<p>First, there are 800+ top quality very young students were extremely demoralized by this charade of Villanova but I think they are lucky because the lure of free education would not force them to go to a C-grade institution. </p>
<p>Second, there will be these posts to read for the students of future years who should know what the Villanova President Scholarship is all about and what they are getting into.</p>
<p>Finally, these posts are not for AreWeDoneYet.</p>
<p>Justin you just dont get it and never will. To all you future Scholars, congrats. Villanova is an outstanding university and as a Scholar you will be given opportunities many undergrads can only dream of. The schools academic excellence can only be matched by its commitment to service both locally and worldwide. Use the weekend interview as an opportunity to really “get” Nova. The sense of family is felt the minute you walk on campus. Good luck to all, you’ve pulled off an amazing accomplishment.</p>
<p>NJBLUE,
You don’t get it. It is an empty university with very little substance. That is why all these charade. Show me another university doing this. All the other universities give applicants whatever they can upfront without making any fuss. For example Princeton gives everybody final answer on admission, financial support on Mar 31st. Same goes for Rutgers, Drexel, Wiedner, etc. etc. Because these are respectable universities not used car business and Villanova deals like a used car dealer. Many of you are not getting that.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that Villanova is #1 in PR and show.</p>
<p>Justin, you need to do some homework on this topic before jumping to such utterly ridiculous conclusions. It’s obvious you don’t know anything at all about competitive scholarships. You also don’t seem to have any idea of the number of brilliant students there are domestically and abroad who are competing, or the breadth of qualities sought after in these candidates beyond their stats. The point is not that colleges couldn’t just go out and find students with high stats and give them scholarships. The point is that nominees can COMPETE for them if they so choose. No one makes them apply nor does anyone hide the odds are of being selected if their high school gives them a nomination. I have students who were among over 2,000 applicants applying for roughly 33 scholarships at other schools. Others have even larger candidate pools for only between 1-10 of these type of scholarships. It’s a hugely competitive excercise to get the top award at almost every school I can think of that offers them. Moreover, just because getting a merit scholarship is a competitive process doesn’t mean the sponsors are playing games. In a country practically built on the very basic principle of competition it’s absurd to be upset about the number of students chasing after a free ride. Also, let me tell you from first hand experience over a number of years, Villanova’s process is nowhere near the inensity of a number of other schools with much worse odds of winning. Some have two or three rounds of eliminations and multiple interviews before they get to the finalist stage. Also, among those who do get an invite to come to campus for the Presidential, there’s roughly a 50% shot at actually getting the scholarship - best odds I’ve seen almost anywhere. Plus, those who don’t get a full ride usually still get another scholarship offer of a lesser type, and thus, are not walking away empty handed. They also notify the winners within a day or two after their visit; some schools make finalist wait as long as a couple of weeks. </p>
<p>In short, you have demonstrated a very limited understanding of how these things work and drawn some extremely false and misleading conclusions. And your characterization of the quality of Villanova really doesn’t warrant a response at all, especially since by own admission you have zero firsthand knowledge about anything that goes on there.</p>
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<p>Okay, now that’s just patently false. You are really proving your ignorance with statements like this.</p>
<p>So you are very knowledgeable about scholarship and universities. Tell me which scholarship and university you are talking about. I do this for a living. I have never seen any respectable university doing what your Villanova is doing. My students received numerous scholarships from a variety of universities. They are also waiting to hear from a few. No one is asking for six essays, three-day interview etc. etc with 2% chance. Just name one which is doing that.</p>
<p>Just to educate some of you, let me tell you that other Philadelphia universities like Drexel gives out A. J Drexel without any application or interview; Weidner gives out their President scholarship without application or interview etc. etc.
So there are lots of universities dealing very straight no game playing. 800+ invited applicants for 18 scholarships? That is a joke or a PR campaign.
It is even more idiotic to try to justify this academic blasphemy!</p>
<p>I have a student who was EA to Villanova and not a presidential finalist. I just have a few questions:
If the presidential says that financial need is taken into consideration, and financial aid forms are not due until Feb 7, how is this true?
Doesn’t the material from VU say that they usually give 30 odd presidential scholarships after inviting 80-100 finalists to campus? I know I read that somewhere.
What do I do for this student? She is very distraught and believes that VU is out of reach.
