Accepted!!! - Page 2

etherdome · 09-24-2009, 11:15 AM

Please pardon my ignorance. What is a SSA?

rrah · 09-24-2009, 12:23 PM

Selective Scholarship Application. Typically when an admit presents with stats that make him/her eligible to apply for the selective scholarships they will receive an application along with the admissions packet and an email notification.

Here is a link:

Selective Scholarships: Office of Scholarships: Indiana University Bloomington

jax90291 · 09-27-2009, 02:37 AM

thank you rrah.

not sure if you would remember this, but when you say "non-teacher" for recs can it be someone who sponsors your activity, even if that activity happens to be a class too? for example, im editor-in-chief of the newspaper and ive known the teacher for 3 years now. i would really really like for him to write me a recommendation. but newspaper is both an out-of-school commitment and a graded class (even though pretty much everyone gets As). would he be okay to write me a rec in addition to an academic teacher?

jax90291 · 09-29-2009, 08:05 PM

just got my acceptance email and SSA info. 3 essays, 2 recs, activities list, etc. I wish they'd have given this to me from the beginning so i would have more than a month to complete it (mine's due on halloween, others are different). however my teacher recs aren't due until mid november.

how come they didnt say anything about the automatic scholarships? i know im in line to get that $9000 one, but it would have been nice just to see it in writing. how long do i have to wait for that, just so im sure there aren't any loopholes or anything?

also, does hutton often give scholarships to kids they accept into the college? or do only some really cream-of-the-crop admits get money? i know they only give like 1-2k most of the time, but it adds up.

bartnawer · 09-29-2009, 08:17 PM

How long did you admissions decision take for them to email you the response? I just applied and sent my transcript and socres todayy...

bthomp1 · 09-29-2009, 09:33 PM

jax90291, you should have got something in your admissions package saying you got the automatic scholarship. You might call the admission's office to make sure that you will receive the scholarship.

You probably have to have very good stats/and or a good hook to get a scholarship from Hutton. They don't give out very many, and the ones they do tend to be small. Exceptional students who turn in the ssa can get interviews for Cox Research Scholarships and Herbert Presidential Scholarships. According to their annual report, HHC processed 1,595 selective scholarship applications in 2008-2009, and conducted 658 interviews for scholarships. Most of the interviewees were probably in-state, as the presidential scholarships are for in-state students only.
http://www.indiana.edu/~iubhonor/hds...port200809.pdf

If you think you wouldn't have a chance for scholarship money from HHC, you can just send them an e-mail as outlined in the admissions package and tell them you want in, and not do the essays and recommendations. That has been the routine the last few years. Even without scholarship money, there are lots of benefits to being in HHC.

jax90291 · 09-30-2009, 12:41 AM

@bthomp1 - Wait a minute: you're saying there's a way I could be in Hutton without filling out the SSA?

I'm confused. I very much want to be in Hutton. Please clarify. Obviously I haven't received the package yet, but I want to know about this as soon as possible so I know whether or not to bug my teachers about recommendations.

And regarding the admissions package, the email said it should come in two weeks, so if the scholarship info is not there then ill make the call. Thanks for the help.

@Bartnawer - I sent in my online app on sept 15 and sent my counselor form in early last week (snail mail). I have a feeling that they send out acceptances in waves because a lot of kids at my school just got their letters today too. You'll be in line for that next wave I'm sure.

jax90291 · 09-30-2009, 01:23 AM

sorry, sort of a followup question: is it even worth it for me to fill out the SSA?

it says on my online app that the two schools that will be using it for scholarship consideration at are Hutton and Kelley.

-i am OOS, white, male
-WGPA: 4.37/5
UWGPA: 3.85/4
-no class rank
ACT: 32 comp, 35 english, 33 math, 31 sci, 29 reading, 9 writing
-i can write great essays if i choose to put the effort forth. i can be a really great writer when my heart is in it. i have a great idea for the 600 word research-ish paper but i really don't want to do it.
-my main ECs (backed up by a ton of minor ECs) are being editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and being a captain and varsity player in volleyball.
-i have two teachers in line to write me great recommendations if i ask them to. both love me and are great writers.

also, when you say they only give out "small" awards, that is a relative term. are we talking 1-2 grand here or even less than that?

bthomp1 · 09-30-2009, 05:13 AM

jax90291, I didn't know you haven't received the admissions package. It should include a document that discusses your automatic scholarship award.

