<p>Myau’s D would be a good candidate for Case’s scholarships.</p>
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<p>Yes, that’s the case with her. Her public high school has super–overachieving student body and, therefore, doesn’t rank.</p>
<p>Is she keeps up her work as it is now, she might graduate as one of 30+ her school’s salutorians. 
Do they all have any hope for merit money at any decent colleges?</p>
<p>Yes, myau. There are many scholarships that rank isn’t that important. What I saw last year at schools that were very numbers driven, lack of rank did present some problems . Others saw it differently. Case and UMiami are two great schools that offer merit awards that are sizable where I think rank is pretty important. Again, others saw it quite differently and felt that kids from schools who didn’t rank were NOT penalized. LOL.</p>
<p>It seemed to me that those who ddn’t have one element of the triad (scores, rank, GPA) usually dropped down a scholarship level, no matter how high the other two. But, that was just among the results I watched. The whole picture could have looked very different.</p>
<p>OK, hate to look like I’m a dummy, but I couldn’t perform the search on google. I went to Google Advance search and put edu in it, but all I got were schools. Then I put in the words merit scholarship, and it pulled up a million scholarship search sites.</p>
<p>What am I doing wrong?</p>
<p>Need to do both at the same time. The “edu” would have disappeared when you went back to put in the “merit scholarship” words.</p>
<p>I just saw the post for Savannah College and am floored at those HIGH standards for money regarding test scores. PERFECT? Wow. For an art and design school? Would have never known. Would have guessed portfolio would have been the tough part of the process.</p>
<p>inshallah:
I’m International, 1940 SAT, GPA would be around 3.5 (im guessing), and i got a $16500 per year merit scholorship at a school in Phily that starts with a D and ends with an L…</p>
<p>haha, i’ve got a 2230 (1550 M+V) and a 3.85 gpa and i got 17500 from the same school…how do colleges go about giving out merit aid? do they have like some sort of cut-off in terms of stats, or is it holistically determined?</p>
<p>“I just saw the post for Savannah College and am floored at those HIGH standards for money regarding test scores. PERFECT? Wow. For an art and design school? Would have never known. Would have guessed portfolio would have been the tough part of the process.”</p>
<p>This is only one way of getting scholarships there… I posted more because I thought that the Level 1 through Level 3 academic scholarships were pretty easy to attain. They also have artistic scholarships for those whose portfolios are very impressive, and combined scholarships for those with a bit of both. I believe the Level 2 academic scholarship is approximately half tuition, which I would consider ‘substantial’, and is WAY easier to get than half tuition at other private schools.</p>
<p>I’m being considered for a full-tuition scholarship at Hollins University (Batten Scholarship), a decent college out in Roanoke, VA which is known for its top notch creative writing program, which I plan to major in if I choose to attend, and riding program. I’m guaranteed 13-15k/yr if I don’t get the full-tuition scholarship (it’s competitive; only half a dozen are chosen each year. I’m flying down to VA later this month :)) It’s a women’s college, though. Most women’s colleges, except for the Seven Sisters (I think? I think Smith and Mount Holyoke offer limited merit scholarships… I know Bryn Mawr doesn’t because I applied there, and I’m fairly certain Wellesley and Barnard don’t, but don’t quote me on that. I don’t know about Vassar because I didn’t research it too much since it went co-ed), offer very generous merit scholarships for women who aren’t necessarily at the very very very top.</p>
<p>To give you some idea, I have a 29 ACT and 2020/1310 SAT. For SAT IIs, I have a 670 USH and 690 Lit since I never retook them (never had time; kept forgetting to sign up. Whoops.) I have a 3.6ish uw gpa and a 3.93 w gpa. I’m only in the top 15% of my class (although, to be fair, I have friends ranked below me who did better than me on standardized tests AND are taking more AP classes than me). I’ll have completed 8 AP classes by graduation, and have earned 2 4s (USH and Euro. Bah, Euro :K) and 2 5s (Lit and Psych). I have few awards and even fewer extracurriculars, although the extracurriculars I AM in, I devote my entire life to XDDD</p>
<p>Women’s colleges are WONDERFUL and I can’t begin to talk about how wonderful they are. Some schools have such wonderful generosity with merit aid that even mediocre students by sane standards (22-23 ACT/1100-1150 SAT) have an opportunity for some sort of scholarship, albeit not a large one.</p>
