<p>To keep this board alive. . . why did you guys choose to apply to Trinity? I can't even remember how I heard about it in the first place! Where else are you applying besides Trinity?</p>
<p>My S loved Trinity because of the friendly student body, small class sizes, personalized attention with professors, good academics. He ended up at Pomona but Trinity was his 2nd choice.</p>
<p>Honestly, the location, although I didn't complete my app.</p>
<p>Yay! Two people have responded!</p>
<p>arizonamom--interesting that your son is now attending Pomona. I had been encouraged to apply there a year ago, but I just didn't think I had competitive stats for Pomona. The Claremont Colleges are AWESOME from what I understand. </p>
<p>I also applied to The Unversity of Texas at Austin and Texas Christian University---but my final choice comes down to UT and Trinity--BIG extremes! </p>
<p>I have an English teacher who is one of the toughest teachers I've ever had (scratch that--the toughest) and she's a huge fan of the small liberal arts college settings. While I do wonder if I would "learn" more about taking care of myself, about life, at UT, I think I'll get a better education at Trinity. I read somewhere that graduates of small colleges are often more prepared for the real world because they've had a real relationship with their professors and are actually "students" of their fields--not just minds to absorb information and take a test and pass. </p>
<p>I'm visiting Trinity next Saturday for the 360. I am sooooo, sssssooo excited!!! I've already filled out the "Yes! I will attend Trinity" form. I'm waiting for the visit to confirm all my dreams. I also promise that I'll post a link to pictures when I return, for the . . . three? people on this forum, lol.</p>
<p>Dear Europegirl,</p>
<p>There are more people thank you think that are checking out Trinity so don't get discouraged. After your visit post your thoughts and what you saw. I have applied and am awaiting any word re acceptance/merit but I can't make it to the 360. So share.......... Any merit aid in your future and if so what stats. I am not really clear on how merit is at Trinity</p>
<p>Yes, please share your impressions. This one has made it to my junior's list.</p>
<p>My son applied regular decision and was accepted. We were surprised to have
heard already. He received 34K merit award. Trinity was the first school he visited and we were very impressed. He probably won't attend but I know he would be happy there.</p>
<p>cali, where else has your son applied? </p>
<p>froshtobe, I was given 10k/year in scholarships for $40k total and that is really influencing my decision to go (plus, the acceptance package was so pretty!). I was also given a very similar scholarship by TCU ($9,500/year), and a spot in their honors program/dorms (Moncrief) but Trinity is such a better school than TCU (which I visited last November) academically.
I applied EA. Stats below:
ACT: 29 12 essay
SAT: best combined is 1350 or 2080
APs: Biology 3, USHistory 5, AP English Language 5.
APs taking now: AP Statistics, AP English Literature, AP European History
Decently hard courseload--honors, g/t classes
3.95 GPA UW.
Rank is 6/143. I will probably be salutorian if no one drops (there are 5 valedictorians, currently).
