Which is easier: Harvard v.s. Full Tuition Merit Scholarships at Boston College?

Applying to College
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Like the title says, I’m wondering if anyone has experience with the probability of getting a full tuition merit scholarship at Boston College. Also, how does this compare to the probability of getting accepted to Harvard?

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Also, I don’t just mean Harvard. I am talking about very top schools like Harvard.

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Since BC only offers 15 per year, I would guess that getting a Presidential award from them is more difficult.

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Thanks for the reply.

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Pretty hard to calculate something like this. On its face, an unhooked applicant has something like a 5% chance of getting into a Harvard-type school. However, the reality is that chances vary greatly from applicant to applicant. There are plenty of kids who apply to Harvard-type schools who effectively have a 0% chance of getting in. On the other hand, there are some kids who can put together an application (stats, test scores, EC’s, LOR’s, rigor, essays etc …) that is so impressive, their chances of getting into a Harvard-type school is a lot better than 5%.

If you are a person in the latter group, your qualifications would place you at the very top of BC’s acceptance pool, thereby making you an attractive candidate for a Gabelli scholarship. That said, with only 15 such scholarships offered, it’s far from a sure thing.

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This year, BC said they had “over 8000 candidates for 18 spots.” But like @TheBigChef said, we don’t know how many people were actually competitive for these spots. Still very competitive regardless.

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Is there any other merit offered at BC besides the Gabelli?

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Hi. I agree with the previous responses. Although the interview and process for gabelli can be daunting. If you get into Harvard as unhooked candidate you would be the same person looking at winning a Gabelli. One is not harder. They are for the same candidate basically. It’s a full scholarship and other benefits to attract the ivy candidate with the 320k.

There is no other merit. But BC meets 100 percent of need using their formula.

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Exactly. Actually, I’d argue the Gabelli winner is the better candidate because it isn’t likely going to be an athlete or donor’s child.

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Not sure why we’re reviving 2 year old threads with a hijack. Closing.

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