<p>I have a friend who got around half or more scholarshop at St. Johns in MN for less than stellar academics/test scores. It is indeed possible. But you certainly have to comprimise on the school… so that way your mediocre accomplishments look awesome.</p>
<p>Wow, I nominate this for one of the most arrogant CC posts/threads ever.</p>
<p>My D is an excellent student in her very competitive suburban high school (top 7%), but a so-so ACT/SAT test taker. Her “talent” is art and she wants to become an architect, something not well measured by a standardized test. Her HS schedule is full of AP and Honors courses, yet she doesn’t consider herself a “smart” student, despite the fact that she is constantly helping the “smart” kids complete their assignments.</p>
<p>Because of her test scores, she is one of those “mediocre” kids the OP and others so ineloquently deride. But you know what, she got a substantial merit scholarship to a top Big Ten university in her chosen field. She has found a place with the fit and feel she sought, and better yet she has been invited to participate in a special living/learning community on campus where the students seem to have a very healthy balance of schoolwork and real life. She couldn’t be happier, and I’ll be willing to bet she’ll do very well in school and be very well prepared for her future. Not bad for a “mediocre” student by CC standards.</p>
<p>Some of you need to check your ego’s at the door before entering the CC discussion room.</p>
<p>I second the motion “one of the most arrogant CC posts/threads ever”</p>
<p>also, myau, u live in California, your daughter has some great public schools to chose from which have very low tuition</p>
<p>UCB
UCLA
the list goes on, really great schools with low tuition for in-staters, I think your daughter should check those out</p>
<p>daaaaad, This thread began b/c of my belief that many schools offer merit awards as a lure to mediocre (good but not stellar in my mind at the time) students, knowing that some % will not meet the requirements to keep it. Another poster disagreed and wanted to begin this thread. My son is a good, but not stellar student (B student) who received 5 merit scholarships (one was a community service/leadership scholarship and the other 4 were for academics). He had some decent ECs.</p>
<p>One poster just wanted to prove me wrong, and let me know that this does not exist. I still think what I think regarding the subject. This thread has not changed my mind at all. If one wants to define a mediocre college bound student as a C student then perhaps, but a mediocre student going to a 4 year college today, with grade inflation is a solid B kid in my mind.</p>
<p>does anybody know of any universities at all that would offer a full ride to an average student…? 90 average, 30 ACT, etc.?</p>
<p>BTW, I was not even talking about full, or even half tuition scholarships. I was talking about significant merit scholarships (ie:10-12,000). I view 10,000/year as significant.</p>
<p>saigen, go here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=291483[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=291483</a></p>
<p>Saigen,</p>
<p>A 90 average and a 30 ACT are hardly “average” – those are pretty good academic credentials even by CC standards. Anyway, here’s another post that might address your question: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=157510[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=157510</a></p>
<p>thanks! i am new to the college process, so i have a few more questions. does one apply for full tuition, or do they just get offered on acceptance? without a full ride, i’m going to have to go to a SUNY school, so i am pretty eager to see what’s out there.</p>
<p>Saigen, It depends on the college. Some will automatically grant merit scholarships upon acceptance to all who qualify, some are a bit cagey and throw in other requirements such as “evidence of leadership and potential to contribute” which gets to be a bit more subjective, and can require things like extra essays or in-person interviews.</p>
<p>My advice to you would be to think first about the type of college/university you’re looking for - what size would you prefer? Would you like a research university, a master’s level university, or a liberal arts college? Any geographic limitations? Do you have a specific major in mind? Would you consider a religiously-affiliated school? A school with a large frat/sorority scene, etc. Once you have an idea, you can start looking for merit money at the schools that fit with your ideal type.</p>
