I got a merit scholarship of 7.5 K per year. It is not enough for me to go to Rochester. I was disappointed. I still think it is a fantastic place to go to.
It does look like they have cut down the award amounts, or it could be more targeted towards attracting certain candidates that fit their requirements and less based on 'merit' (= 'academic stats').
I'm sorry to see that with your qualifications, which are extraordinary, you received so little from U of R. I'm really not holding out any hope for my daughter!
This goes to show how the game changes from year to year, sometimes drastically.
I am NMF. I think they are probably looking to have a better handle on yield and that may prompt them to look at other factors. But I did show a lot of interest. Visited them, I've legacy (sort of) etc. I thought my itnerview was good, too. But my EFC is like 45K, that might have made them think I'll go there even with a small merit scholarship.
Beantown, my daughter is also NMF, and she received a letter months ago from U of R saying that if she advanced from semifinalist to finalist, she would get $15,000 a year. (That was before we sent any financial information to Rochester, so the merit money is based just on NMF status.) Her stats are not as good as yours. It wouldn't hurt for you to ask about the amount you were given. Mistakes do happen! Sounds as if you really like the school, and Rochester pays attention to that.
Regarding yield, I think the opposite is true for U of R this year: Last year they UNDERestimated yield and ended up with about 100 first-years more than they bargained for.
someone earlier was saying that their S or D was awarded a corporate award as a junior, but has yet to be notified of their status of admisson. well, i just found an interesting piece of info on the financial aid website...
Q: If I won a corporate award, am I still eligible for other scholarships?
A: Yes, you will still be considered for other scholarships; however, students are limited to a single merit award, so students will receive the highest-valued award for which they qualify.
if i recall correctly, most of the corporate awards are about $6-7K/yr. but some of the other ones like the urban league (which i just fount out today that i got!), wilder, rush rhees, etc are $10K/yr. so if your S or D qualifies academically for a higher award, there may be things that they have to cross-check etc., so that may be why your letters are taking longer... just a guess.
A: Yes, you will still be considered for other scholarships; however, students are limited to a single merit award, so students will receive the highest-valued award for which they qualify.
Pretti, I'm pretty sure this doesn't apply for NMF awards given by the individual schools. They can do whatever they want. There are limits on the scholarships given directly by the National Merit Corporation and maybe the corporate sponsors as well.
In U of Rochester's case, the school used to give a $2,000 NMF scholarship (per year, renewable) and combine that with another scholarship. But this year, who knows?
lurkness- yeah, i was just talking about people who said they received the bausch and lomb, xerox, susan b anthony or other rochester specific awards in their junior year
