<p>I'm submitting a Presidential Scholarship app and trying to figure out my chances of actually getting it. The admissions counselor told me that my SAT scores looked like they'd get me some money.</p>
<p>Here are my stats:</p>
<p>Female, Indian, out of state, applied EA</p>
<p>GPA: 3.88/5 W (I go to a highly competitive high school and sent in a counselor report which showed that) 3.77 UW
Courses: Currently taking AP English, AP Spanish, AP Psychology, Honors Int'l Relations, CP Trigonometry, Mentoring (sort of like assistant teaching) a sophomore English class
Electives: Took Photography and Creative Writing every year possible</p>
<p>SATII:
Lit: 750
Spanish: 750
US History: 730</p>
<p>Extra-curricular:
President of school chapter of Amnesty International
Member of GSA
Member of Photography Club
10 years of Dance Experience, Member of Dance Company</p>
<p>There is no way to official say your chances because it also considers an interview process that you will go to upon acceptance to the program. </p>
<p>That being said, with your credentials in, and out of the classroom. You have a fairly good chance of getting some level of scholarship. Just be sure to communicate well in your interviews and ask questions! </p>
<p>I wouldn’t normally create an account just to respond to a post, however, given all of the hype surrounding HPU recently, I felt compelled to tell it straight. </p>
<p>I am class of 2006 alumnus. I graduated high in my class and was invloved in campus activities. After graduation, I lived in the area for several years and routinely visited friends that were current students. </p>
<p>Over the past few years, the campus has changed drastically both physically and socially. I belive it to be all shine and no substance. It’s more of a resort than a university. Sure, you’ll live in posh single dorms and enjoy a meal in a five star steakhouse once a week. </p>
<p>What you won’t get is a decent education. The university is quickly developing a reputation as a four year summer camp for spoiled teenagers. I’ve experienced it first hand from prospective employers. I had to grad school just to erase High Point from my resume. </p>
<p>You probably do have what you need to get a scholarship there, however, I would focus my energy on enrolling somewhere else. You may not get the royal treatment somewhere else, but you will get a job after you graduate.</p>
<p>nisrent, you are so far off with your comments it’s unbelievable. I’m sorry the campus revival is not up to your liking but there is no need to bash the education quality. Clearly you have little to no understanding of the academic changes that have been made at HPU.</p>
<p>nisrent, thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I appreciate the advice. </p>
<p>High Point is actually not my first choice. I applied Early Decision at another school. When I first toured HPU, I was concerned about its “resort” appearance, but instead of being a “4 year summer camp,” I found it to be a school that molds the whole person instead of just educates. Also, I plan on attending law school after HPU, so why not have some fun in undergrad? I really want the connections, networking, and community that go along with an HPU education. Also, I had the chance to talk to Dr. Qubein in person, and would love to be a part of his future plans for HPU.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t mean to sound rude/offensive, but I’d put a little more stock in camdisco’s more recent account of the school than your observations since you graduated 5 years ago.</p>
<p>My daughter is currently enrolled ay HPU and nisrent, you couldn’t be further from the truth. She is taking honors courses and is finding all of her coursework challenging, invigorating and extremely worthwhile. Yes, she is having fun, but I think most college students find time for fun. I think you are just jealous because the changes happened after you left. BY the way she enrolled there for the academic programs and the holistic learning aspect.</p>
<p>I agree 100% with Luckydog. My son is attending there now as well and he chose to go to Highpoint because of the holistic education and philosophy of the school. We also believe that in this current economy and culture you NEED a graduate degree to advance in your career. What is wrong with doing extremely well in your undergraduate work before you go to graduate school. I believe your comment about an HPU degree being worthless is a little harsh and uncalled for. What was your major? I have a feeling that has more to do with you not getting a job then from where you got your degree from.</p>