<p>Then, the next step is to think carefully about what you have to offer in addition to your very good grades and test scores. Have you been a leader in your school? Been involved with community service? Have talents in the arts/music/science/creative writing? Think of every thing and anything that a college might find attractive about you.</p>
<p>Finally, start thinking about which colleges need what you have to offer the most. While it may seem logical to think that a school that already has lots of people like you is the place to start, it isn’t. What you want to find are the schools who WANT people like you, but don’t usually get them. For example, a school in the midwest or south may really want and need people from the northeast - they’d be a better bet for merit than a school in NY that already has its hands full with more New Yorkers than it needs. But, of course, you should also make a list of schools that offer merit scholarships based on academics alone - use the search technique I describe above to find them, but there are also some good threads here. </p>
<p>Eventually, you’ll start narrowing your list down, and you can then look at your chances for merit money at various places. It’s a lot of time and effort, but it can pay off if you’re willing to do the research.</p>
<p>Here’s the most important thing though – for the best merit money, you must be willing to cast a very wide net. Most people rule themselves out of merit money right off the bat by setting rigid limitations on the types of schools or geographic locations they will consider. So, think of the whole country as your oyster, and see what pearls are out there.</p>
<p>Finally, don’t assume you won’t qualify for financial aid until you sit down with your parents and run the numbers on a calculator like those at the <a href=“http://www.collegeboard.com%5B/url%5D”>www.collegeboard.com</a> site. Merit money is great, but you also want to make sure you get whatever need-based money that you qualify for.</p>
<p>“Some of you need to check your ego’s at the door before entering the CC discussion room.”</p>
<p>Personally, I think you are oversensitive about your daughter’s placement and/or status. I would like to know your reason for brandishing the posters in the topic as egotistical, because to me, you post seems like little more than an attempt to show people your daughter is happy despite her falling into the “mediocre” category.</p>
<p>The question posed by the topic starter is both rational and worthy of debate. In order to have that debate properly framed, the label of “mediocre” was used to describe the average/above average student. The way I read the topic, there was no intention to slam anybody who happens to fall into the SAT/GPA range described as mediocre.</p>
<p>Everybody thinks their child is great and nobody wants to believe their child is “one in the crowd.” There are millions of college students in this country and sometimes it is beneficial to realize that although your child may be bright and happy, she is indeed one of millions and is not exceptional in terms of academic standards. What is being addressed here is the plausibility of receiving a scholarship for these bright but not exceptional students. </p>
<p>Now, to the subject matter…</p>
<p>Before I transferred to Cornell I had one of these scholarships from a lower-tier school and my SAT score was not exceptional. I appreciated the opportunity afforded me by my previous institution to achieve relatively free credits, but I knew all along that I wanted Cornell and my time at the free ride would be limited. </p>
<p>As someone who has been there, my advice is this: It’s never a bad thing to accept the free ride because you can always transfer to a better school later. It’s a good way to get cheaper free credits that can cut a tuition bill in half. In essence, you get a half scholarship at a school that gives few scholarships by transferring free credits into the top-ranked school. More importantly, it gives a person another opportunity to prove their worth to a higher-ranked school by using the college GPA as the guiding factor in transfer admissions.</p>
<p>The risk is, of course, that you may not get transfer admission to the top-ranked school. Therefore, you should never accept a free-ride school unless you’re willing to actually graduate from there.</p>
<p>I don’t have an Oxford English Dictionary, but the ones I do have define “mediocre” as: moderate to inferior in quality; ordinary; neither good nor bad; rather poor or inferior; barely adequate. It’s got a rather negative connotation, especially when it’s applied to someone’s kid! :)</p>
<p>We need a new word that means “of other than superstar quality” or some such. Or maybe quotation marks around “mediocre” in the thread title? </p>
<p>I can’t find any mediocre students in this whole thread.</p>