<p>Still nothing here in Pennsylvania, I’m definitely getting worried. I really thought I had a chance here, I was even the Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony award winner from my high school.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if anyone has received a decision from this batch of letters?</p>
<p>Ditto, I too was a recipient (Bausch & Lomb) and haven’t heard from U of R as of today (3/27/10). The wait is driving me crazy. Rochester is my #1 choice. Do many Bausch & Lomb recipients get denied?</p>
<p>I live in buffalo, 1.5 hours away from Rochester. I haven’t gotten a a letter today</p>
<p>I’m hoping I hear something from Rochester early next week (I’m in PA). Every day that passes without any word from them just makes me more worried! I haven’t heard of any Rochester award recipients being denied but I obviously haven’t heard everything.</p>
<p>AVHS_Dad- just to clarify, I just checked the princetonreview website, and I have no idea where you got that information about merit aid, but even if it is on that site, that is highly inaccurate information. A very substantial amount of applicants receive merit aid (I’d say well over 50%), and that’s typically one of the major incentives for a lot of students applying. </p>
<p>Also, for everyone else, I remember that I didn’t get my acceptance letter until March 31 (or was it even April 1?) last year, and I got a very fair amount of merit and financial aid, so I’m not sure that there’s any particular correlation between acceptance and mail date.
One thing I remember is that I applied on almost the last day Rochester accepted applications, so I have traditionally thought that to be the explanation for receiving the letter so late, though I can’t say for sure if that has any bearing. Don’t give up just quite yet.</p>
<p>You should always remember, though, (as many times as you’ve been told, and trust me, it’s true) an admissions letter doesn’t define who are, determine your character or value, or dictate what kind of college experience you will have. It’s all up to you to do those things. And, I can guarantee you that as soon as you stop worrying about this admissions mumbo-jumbo, no matter where you end up matriculating, you’ll all have a blast. Best of luck to you all!</p>
<p>sammyjankis91: I got my figures of 4-5% of Freshmen/Undergrads receiving non-need based aid from Princeton Review’s book of 371 Best Colleges. I would be happy to find out they are wrong and your estimate of +50% is right. My point, though, is that to send out admission decisions over more than a one month period is ridiculous.</p>
<p>AVHS Dad: I apologize for and understand your frustration. I wish there was something I could do to make this an easier process. For what it is worth, I can say with complete certainty that 4-5% is not at all accurate; between merit-based and need-based financial aid most of our students recieve some type of financial assistance. Though scholarships are competitive, merit-based aid is offered to a much higher percentage than what it seems the Princeton Review indicates. That being said, I understand your point regarding our mailing process, and I will voice these concerns to our staff. It is a process that we have used for some time, and one that many other schools have used as well, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t always willing to re-evaluate a specific policy to improve an imperfect system. Please let me know if there is anything else that I can do for you.</p>
<p>csw and plany59: Not all recipients of the High School Awards are admitted to the University of Rochester. Recipients of the awards are chosen by their teachers and/or administration, and unfortunately not all recipients are qualified to recieve offers of admission.</p>
<p>AVHS Dad-- I went to the bookstore yesterday and I saw that statistic in the Princeton Review as well. It said that 4-5% receive non-need (based on alumni, academics, etc.) and 56% receive need-based.<br>
I figured those numbers were a bit low.</p>
<p>MConklin-- I have a question about the renewal of merit scholarships.
“The yearly renewal of this scholarship is based on your continued academic success at Rochester–a success we’re confident you’ll achieve.”
What exactly do I have to do to ensure that my scholarship will be renewed?</p>
<p>ppatel128: Good question. The short answer - pass your classes. All you’ll need to do to ensure the annual renewal of your scholarship is to remain in academic good standing. I am not certain, but I believe the GPA required to do so is somewhere in the 2.0 range.</p>
<p>My D has a merit scholarship. To keep her scholarship, she needs to remain “in good academic standing.” At UR, this mean she has to keep a 2.0 GPA and take at least 12 credits per semester.</p>
<p>UR has one of the most lenient academic requirements for retaining merit awards that I’ve seen.</p>
<p>MConklin: As I said before, you’ve done a great job of keeping us informed. I understand that some schools choose to put the lion’s share, if not all, of their financial aid to need based aid. However, need-based aid won’t do myself or DS any good. Again, I would be happy to find out that the Princeton Review is wrong (thanks for confirming those stats ppatel128) regarding the 4-5% for non-need based aid. At this point we’ve only got two schools left, UR and another school that will release their decisions at 5PM EST on April 1st. I’ve got a feeling that we may hear from UR last.</p>
<p>hello21: Still haven’t heard, I’m getting worried. Has anyone heard from this last batch?</p>
<p>plant59-i’m wondering if any more letters were even sent out, because I haven’t heard of anyone hearing from this last batch. At least, I hope this is the case, and its not because we were rejected that we haven’t heard yet.</p>
<p>MConklin: Is there another update that you can give us from 6 days ago about the last wave of letters? If I didn’t rec’d mine yet, can I assume I have been denied? Thanks in advance for your help and updates.</p>
<p>300 more admit letters are going out the door today. Many more waitlist and deny letters are being sent as well. Students who completed their applications late may hear from us shortly after the April 1st deadline.</p>
<p>This year has also been more selective than any other year in recent memory by a significant margin. More students submitted applications to Rochester than ever before, and somewhere close to 70% of the applicant pool will get a waitlist or deny letter. The fact that we have such a comprehensive review process makes these decisions very difficult to make - there are qualified students that I came to know well and fought for at every step of the process that won’t be hearing good news, and I know that each and every counselor in this office can say the same.</p>
<p>AVHS Dad: I can confirm that 4-5% is very much inaccurate regarding the percentage of our admitted students recieving non-need based aid. The actually percentage of students recieving merit-based aid (regardless of need) is significantly higher. I am not sure where the Princeton Review is getting this information, but I know that we have not for a few years participated in their surveys, etc., for a variety of reasons.</p>
<p>Late meaning near the deadline, or late meaning after the deadline?</p>
<p>Late meaning those students who completed their application after our January 1st deadline… it will affect a very small percentage of students.</p>
<p>MConklin: Whatever the decsion, I appreciate the way you’ve kept us informed. I also appreciate your assurances regarding merit aid. I do wish we’d had the decision in time to schedule a visit.
Good Luck to All!!!</p>
<p>@MConklin: Will financial aid be included in acceptance letters?</p>