Unfortunately you can do all of the right things and still lose out on the big scholarships. Amazing test scores, Salutatorian of her class, long list of APs and extracurriculars - my daughter was nominated for the Stamps Award but was not given any of the large scholarships. She chose to attend Tulane anyway, and earned a 4.0 in her first semester with a huge course load. Even so, she has been passed over for membership in the Newcomb Scholars and the Tulane Scholars programs. Tulane takes care of some of its top students, but chooses to completely ignore others.