In the past, you could get into HHC automatically after receiving the ssa by contacting Jill Baker (babaker@indiana.edu; (812) 855-3555), who is director of Hutton recruitment and scholarships, and just telling her that you wanted to get in without doing all the things required to complete the ssa. If nothing has changed, your admissions package should give you the same contact info. It's probably still Jill Baker, and she might be able tell you how competitive your stats would be for a HHC scholarship, too.
Contact Information

I think even the one and two thousand dollar scholarships are pretty hard to get because of the stiff competition. Fall 2009 freshman class had 87 national merit scholars, which was a 37% increase over the previous year, so there will probably be even more very high achievers in next year's class. I don't know if your 32 ACT, which is an excellent score, would be high enough for you to get a HHC scholarship, even with your great ec's. Maybe some other posters here have received HHC scholarships and give you some ideas. In any case, I agree that you should definitely go into HHC, even if you don't take any HHC classes in the College of Arts and Sciences, as a lot of the pre I-Core honors classes that Kelley offers that are open to HHC students (but not Kelley direct admits) are usually worth taking for a lot of reasons. And many of the honors courses offered in the COAS are usually good for your gpa.

rrah · 09-30-2009, 08:23 AM

jax90291--D's stats were almost identical to yours. I do have trouble with the SAT/ACT conversion, but I think it's close. Her EC's, of course, are not identical, but again similar in the time commitment. Her major commitment was year round. She also had some volunteer time. She did receive a $1000 scholarship from Hutton. I have no way of verifying this, but I suspect the fact that she showed some interest in the school played some part in the scholarship. (or maybe I just read CC too much). She attended an event in the fall for those receiving scholarships and did an overnight with an HHC student. (info on the overnights will/should come with the Hutton package.) Once she received the Hutton package she was quick to send in the postcard accepting her place in the HHC. Like you, she also applied very early. Coincidentally she received notification of her scholarship a couple of days after her overnight. I do think the timing was just a coincidence, but HHC probably did know she was doing the overnight when the decisions were made. HHC does not send out notification of scholarships until Feb. or so.

As I told her, spending a few hours on a few essays pays pretty well. If you spent 10 hours doing essays and received $1000 that's $100/hour. Not many 17/18 year olds have the ability to make $100/hour. That's not to say the essays will take 10 hours though, and it's likely they can be revised for other applications.

hoosiermom · 09-30-2009, 12:48 PM

jax, another vote here for doing the scholarship application. D' s profile was similar to yours with respect to GPA, yearbook editor, captain of 2 varsity teams, though her ACT was 30. She received $1000 per year. I (maybe a little biased!) thought her essays were excellent and maybe those made up for the test score. She really hadn't wanted to apply for the scholarship but in retrospect was very happy she had done so. D is in the current freshman class.

jax90291 · 09-30-2009, 04:25 PM

I can't thank you guys both enough. Although admittedly, I was almost hoping you guys would say I would have little chance at getting any $ simply because I don't want to write the essays haha. But that's okay. I definitely think an extra grand would greatly influence my decision about going to IU. It is currently tied as my top-choice school with UIUC, and IU is already cheaper for me at this point so I think I'm sort of leaning in that direction right now. Both are great business schools, so that's of little issue for me. Like I said, I might as well try for a few extra bucks. Otherwise I'll probably regret not going for it later.

I'm going to visit on Oct. 9 and I'm told I'll love it. Thanks again for the help.

bthomp1 · 09-30-2009, 04:45 PM

After reading hoosiermom and rrah's posts I now think you should do the ssa essays. My son's stats were similar to yours and he did not get any HHC money, but I forgot that he also did not even get his admissions package and ssa materials until after Christmas because the admissions office lost some of his materials. The money was probably all gone by the time his application was due and mailed in the middle of January. I agree with rrah that you should apply as early as possible. I think you would have a better chance if you were instate though. IU is very generous to instates. Here is news about a grant for instates
Details of IU's new incentive grant program released: IU News Room: Indiana University

LoonLake · 10-06-2009, 06:37 PM

Still nothing from Hutton OR about the scholarship. I really want to call and ask what's up with that.. but that seems kind of, I dont know.. not nice.

Is there still another packet coming? The "acceptance packet" had like nothing in it.

bthomp1 · 10-06-2009, 07:45 PM

LoonLake, you should have received information on your automatic scholarship AND the ssa with the admissions package. If you did not, then somebody made a mistake. You should contact Hutton (Jill Baker - babaker@indiana.edu; (812) 855-3555) as soon as possible about the ssa. And contact the admissions office [(812) 855-0661; M-F 8am-5pm] about the automatic scholarship. Waiting hurts your chances for scholarship money from Hutton, especially since it takes time to do the essays and letters of recommendation in the ssa. The admissions office processes more than 20,000 admissions packages each year, so they have a lot of chances to make mistakes. Don't be shy about calling. And Hutton processed almost 1,600 ssa's last year, with many of these leading to good scholarships. You have excellent stats, and the longer you wait, the more it could cost you.