<p>A few months ago my school nominated 8 students, including me, for the Posse Foundation. The problem is, the first round of interviews takes place on Monday, but I'm not sure if I want to participate. I've checked out their partner schools and the only two that caught my attention in terms of interest, student reviews and overall reviews is Brandeis and Babson. If I'm selected for the scholarship I must attend the university I'm accepted to. I personally would like to apply to many different schools that I actually like and have the option to select my offers. My mom told me to drop out if I don't want to participate and that she respects my decision either way. I just don't want to sound selfish for turning down such an opportunity.</p>
<p>Does your family have the ability to pay for where you might else end up attending college? Do you know your EFC, the likely student loans and grants you may or may not qualify for, etc? Have you talked to your parent/s and gotten a fairly firm number of how many dollars per year they expect and are willing to pay for your college?</p>
<p>If you have the finances truly handled in order to attend some other college, then move on.</p>
<p>Unless your parents have the money to pay for college, why drop out? That seems silly.</p>
<p>My EFC is most likely 0, because my mom is currently unemployed, but most schools on my list demonstrate full need and I’m also applying for other scholarship programs where I can use the money towards any school of my choice.</p>
<p>The chances that you’d get outside scholarships that would pay as much as Posse would is slim. </p>
<p>Since your family can’t pay for college, stay in the competition.</p>
<p>What about the schools that meet full need? There’s also Questbridge and Gates Millenium.</p>
<p>There are NO SCHOOLS that you would attend if awarded this Posse Scholarship? Just those two that you don’t really like? Why is this? </p>
<p>If you think you have an excellent shot at getting other scholarships, I would say fine…but if not…can you do this an withdraw later if you receive funding to attend a different school?</p>
<p>If Posse requires a firm commitment, I wouldn’t have my kid participate if they weren’t schools he/she wanted to attend. How strong a candidate are you for a “meet full need” school?</p>
<p>Your mom sounds like a peach. She could be looking at just the $ and say “you must do this” but she’s thinking about you first. </p>
<p>That said, please know that this business of “finding the perfect fit” in a college is WAYYY overrated. There are great professors and miserable professors on every campus. There are students who are dreadful snobs and there are students who are worthy of a lifetime of your friendship – on every campus. </p>
<p>So, what kind of flower are you? If you are rather particular, then you need to focus on where you would thrive. Some kids really, really need a small campus – or sunshine – or a music department. Other students are nice, robust thistles that can put down a deep tap root just about anywhere. </p>
<p>IF (big if) this interview turned into a full ride at Babson, could you cope? If so, I’d say “Do the interview”. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, do take a minute and carefully read the material for the scholarship offers from Posse. Do they ASK you to list the colleges that you would accept an offer from or do you have to accept any of the 8? That detail makes a difference. Also, what dates are involved? Do they let you know in time to pursue other options?</p>
<p>As you weigh your choices, keep in mind that one scenario is this: I say No to the Posse path and then find that none of the other scholarships work out. The world would keep turning, but would you be then headed to a community college? Or to Burgerville? Thinking through the different scenarios systematically can help.</p>
<p>At this point in the process, you are hoping that you will be accepted for Dream College on a Great Scholarship. That could work out – but times are very, very hard and your competition will be very stiff. </p>
<p>So, you have to look in the mirror and make a realistic assessment of how flexible and how competitive you are. Your school guidance counselor should be able to look at your GPA and your EC’s and tell you if you are a Top Tier candidate (hold out for the best of all worlds) or if you are a Nice Kid (better take what you can while you can).