Co-Editor of school newspaper, involved in a couple of other clubs--National Honor Society, German Club, Mu Alpha Theta, blah blah
From Louisiana. My essay was about my hearing impairment, which I guess is unique?</p>
<p>In my opinion Trinity provides more opportunities for undergraduates, ie research with professors, oportunities to get published and present at conferences with professors. In a larger University the grad students get the best opportunities. My D has a classmate at Trinity that loves it, both of his parents are Harvard grads, he is their only child and a lot of professors kids go to Trinity. Trinity seems more even, in regards to female/male ratio then schools such as Texas Christian.</p>
<p>Europegirl, sounds great as does the merit aid. Concerning the hearing impairment, unique or not isn't the point but the fact that you have not let it get in the way of your goals is the best. We actually sound like we have similar stats and interests. I really haven't heard much bad about Trinity thus far at all. Arizonamom has a great point about the small school and the research etc.,which I had only vaguely thought about. Will see what you think when you go. I hope to visit in the future sometime.</p>
<p>I'm a little confused. The website says the max merit award is $12,000. The school doesn't even cost $34K, so maybe you could explain.</p>
<p>Probably $8,500/year (x4)</p>
<p>Yes, that would be the case $8500 x 4. Anybody else get merit aid and with what stats. Sorry this time of the year is so crazy....Those Mom's/ students who visited what were your impressions good and bad? What about proximity to the city and transportation if you don't have a car.........</p>
<p>Daughter got $11,000 a year merit award with a 1510 SAT, 4/718 class rank, 4.0 unweighted. Other kids she knew got $10,500 and $10,000, and one $12,000 we've heard about from a private school.</p>
<p>I can't imagine anyone not loving Trinity. Gorgeous campus, great town.<br>
Campus is on hillside overlooking city. You don't need a car. Plenty of friends will have them, anyway.</p>
<p>My d got 5K/yr. with 1350 SAT and 3.0 GPA UW by Trinity's calculation, ranked 62 out of 580. Makes me wonder once again about the merits of taking AP/honors courses. She stuck it out in them with a solid mid B average on the advice of her counselor, trying to reach the heralded Texas top 10%. This is achievable in our school only by taking all honors /AP or making very high 90s in regular courses. She has a 4.64 GPA weighted by our school's formula. Since Trinity does not take honors classes into account, she didn't qualify for a scholarship, but qualified for a grant on the basis of her courseload. She would have qualified for a much higher scholarship had she switched to regular courses (at least in the classes where she struggled) and gotten low A's. I am definitely rethinking the HS courseload for my other kids.
All that said, Trinity is a wonderful school, and is first on her list. She will be well prepared for the level of coursework, but Mom and Dad will be poorer than they had hoped! :)</p>
<p>Yes, the 34K = $8,500 per year. Sorry for the confusion. Son had 2160 SAT,
top 20% of class, 3.5 UW, 4.15 W with hardest course load - lots of honors and
AP's. We thought the campus was very impressive. Clean, pretty with well-maintained facilities. My son attended a math class and was impressed with the professor. Also met with an engineering professor. Admissions seemed well organized and we had a really nice visit. Unfortunately, son is almost certain not to attend which is a shame since Trinity is almost the only school which he applied to which will offer him merit money.</p>
<p>cal0302-- What do you mean qualified for a grant based on coarseload. Grant would be needbased wouldn't it? So what is the formula they use to calculate merit award- anyone know? How do they figure in the non-stat stuff like ec's and other awards etc?</p>
<p>I believe her award letter said that she did not qualify for a scholarship, but did qualify for an academic grant based on her academic achievements. I'm guessing that's where the honors courses came into play. She also had a fair amount of ECs and achievements outside of academics. I do know that Trinity looks at the whole picture when determining scholarships, and they determine each one individually. They don't use a formula, where you can add a certain amount of money for GPA, SAT, rank, etc. I want to be clear that I'm not complaining about Trinity's offer. I was just wondering whether things would have been different if she had taken less challenging courses and gotten better grades. Even with ''regular" courses, she still would have been on an advanced track. The GPA "game" in Texas public schools is crazy, and our counselors are focused on getting kids into Tx public colleges, which follow the 10% rule.</p>
<p>I understand where you're coming from, being from Texas also. The "game" here is definitely slanted for kids who are headed to UT or A&M. Good for your daughter, though, for sticking out the tougher courses. She'll probably be the better for it academically, even if your wallet won't!</p>
<p>My daughter loved Trinity, but the merit aid is on the lower side of any of the schools she's applied to. Since she liked them all well enough to apply, she keeps thinking of the $$$ saved that could help her through graduate school.</p>
<p>Yes, the graduate school costs loom and that does make it important. Well looking at each one individually is a good thing maybe. I am not from Texas so I don't understand the 10% rule or how the GPA differs there. It sounds like Texas schools ought think more out of the box unless most Texas kids really are staying in Texas schools. Seems like I read about a lot of Texas kids comparing Texas schools and I read that Trinity is 66 or more % Texans. I agree though that it is better to have pushed herself in the tougher courses because she will be better off in College for it. She'll get the grind going in college faster maybe too.</p>