Villanova Scholarship & Presidential Scholarship

It appears that V gives merit awards to students regardless of need, in that more students with need (141) got these awards than those without need (85). At some school, the figures are not only reversed, but very much slanted so that very few students getting financial aid get any merit. It makes sense because Admissions usually gives out the merit awards as incentives to get the student they most and Financial Aid gives out need based aid, and reduces need by the merit awards, so it cuts into pot that Admissions has for no good purpose if the school meet full need. V does not guarantee to meet full need so that is not such an issue. THere is no guarantee, of course as to what issues go into merit based awards. Schools do not tend to give the details of this when there are holistic factors involved, and for V, there are holistic factors.

Also, just on an observation and anecdotal basis, over many years (V has been a school big on kidsā€™ lists here ), the top kids are the ones getting the awards. Most are kids getting into ivies and other highly selective school, and usually eschew the V acceptance and offer for the more ā€œprestigiousā€ acceptances, and often pay the full sticker price for it. The agony of indecision often comes between BC or GT or ND without any merit money vs V with merit. My sonā€™s close friend is in that situation right now. Family qualifies for no fin aid, but that price tag for the EA BC acceptance is a killer, and if V comes up with a good merit award, he will likely go there, is the last I heard. Donā€™t know if he got anything as of yet.

My son sort of fit that profile though he bailed early since he was accepted to his ED school. I doubt that he would have gotten the big V awards, like the Presidential, though he was border line, IMO, looking at those kids who did in prior years. He did get a large merit award from another EA school that became his first choice for that reason, in part, before he got his ED accept. V was third choice only if they came up with the money, with ND being ahead of it for the same cost Doubt he would have gotten a dime for ND merit either. We canā€™t afford the $60K+ price tag, but if a school can reduce it to $50K level, itā€™s just manageable for us with son contributing as well, We can afford to pay a bit more for the last one as we wonā€™t have private high school bills and just one in college, but $40-45 is really were we are maxed out.

@cptofthehouse - not to get off topic here, but I was under the impression that ND practiced REAā€¦when we were there they specifically stated that you couldnā€™t apply to another schoolā€™s ED program and ND REA?

Any new developments? I understand the interview weekend was last weekend- anyone have any experiences to share?

@chaxc15ā€Œ Yes interviews were last weekend. About 60 finalists. We find out this week if we got it.

60 finalists for the bigger presidential scholarship, correct @Breezy9? Will these finalists be considered for the Villanova scholarships as well?

@mybstnw Yea the presidential scholarship is a full ride. (Room, board, books, fees) I think there were 58 of us, and we were divided into groups based on department. There was an interview committee for each department- Arts, Science, Engineering, Business, Nursing, and Underrepresented. We had other activities throughout the weekend, but the interview was the big thing. I found out yesterday that I got the Pres. Scholarship. I believe those that were not selected received a half scholarship, but Iā€™m not sure.

Congratulations!!!^^^^

@breezy9, great news! Congrats. Thanks for sharing your news!

Thanks!

So anyone who applied RD is not eligible for the Villanova Scholarship ( I realize presidential scholarship application nts needed to apply early)? That seems a little odd.

Does a merit scholarship stack onto need based aid or does it lower any need based grant? I know that Villanova doesnā€™t meet 100% of need so I thought merit aid might stack.

Hi @Class0f2O17, a merit scholarship will be combined with need based aid. You may get less need based aid because a scholarship is covering some of the amount that they are awarding you. But it will not be either/or, it will be both being complimentary. My son was accepted to Villanova but will not be attending. He was a finalist for the Presidential Scholarship, but he did not get it. He was awarded the Veritas Scholarship in his rejection letter. That is $16,000 per year for 4 years. That award was combined with work study and other grant/gift aid so that his final cost per year would have been roughly $27,000. They did meet his demonstrated need, but that is not always the case. All you can do is apply with all of your might. Interestingly, while my son was one of 58 finalists for the Presidential Scholarship, he was not considered for a Villanova Scholarship! You never know!

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Data set of one here - D was offered $9K from Villanova (which gapped $15K from her EFC). She turned it down for what I assume would be considered a ā€œless prestigiousā€ school that offered far more generous merit aid. While Villanova is a great school, it just wasnā€™t worth the nearly $100K more it would have cost compared to the merit offers she received from other schools.

@Winky1 Was $27k net price what you were already expecting from just need based aid? If so then I guess they didnā€™t stack the scholarship but if you were expecting a higher price then that is a good sign. You said they met your need though which is surprising because Iā€™ve heard they only meet around 70-80% of need.

