<p>I am a NM semifinalist and hopefully will be a finalist.
SAT 2310, GPA 3.8
What is the typical amount of merit aid Willamette might offer to someone like me?</p>
<p>I have lower test scores but a higher GPA and I got 22,000 a year. I am wondering if there are any larger amount if I get standardized test scores up. I got a 30 on the ACT.</p>
<p>My son has similar GPA ( 3.85UW) and lower test scores (2070) and got $21,000.</p>
<p>I have a 34 ACT (about 2250 SAT equivalent) and a 3.99 GPA and I got awarded a $22,000 per year merit scholarship.</p>
<p>My guess is that, with strong ECs and essays, you will get something around there.</p>
<p>32 ACT and 4.57 gpa, 22,000 a year.</p>
<p>3.32 UW/3.75 W. 30 ACT. 7 AP. Varsity sport. $20,000 merit.</p>
<p>When my son was accepted to Willamette in the fall of 2010, he received a fairly substantial initial merit offer. It was increased later, and although I’m not sure whether Willamette will do this again, I thought it might be useful to share what happened in his case.</p>
<p>His stats were as follows:
ACT 32
SAT 2130
unweighted gpa 3.44
weighted gpa 4.02 (he later received the AP scholar award)
National Merit semifinalist</p>
<p>His mid-year report from the school counselor showed that he had brought his grades up in all AP classes, and within two weeks after receiving this report, Willamette mailed him a new merit offer with a higher amount. This was “raise number one.”</p>
<p>“Raise number two” occurred in mid-April or so, near the May 1st decision deadline. He took a long time to decide, because he’d also been admitted to UC San Diego, Emory University, and 3 other schools. I think that year Willamette’s yield was not quite as high as expected, and so the school did reach out to students it really wanted. He received a letter in mid-April offering him a second merit scholarship on top of the most recent offer. Together, these merit offers made attending Willamette significantly less expensive than attending a University of California campus as a California resident. And since he had really liked Willamette when he’d spent an overnight there, he chose Willamette.</p>
<p>How much total merit aid/year did he end up getting in the end if you don’t mind sharing?</p>
<p>^ This was the fall of 2009, not 2010 as I posted above. Then, the expected cost of attending the school was about $46,000 per year, as I recall, and merit offers were lower than they are now. The initial offer was for $18,000. This was raised $2,000 after the mid-year report and then raised another $4,000 in mid April.</p>
<p>This year, the New York Times published a spreadsheet of colleges providing merit aid: <a href=“Colleges and Universities That Award Merit Aid - Graphic - NYTimes.com”>Colleges and Universities That Award Merit Aid - Graphic - NYTimes.com;
<p>According to this data, Willamette awarded merit aid last year to fewer than 40% of students and the average award was lower than the figure reported by most posters on this board.</p>
<p>Question, would anybody know how much merit aid I could get? Just a rough guess?</p>
<p>I have a 3.50 UW GPA, 31 ACT, will have taken 7 AP classes and 5 advanced/honor classes by the time of graduation. About 100 volunteer hours as well.</p>
<p>I am seriously considering Willamette for their 3-2/4-2 program, and depending on the merit they offer me, I might just go.</p>
<p>Thanks for any input!</p>
<p>I think their merit is based directly off of your grades and test scores. There is no additional fee or essay. Why not apply and just see? I would guess maybe 19k? It is hard to say because your GPA is below their average.</p>
<p>I got $22,000 (34 ACT, 3.98 UW and 4.12 W GPA). Is this the maximum that they offer?</p>
<p>^ None of us here knows the answer, but my guess is that this is the highest merit offer anyone receives initially. If you read through the New York Times article posted above, you’ll find that you’re not likely to receive a higher merit offer anywhere else. My son has a couple of friends who demonstrated financial need coming to Willamette, and at least one of them is now there on what amounts to a nearly full-ride scholarship. Need-based awards will be announced at a later time, and you can expect to receive that information separately from the Financial Aid Office.</p>
<p>I was offered $22k in my acceptance letter, as it seems several CCers were as well. Wouldn’t they be in trouble if everyone decided to cash in on it?</p>
<p>Recruiting talented students is a deliberate strategy. And it has succeeded to the point that Willamette has become one of the top producers of Fulbright scholars over the last decade or so: [Willamette</a> University News | Top Fulbright Producer](<a href=“http://www.willamette.edu/news/library/2009/10/fulbright.html]Willamette”>http://www.willamette.edu/news/library/2009/10/fulbright.html).</p>
<p>Offered $22k with a 3.69 weighted GPA and a 31 ACT. I think I was carried through with: band (4 years of high school), AP Calc AB (4), AP Chem (4), AP Physics B (4). I think this school was rather easy to get in, compared to the UC system.</p>
<p>^ According to my son, many of his fellow Willamette friends were admitted to UC Davis or UC Santa Barbara. If you check the common data sets of these two campuses, you’ll see the admitted population is roughly similar to that of Willamette. My son was admitted to UC San Diego three years ago with an unweighted GPA of 3.44 (weighted 3.02) and an ACT composite score of 32. Both then and now, UCSD reported the average GPA of its admitted students to be 4.0! Be aware that the UC system reports its GPA on the Common Data Set as a weighted – not an unweighted – GPA. The UC has its own online method of calculating and weighting GPA, as you probably know, if you’re applying. Given your stats, you probably stand a good chance of admission to UCD, UCSB, UCSC, and possibly UCSD.</p>
<p>Good luck with the application process!</p>
<p>CORRECTION / ADDITION to the above:</p>
<p>Actually, after looking through the most recent Common Data Sets for UC San Diego and Willamette, the SAT and ACT composite scores of admitted students are roughly equal.</p>
<p>For UCSD, from [Student</a> Research and Information](<a href=“Undergraduate Statistics”>Undergraduate Statistics)
Average Composite ACT Score of UCSD admitted students: 27
Average Composite SAT Score of UCSD admitted students: 1845</p>
<p>For Willamette, from [C</a>. Freshman Admission](<a href=“http://www.willamette.edu/dept/ir/cds/by_year/2012/freshmen_admission.htm]C”>2012 First Year Admissions Data | Willamette University)</p>
<p>Average Composite ACT: 27.5
Average Composite SAT: 1825</p>
<p>Got an admit letter today with $14000 “academic leadership award”. (2320 SAT, 3.14 GPA, other high standardized test scores (4 SAT II’s 700+, 6 AP’s with 3 at score of 5)</p>
<p>I’m really grateful for what I’ve been blessed with, but that said, they’ll have to raise it considerably after midyear is received or in april or something for me to be able to attend.</p>