<p>camdisco - I wonder sometimes if one of the things you are learning at High Point is to stifle open discussion and to stomp on any opinions that differ from your own? It’s a little bizarre to see that any time anyone posts anything negative about High Point - you swoop in and “correct” them. We understand you like High Point - you have made your point. But you also work for the admissions office, right? Not exactly an unbiased opinion.</p>
<p>As a parent and private college advisor - I like to hear all opinions - positive and negative - about any college. When I visit a school - I specifically ask the tour guide and any other students I meet as to what they don’t like about the school and what they wish could be changed. I find these answers to be very useful. Every college - even High Point - has pros and cons. You may personally disagree with the post from nisrent - but similar opinions abound.</p>
<p>rockville, I’m failing to see where I stifled an open discussion here, or in any other thread. Call me crazy, but if someone puts out wrong information about my school, I feel the need to correct it and give them the correct info. In this case, the poster “swooped” in and posted unrelated comments to a scholarship thread…</p>
<p>I am a student at HPU, of course I’m going to be biased toward my school. That being said, when someone calls my school a “summer camp for spoiled teenagers” I’m not going to just be ok about it. In other instances, people have called HPU “creepy” and “Stepford” and IMO, thats not a topic of discussion, that’s just an unfounded comment. If someone comes on here and asks questions and opens a logical discussion, I would never shut them down. A concern is one thing, an insult is another. I’d rather discuss the pros and cons without name calling or bashing, that’s how they teach us at HPU.</p>
<p>Ok then - so pros and cons - what do you dislike about High Point? Why do you feel so many people criticize the school? I think it is one of the most divisive I have ever seen - in terms of people who like it and those who bash it. What would you change about HPU if you had the power to do so? What do you see as the school’s shortcomings?</p>
<p>Here’s a specific question - why is HPU’s graduation rate so low?</p>
<p>US News has the 4 year graduation rate at 45% - that’s quite low. As a parent - that would concern me. By comparison - schools that overlap with HPU in terms of applicants - Elon and JMU - had much higher graduation rates. Elon has a 75% rate and James Madison has 67%. How would you explain that?</p>
<p>Cons-
No Football
Price Rising too quickly
No standard housing for upperclassmen. (There is a $2000 fee for most upperclassmen housing)</p>
<p>I help pay for the majority of my education so the last two are my top concerns.</p>
<p>People criticize HPU because it is different. People think everything should always happen the way it did in the past. When a school/business/person comes out and goes beyond the norm, people do not want to accept it on the surface. That’s why I always tell people to forget the aesthetics and go talk to the professors. That’s how I got excited about HPU. The focus at HPU was on real world application, and I found this to be unlike any other school. I loved the idea of learning everywhere I turned. HPU has not failed to disappoint in my three years here. </p>
<p>If I could change one thing about HPU, it would be their marketing efforts. They focused a little too much on the “fun” in the past and they are just now starting to focus on the important stuff. I think we have to stick with this to be taken seriously. HPU has always been dedicated to academics, but it just took them a while to truly showcase it. </p>
<p>Graduation rate. This number is interesting to me. It gets brought up often, for obvious reasons. IMO, this number is not concerning at all. If it remains this low the next 3-4 years… then yes, it’s a concern. Here’s why I say that… that number is based off percentage of students who graduated within a recent four year period. This means that the body of students this is based on entered in 2006/2007. What was happening at HPU during that time? A total transformation. (Btw, this is not a jab at those students what-so-ever) The culture of students from an academic standpoint has drastically changed since then. We’re talking much higher incoming GPA, SATs, ect… Give that number time to work itself out, and I believe we will be right up there with all the other private schools in the area. Especially with the addition of our 4 credit system. </p>
<p>Now that was a very thoughtful post - you identified some cons and growing pains - I like that. </p>
<p>Not sure if I agree with you on the low graduation rate - I’d still look into that further if I were a parent or student considering HPU. You can see the smae pattern in the freshman retention rate - from the same source as above</p>
<p>
