@reformedman Lmao guess who one of those 2018 people is xDxD
I spent like an hour reading through this thread, worth it tbh
@EcstaticSenior lol, it took me a few minutes to find out what you were talking about but I found it. I posted that I felt sorry for 2018 applicants who had to look through these 1.4k posts and surprisingly this thread has already reached 1.5k posts. Wow!
so how hard is it to get scholarship money? I know two brothers who are both national merit finalists, one has a 1550/1600 sat (not sure about the other), and their dad went to the school. Neither of them received any money, and I find this incredible as one was 2nd in his class at a Jesuit School, and the other is in the top 10 at his. LIKE, WHAT!!!
Merit aid at ND is very restricted and extremely rare. For better or worse, those numbers aren’t all that atypical these days.
My daughter was valedictorian and had a 1540 Old SAT, won Youth Volunteer of the Year in our town, 790 and 780 subject tests, 4 year Varsity letter on state championship team, and she did NOT receive any money. There are just so many strong candidates they cannot offer it to everyone. She also didn’t get the Gabelli interview at BC and she has legacy there.
I received nearly a full ride when I got in last year. However, I turned it down due to a better financial aid package at Brown. Financial aid is accessible but of course that is subjective.
@ScienceGal1023 was your package need based? Congrats to you those are amazing schools and great that they were so generous!!!
“so how hard is it to get scholarship money?”
For merit scholarships at ND, it could not be harder. Like most top 20 schools, ND is almost entirely need-based financial aid.
My kid was the total package – near perfect test scores, perfect grades, service, ECs, etc. etc. etc. Received a full tuition merit scholarship to Vanderbilt, which is very hard to get.
Was accepted to ND, but did not even get nominated for Hesburgh Scholars, which is ND’s main merit scholarship program. Was told there’s about 100 nominees each year who compete for 15-20 Hesburgh scholarships. Those scholarships are for $25k a year, which is slightly less than half of this year’s tuition.
It’s easy to list off a bunch of “impressive numbers,” but honestly everyone at top 20 schools has those stats. Merit scholars at Notre Dame are more than numbers – they normally get into the HYPS, and what distinguishes them is meaningful extracurriculars that extend beyond “club president” or fancy awards.