Good luck!</p>
<p>*What about the schools that meet full need? There’s also Questbridge and Gates Millenium. *</p>
<p>Those are all “iffy” for acceptance. </p>
<p>Why close the door on one possibility when you don’t have a firm situation in the bag??</p>
<p>posse is not a firm situation either</p>
<p>Right…so why dismiss a possible option.</p>
<p>OP, it looks from earlier posts like you are interested in Middlebury, and that’s a Posse NY school. Would that work for you?</p>
<p>You’re a compelling candidate, except for (as I know you’re aware) your test scores. My concern would be that it’s going to impact your admission chances at schools that meet full need. Similarly, it’s going to be an issue when you’re applying for outside scholarships, especially the highly competitive large ones. </p>
<p>Looking at the Posse FAQ, it seems that you only make the firm commitment later in the process, if you advance to one of the semi-finalist or finalist stages. </p>
<p>If you’ve got a good safety school in hand–one where you’re almost sure you’ll be accepted, and one which you’re sure you can afford–and you like that better than the Posse schools, then that’s a better choice. Otherwise, continue to pursue the Posse option.</p>
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<p>OP…could you explain a little about the Posse Scholarship. The schools above are their partner schools…an amazing list. There were “Posse regions” listed too…does this mean that you can only indicate schools from within your region? OR can you choose any schools from this amazing list…tell us more.</p>
<p>The Posse Foundation is a full scholarship program with additional perks such as internships, etc. I completely agree with your opinion about the list, it is amazing. If I had a choice to pick from the whole thing I would definitely shoot for the scholarship even more. I would apply to Syracuse, Oberlin and even UPenn. Unfortunately, none of those schools are an option for me, because the New York has it’s own limited selection of schools.</p>
<p>"How Do You Choose Which Partner College Each Student Will Be Considered For? At the first recruitment meeting, called the Large Group Interview, the Posse staff members will describe our university partners connected to that city to the applicants. Upon leaving that meeting, each student will receive a brochure for each college. They will be told to review the materials so that if they are called back for a semi-finalist interview, they will be able to tell us their preference at that time. If the student is selected as a finalist, s/he will be slotted for one of the three schools based on her/his preferences.</p>
<p>Can I Take A Posse Scholarship I’ve Won And Use It For A College That Is Not An Official Posse Partner College Or A Posse Partner College That I Didn’t Apply To? If you win a Posse Scholarship with X college, you are committed to attending X college. You can’t take the Posse Scholarship and apply it to Y college (if Y is not an official Posse partner institution) or even apply it to a college that IS an official partner, but was not the college you won the Scholarship for."
Possee quick facts
[Quick</a> Facts — The Posse Foundation](<a href=“http://www.possefoundation.org/quick-facts#howdoyouchoosewhich]Quick”>http://www.possefoundation.org/quick-facts#howdoyouchoosewhich)</p>
<p>The Posse Foundation could not exist without the support of its partner colleges and universities. These institutions have awarded more than $406 million in leadership scholarships to Posse Scholars across the country.The following is a list of Posse’s partner colleges and universities and their recruitment cities.</p>
<pre><code>Babson College Posse New York
Bard College Posse Atlanta, Posse New Orleans
Boston University Posse Atlanta
Brandeis University Posse New York + Posse Atlanta
Bryn Mawr College Posse Boston
Bucknell University Posse Boston + Posse Los Angeles + Posse D.C.
Carleton College Posse Chicago
Centre College Posse Boston
Colby College Posse New York
The College of Wooster Posse Atlanta
Connecticut College Posse Chicago
Denison University Posse Boston + Posse Chicago
DePauw University Posse Chicago + Posse New York
Dickinson College Posse Los Angeles + Posse New York
Franklin & Marshall College Posse Miami, Posse New York
Grinnell College Posse Los Angeles + Posse D.C.
Hamilton College Posse Boston + Posse Miami
Kalamazoo College Posse Los Angeles
Lafayette College Posse New York + Posse D.C.
Lawrence University Posse New York
Middlebury College Posse New York + Posse Chicago
Mount Holyoke College Posse Miami
Oberlin College Posse Chicago
Pepperdine University Posse D.C.
Pomona College Posse Chicago
Sewanee: The University of the South Posse D.C.
Syracuse University Posse Atlanta + Posse Los Angeles + Posse Miami
Trinity College Posse New York + Posse Chicago
Tulane University Posse New Orleans, Posse Los Angeles
Union College Posse Boston
University of California, Berkeley Posse Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles Posse Los Angeles
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Posse Chicago
University of Pennsylvania Posse Miami
University of Southern California Posse New York
University of Wisconsin-Madison Posse Chicago + Posse Los Angeles + Posse D.C. + Posse New York
Vanderbilt University Posse New York
Wheaton College Posse New York
</code></pre>
<p>OP in this case, if you have absolutely NO interest in going to one of the colleges associated with your city, then its fine to withdraw your application. But if you’re in NY I see 11 colleges associated with posse NY. I would hesitate to be so choosy, especially with a great U such as USC on the list.</p>
<p>A senior from my school last year has won the scholarship and the we, the nominees, had an interview with him and I remember him mentioning 3 schools.</p>
<p>well, maybe its worth asking Possee directly exactly how many schools you would have to choose from this year… maybe new universities have signed on since last year? I see no mention of only 3 schools anywhere on the Possee website. That is the current list and it shows 11 colleges assoc. with Possee NY.</p>
<p>When I refer to 3 schools, I mean that I select 3 schools once I make it to the semi-finals.</p>
<p>Since you don’t have to agree to a school until you are a Finalist, I think you should give it a try. You learn so much about yourself and your goals when you interview for scholarships. At the very least, it will help you prepare for other interviews. It also really forces you to think about your strengths and college in a critical way. People change as they learn and by December, you could be really hoping to be a Finalist. It is a incredible opportunity but just like the lottery, you can’t win if you don’t play.</p>