Merit Scholarships

K9Leader
Mon, 18 May 2009 09:34:53 +0000

While you may know the students and parents, you really do not know all the facts about the admissions/scholarship decisions. Even they don’t really know everything. The admissions decision is made on both quantifiable things (GPA, SAT, class rank, difficulty of schedule, APs, ECs, etc.) and non-quantifiables (interests, passions, “fit,” etc.) and on how these match the needs of the university. If the university needs oboe players but has lots of international relations (Model UN) students and your kid plays no instrument but is heavy into Model UN, then the oboe player with the slightly lesser GPA or SAT or whatever might get the nod. And, there is no definitive way for you to know what specifics each university is looking for - sometimes you can figure some of it out and occassionally the information that whatever your kid has is needed might be shated with you (by a coach, band director, whatever).

As SopranoDad said, agonizing over it is non-productive and will make you crazy. This is an exciting time in your child’s life, so focus on the positive and enjoy it.