The freshman retention rate is 89.8% at Elon and 91.2% at James Madison. I still view this and the low graduation rate as a red flag.</p>
<p>Last years freshman retention rate was 98% and our current four year retention rate is 88% as of 2010. Not sure how they calculated that number to be honest. Do you? </p>
<p>The graduation rate is a red flag on the surface. But I’m confident that it will go up quite a bit this year alone. It’s one of those things that will take time, but the growth and culture of HPU has changed so quickly, things like that are bound to work itself out.</p>
<p>I am finding this conversation quite interesting. My daughter (a junior) has visited HPU and it is at the top of her list. She loved the amenities - no doubt about that - but she was most impressed with the professor in the department she’s interested in who spent a lot of time at an open house talking to her. She was riveted by Qubein’s philosophy (he spoke at length at the open house). She has met with the rep who visited the college fair in our region, who gave her personal attention. She has met several current students, including one who has started his own successful business.</p>
<p>Living only two hours away from HPU, I haven’t heard great negativity toward the school. Some have wondered about the “ice cream truck”. The reputation seems to be skyrocketing in the region. My husband works in academia, and he’s heard some concern about the leveraging the school has done, and it’s dependence on Qubein as a fundraiser.</p>
<p>I grew up in central NC, and in the mid 80s HP was not even a blip on my radar. I am hearing about it all the time now, and seeing lots of HPU t-shirts around.</p>
<p>My final impression is that it will either succeed spectacularly, or fail spectacularly. With Qubein, I’d bet on success. I will not be upset at all if Daughter attends (as long as she gets a scholarship!)</p>
<p>Really? Where are you getting that from? That would be one of the highest in the nation. How is it possible that the current issue of US News has it at 79.8%?</p>
<p>I think you are mistaken. The freshman retention rate is very easy to calculate. It’s simply the number of students who started as freshmen and return for their sophomore year divided by the original number who entered as freshmen.</p>
<p>This is for students who entered as freshmen in Fall 2009 and then returned to be sophomores in Fall 2010. </p>
<p>Do you have data on students who entered as freshmen in Fall 2010 and returned as sophomores this fall? There is no way it jumped from 79% to 98% in one year.</p>
<p>Here’s another link showing the trend line for the freshman retention rate over the past few years - and it is improving - but was 79% for the most recent year data has been available for.</p>
<p>Another thing that bothers me about High Point is the lack of transparency. Where is their Common Data Set? Camdisco - can you post a link for it? I have never seen it. Most schools have an Office of Institutional Research and make their Common Data Sets easy to find and view. If you are not familiar with the CDS - it is the raw data on admissions, graduation, retention, etc. A wealth of information. But High Point does not make theirs available - why is that?</p>
<p>just looked back at my numbers and I realized that I did make a mistake. 98% of students who attended summer experience returned for their So. year. That’s why I had it confused. My bad! </p>
<p>BUT, my 88% number was correct for the rest of the student body. That is our most recent retention rate. </p>
<p>With the CDS, I have no idea. I’m just a student so that is all a little over my head. I’m sure if you contacted admissions they could transfer you to the department who provides those numbers. HPU isn’t hiding anything, they will be more than happy to give it out I’m sure.</p>
<p>Here are some links that may be relevant to the discussion:</p>
<p>HPU’s federal mandate report, which includes 6 year grad rates, as well as lots of stuff about fire extinguishers and crime statistics. It also says in the preface that more information is available in community relations - I think they’d share the CDS data if requested. I replaced the dot with DOT in the addresses, as I can’t remember if links are allowed.</p>
<p>I wondered about the significance of 6 year graduation rates, especially in light of camdisco’s observation that the student body is rapidly changing. I found this interesting article from the Chronicle of Higher Ed:</p>
<p>I really have no fish to fry here, but I am following the conversation with interest (I follow discussions on my daughter’s top five regularly). Rockvillemom, I see your posts often and find them helpful. And camdisco, it’s great to see a student who defends their college! Apologies to the OP for contributing to a discussion that has veered far from the original question.</p>