQo) video that she received an extra $2000, as a sort of honorable mention for applying, I presume. As she has an SAT score of 1440 (that and her other stats are in the description of the linked video), the implication there is that there either is not an academic cut prior to project evaluation OR that an SAT score of 1440 (combined with a solid GPA, etc.) is considered acceptable as an academic qualification. Anyway, I’m done driving myself crazy now!
@princessbex13 If there were a hard and fast threshold stat-wise, I think Tulane would have let applicants know so as not to waste their time and efforts. A 1440 equates with a 31 ACT on the Concordance Table of the College Board. A 31 is a good score, in the upper half of the class, but I think it’s a bit low for the DHS. Not to say that you can’t still get it. I think the lesser your stats are the more outstanding your DHS project would have to be. I think your project will be reviewed and considered. Now if your SAT was the equivalent of a score in the bottom half of the class it would make your chances even less and perhaps make the quality of your project less determinative. However, I don’t believe that the winners of the DHS are solely based on their project. Granted, your project must be very good. But if you are an underrepresented minority, a legacy, a non-scholarship recruited athlete, or from an area of the country which would bring much needed geographic diversity by your attendance, and if there is something else about your application that the school greatly covets—perhaps you have an exceptional talent in some area that the school sorely needs—then as long as your DHS project is at least very good (as opposed to “outstanding”), you might still be able to get it. This, of course, is just my guestimate. Nobody on this College Confidential board really knows for sure, but we can all have fun making reasonable proposed explanations. Another factor, at least for perhaps a few borderline DHS candidates, could be the financial profile of the applicant. For example, a top student stat-wise and overall-wise with more need-based aid requirements would absolute need the DHS in order to attend, whereas a student who could be able to afford to attend without the DHS would likely still attend. Not to say they both might get it, just as they approach the limit of scholarships this might tip the scales in favor of one candidate versus another. .
I don’t really check any of the boxes for criteria that would make me a more likely candidate, so I guess I’m relying on project quality alone! All the waiting is slowly driving me insane, I think…thanks for the info!!! @trackmbe3 