If your student probably will not get a presidential b/c you won’t qualify for need, then why did you let him apply in the first place?</p>
<p>Justin, I’m curious about one thing. At what point did you realize that Villanova was a C- university? The reason I am asking is because if this was something you have always known, why did you have your students with 2300+ SAT’s and 34-35 ACT scores even apply? I don’t get it. And if this is something you just figured out, why are you so upset that they didn’t get to the next round. You should be happy that they are not even considering such an awful school.</p>
<p>hsteacher, you raise some valid points. Did your student make it to the next round? If he/she did, and fasfa’s are due 2/7, the student should be fine. If your student didn’t make it to the next round, then he/she needs to wait and hear about aid. I’m not sure what Villanova’s reputation is on aid, but you can probably find out. As far as the number of Presidental Scholarships being offered this year, I asked the same question. Someone in one of the earlier posts suggested that it might be due to cutbacks, or that the 18 number total did not include those students where need was being considered. I’m really not sure, but I think if you called Villanova, they would probably be able to answer that question. Good luck.</p>
<p>Justin-Is it possible that the kids you tutor did not get a Presidential scholarship, are disappointed, and you have to justify why they weren’t chosen not only to the students themselves, but especially to their parents? Why have them apply if you don’t think it is a good school/scholarship competition? Also-not everybody wants to or should go to an Ivy League school; some students feel they will get a better education at a school where there is more emphasis and attention paid to undergraduates. I went to a school who only had undergraduates, received an excellent education and had professors who caused me to became interested in the sciences (of which I previously had no interest), decided to apply to medical school and am now a physician. I can tell you from personal experience that some of the best young physicians we have had majors other than science. Science/research is of course important, but it is not the only thing that goes into making a good physician and there are many wonderful colleges that are not necessarily in “the top ten” which turn out students who will someday make excellent physicians!</p>
<p>There’s no way you can know as little as you’ve demonstrated and be making a legitimate living doing anything related. And now you want me to do your legwork and educate you about competitive scholarship programs at other schools? In the Villanova forum no less? Uh, I don’t think so Mr. Professional. </p>
<p>Well okay, I’ll give you one, but you’ll have to look up the details on your own. Try UVA’s Jefferson Scholars. Not quite the same as Drexel or Widner, but it’ll have to do for now I guess :). </p>
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<p>That’s a good one. And from what planet are you visiting us from today? </p>
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<p>Wrong again! Drexel’s top scholarship absolutely requires an interview and involves a similar process as Villanova with a selection committee. Widner also requires an interview at a minimum. And by the way, neither of those schools offer a full comprehensive scholarship on par with Villanova’s Presidential. Geez, even your own examples are screwed up.</p>
<p>Quality of education at Rutgers is hit or miss, with frequently more misses than hits. It’s also a mess of bureaucratic red tape, which isn’t conducive to a positive experience. You can find these things out - and much more - by asking any student who attends Rutgers. The term “RU Screw” was coined for a reason.</p>
<p>And saying the quality of education at Villanova is comparable to Rowan or Rider is a laughable, patently false statement. I mean no disrespect to those schools, but the differences in credentials of the students they admit, compared to Villanova, are significant.</p>
<p>Many students already filed their FAFSA and VU have them. You should tell your student that it is a blessing in disguise. There are lots of much better schools who are giving merit as well as need based scholarships without any PR like Drexel, Weidner, West Chester etc. These are better schools with great programs and financial support.</p>
<p>What are you talking about? At Rutgers, if you are a good student you can go far. If you are a bad student you might be better off in other places like Villanova. VU accepts >50% applicants which are generally poor quality catholic students. VU has only mundane programs. Most of their graduates will be hopeless. It has no standing in the academic world. It is considered a lowly undergraduate institution.<br>
It is not even included in the world’s top 500 universities and colleges:
[QS</a> World University Rankings - Topuniversities](<a href=“http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2010]QS”>http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2010)</p>
<p>It is a no nothing university. It rakes in $273 million and gives out hardly anything as scholarship and that too with a lot of PR like Presidential Scholarship. Only reason it is in existence because of the support of Catholics. It could be a good place for socialization of Catholic students meaning finding a future spouse.</p>
<p>Well, I have never seen what Villanova did with this Scholarship and the level of brutality in the process. I found it highly unethical. My students got merit scholarships from a number of universities like $26000 A. J. Drexel from Drexel University without any special application which is a far better university. </p>
<p>What I knew about Villanova was that it is a mundane run of the mill UG college run by catholic padres. I did not know how unethical, brutal, and nasty college it is. My students are disappointed as high school students suffer from serious self image issues. I told them that ethics is the most important issue. If this college is so unethical in giving out scholarships, it is bound to be unethical in other areas of education and student life. I also reminded them that worst pedophiles in this planet are among catholic priests. Thus I am not so surprised there are so unethical with admission and scholarship. I think my students are lucky they found out before joining this college.</p>
<p>Justin
You need to leave this board because you have become toxic and stepped way over the line. Hard to believe that you are from a prestigious school that obviously never offered you a class in tact and diplomacy. I really feel sorry for the students you tutor and guide. They must certainly suffer!</p>
<p>Justin,
Don’t you have anything better to do with your time than ■■■■■ this thread, spewing negativity? Your grudge against Villanova has clouded whatever critical thinking skills you might posses, as most of your posts contain highly biased exaggerations, if not outright inaccuracies. </p>
<p>As others here have suggested, please leave and find a new hobby.</p>