Thanks for posting this. I checked and yes under Financial Aid, it’s showing the Stafford loan for my D22. Nothing else. Rooting for the Stamps or Nordenberg for D22!!!
When do you think she’ll find out?
Her on campus interview day is mid Feb. So I think by end of month she’ll know if she’s a finalist for either. Then Stamps finalists have an interview with Stamps Foundation. Right now, there are 34 semifinalists. 5 will be Stamps Scholars, and 5 will be Nordenberg Scholars, super exciting!
And we have no idea if the 24 who don’t make it as finalists will receive some sort of merit. I have not read anything about this regarding Pitt.
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Question: The Panther Pride Award and Pitt Success Grants are 100% need based aid, so do these change year-to-year based on finances? Or, is this a set amount that’s guaranteed each year? Does anyone know? If not, I’ll call financial aid and ask. I’m curious too, if the amount decreases will financial aid work with the student to help them stay at Pitt?
@ELK_8 let us know what they say! A quick search on the Panther Pride award (why D got) is that it’s a set amount but has a need component. Kids have had taken away if income increases. In 1 case it was removed in error but reinstated (reddit).
I’d be hesitant to plan on it in our case, as our income has increased since 2020.
That’s great! Good luck to her!
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My S19 was invited/suggested to Stamps and Nordenberg but didn’t apply. Looking back that was an oversight as he did end up at Pitt. (He was hyper focused on those Ivy waitlists, ugh.) His original generous merit was given before those emails were sent. In October I believe. Also, there were a couple of other random local Pitt alumni scholarships he was invited to apply to that came in random emails. So look out for these. They were $1500 ranges. He didn’t do those either. In his defense, he did receive another very prestigious outside scholarship that if I mention it’s name it would reveal his identity.
Hang in there. The unknown is the worst.
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Thank you
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My D18 won a local Pitt alumni scholarship. When she won it, we were so excited for her. The alums were so gracious. It was for $2,000. What we didn’t realize is it is for $2,000 every year!!! Was a bonus on top of her regular $10,000 Pitt merit. I love that story every time I see it posted on her account:)
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That’s great! The gift that keeps on giving!
We have learned so much from S19’s experience.
D22 just received another random $1500 annual on top of her very generous offer at Duquesne of $21,000. This brings the Nursing school below Pitt’s (without merit currently). It appears to be the school that loves her. They loved me back in the 80’s as I had a full-ride. It just might be time to give back 
Best of luck.
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That’s terrific! Duquesne is another top notch Pittsburgh school!!! Best of luck to her.
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Definitely going to look into this. Both the awards I mentioned are surprisingly big amounts, which makes Pitt absolutely possible. She’s so happy. However, our 2021 finances have changed from 2020, so that worries us going into her sophomore year of college and how much she’d have to pay if some of that money was decreased. We are still really hoping for a merit scholarship. I just can’t imagine her not getting one with her stats.
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Both of those awards are need-based and subject to an annual income review. If your household income has gone up since 2020, I would not count on the Pitt Success Grant next year. It’s a dollar-for-dollar match of a Pell Grant and has a lower income threshold than the Panther Pride Award. You can probably figure out how much (if anything) you’ll get for sophomore year using a Pell Grant chart.
The Panther Pride award often goes to middle-class families near or above the Pell Grant mark but who still have a sizable amount owed after grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study. It’s possible to get that award in-state but it is usually given to OOS applicants because of how the numbers work out (i.e. OOS is more likely to have a bigger number remaining after initial Federal aid is plugged in). Please let us know if the financial aid office says differently.
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Yes. In portal, but still no letter.
Thank you for commenting. It’s good to know year #1 she’ll be fine, but it’s the other years we’ll need to figure out. Do you happen to know where I would find the Pell Grant chart? If you aren’t sure, I’ll look around.
It’s strange contacting fin aid about an award they haven’t notified you about! It is only in the app. I’m going to ask my daughter if Pit is seriously a contender, with the Panther Pride. If so, I’ll see what they say, but otherwise we’ll focus on other options. We all love Pittsburgh and Pitt, but are not sure it’s the best option for her current interests (humanities, media, communications)
She got a similar award from jmu, a fixed dollar amount that is tied to fafsa.
Yes, I think we will wait to ask until we see the whole package/offer from them first with everything on it.
Was accepted early, but merit just arrived. OOS Merit $18500.00
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Congrats! From your earlier posts, you submitted a test score of 30, is that right?
I’m compiling a spreadsheet to see if there’s any rhyme or reason to TO vs scores when it comes to merit.
Could I ask GPA, major, and if you had any APs?
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Congrats to your son! Would you care to share stats for my spreadsheet? (Either in the thread or PM, I don’t mind):
Amount, whether you submitted test scores, if so, the score, GPA, major and whether any APs.