<p>No exceptions. Ditto stevedad’s advice on the top 10%. S had scores well above the cutoffs, big national awards in his intended majors but was ranked 11% at a nationally known magnet program. Nine APs. 13 post-AP courses. S was offered a departmental scholarship and heavily recruited by Mudd profs. GC wrote a letter explaining the ranking situation – no dice. </p>
<p>Osgood told us that the terms of the trust that funds those scholarships are absolute.</p>
<p>Two more As in one-semester courses would have put S over the top. Had S paid attention to turning in his completed HW in a couple of classes, the ranking would not have been a problem. I can’t fault Mudd for denying S money, since he bears full responsibility for those grades (and he had been interested in Mudd since soph year, so he knew what was expected academically, and had plenty of time to get himself organized). I did sigh heavily, though – Mudd is such an awesome place. But to answer the OP’s question, yes, the requirements are that rigid.</p>
<p>S is going elsewhere, but it wasn’t due to the money. In fact, Mudd was in the hunt long after MIT and until the very, very end.</p>