@InigoMontoya That is my problem. Villanova NPC comes out several thousand more than comparable schools. I really love Villanova but I donā€™t want to take on even more debt for it. My goal is to get the 70-80% need met and hopefully get a small scholarship to cover the rest of the gap. That is what Iā€™m hoping to do as I have pretty good stats for Villanova(4.0, 2190) and just need a few thousand more to make it more viable. Presidential would be amazing but I donā€™t think Iā€™m a strong enough candidate for it.

@class0f2017, we were not expecting much of anything from villanova, to be honest. From what we had heard where we live, they are not known to be generous. They met our full demonstrated need so we just had to cover efc, which is enough! Good grief! Schools figure their own efc sometimes, and I think villanova may be one of those schools. When that happens, the federal efc amount is slightly lower. My sonā€™s letter said that the Veritas scholarship is their highest scholarship, so some think that 16,000 per year is great, and some think itā€™s ok. My son did receive very great aid packages from other schools, and he decided ultimately to let villanova go because they do not have a neuroscience major (he would have studied biology instead ), and they are ranked as a level 3 research institution (highest is level 1) based on $$$ spent on research and number of research projects. That ranking is from one of the carnegie institutions of some sort. That was surprising to us.

Villanova meets 81 percent of need currently. The schoolā€™s stated goal is to get to 100 as soon as possible.

Endowment has grown to over $500 million with a recent campaign. Not small, but not in the neighborhood of some peers.

Aid money is dedicated to those with need, based on institutional methodology. The federal EFC number isnā€™t particularly relevant, pertaining only to fed loans.

Like BC and ND, Villanova is aiming to phase out the scholarships and provide need based aid only. That is the ballpark they want to be in. Dismiss it if you will, but itā€™s the main reason why students get a big merit offer from Scranton (great school), for example, and then feel disillusioned when the Nova offer arrives.

The current average package is over $35,000, which would seem to contradict the statement that they are not generous. So those with need get assistance.

The presidential is a huge, comprehensive scholarship. It hardly seems unreasonable to expect more from applicants. And unless the wording on the web site has changed, it clearly states that applying EA is your best opportunity to receive merit.

As for Carnegie Classification, the university offers only JDs as far as doctorates. That is the primary reason for the differences in research. Iā€™m certain there is no difference in quality.

@Middleman68 Its just that Villanova is in a tough spot for me. I can get much more merit at a slightly less prestigious college and I can get better financial aid from Villanovaā€™s peers and slightly better schools. Schools that meet need show me net prices of around 20k/year and Villanova is around 30k/year. If scholarships do indeed stack and I can get one of the small ones(a few thousand dollars) it becomes a reasonable option. I will apply EA too.

@Middleman68, thanks for your insight. If Villanova met my sonā€™s need with grants/gift aid and work study now, they would still do the same when they phase out merit scholarships based on what you are saying if they intend to meet his demonstrated need. We did feel like we were lucky to have had the offer that he got. We were very grateful. I think there are several key factors to consider when trying to find the right school, and different families/students give weight differently to those factors. I meant no disrespect about the Presidential Scholarship. I am not sure what you mean when you said ā€œit hardly seems unreasonable to expect more from applicants.ā€ My son was thrilled to be chosen as a finalist. He felt he did very well in his interview and overall during the finalist days on campus. Being that research is an integral component for Presidential Scholars, we were not worried about him getting research opportunities. Itā€™s when he did not get the Presidential that he had to step back and consider the whole picture of each of the schools that he had narrowed his search down to.

Merit scholarships are not offered as a reward to a high achieving student or to meet financial need. ā€¦they are offered to change enrollment choices of the students a college cannot otherwise get to matriculate. Villanova is a great school, but it is in a double bindā€¦it loses many of the best and brightest admitted students to BC, ND and Georgetown (which is why 'Nova still offers some merit $$ to attract those students). Villanova also is both need aware in admissions and does not meet 100% of financial need, because its endowment lags well behind its peers, making the enrollment of a large group of full pay students essential to meeting budget numbers.

@dtrain1027 Exactly right. But the number usually needed to change someoneā€™s mind is more than what Villanova offers to those with little/no need. Which, I think, was my point.

The exception being the Presidential, which is also offered at BC and has probably attracted one or two to Chestnut Hill who planned on enrolling elsewhere.

And a preferential package can include a larger grant, which would tip you toward Georgetown or ND. Everyone is running a business.