<p>I'm currently a high school sophomore (junior next year) and after last year I switched from the best high school in my state to a small art school in the downtown area. My last school had full AP, IB, and PSEO programs which of course was great but the one I go to now only has 2 AP class options and that's it. There is a local college that gives 2 years completely tuition free and doesn't really look at grades, but I feel like an impressive GPA couldn't hurt. I hate the school I'm at now but don't really want to go back to my old one. I was wondering if I should just suck it up and go back to my old school school or just stay where I am, take the 2 AP classes and deal with it. I'm going into a particularly specific medical field so I need all the financial help I can get and am willing to do anything that'll help.</p>
<p>I don’t understand your question. Are you asking if your chances at a particular college of getting a particular merit award would be higher going to highschool “A” over highschool “B”? If you are, you need to talk to to people familiar with the scholarship and college you have in mind and get their feedback.</p>
<p>As a general rule, merit awards are heavily weighted towards test scores and grades. But unless an award is guaranteed at certain threshholds, a holistic review is what determines who gets them. Some programs have minimums either specificallly stated or one can find out from those in the know what the stats are that usually get the awards in the last few years, even if no minimums are given. At the same time, you can find out if any high schools are favored in the award.</p>
<p>It is possible that there are some schools that a given college looks at for a source of students over others. I know, for example, some of our local catholic colleges do give offer up the better students at certain local high schools some awards. Though no official statement is given regarding any policy, it appears that some of the catholic schools are so favored. So you need to get direct info, not general in this case.</p>
<p>There may be more local scholarships tied with the regular high school as there are more alumni. In addition, unlike adcom that would have a school profile and counselor recommendation that described the school you are attending, the scholarship agency probably would like look at your transcript. So it may hurt your chance.</p>