<p>@dadinator That is a great idea and solves the problem of having the RIT and RPI Accepted Student Days on the same day (April 5th). RIT also has April 12th but my son has a Varsity Tennis match that day.</p>
<p>Only downside to the Overnight Visit is that it is Monday through Thursday night.</p>
<p>We were able to arrange to do it during my S’s Spring Break. This stop ended up being part of my S’s visits to the final colleges he was deciding between.</p>
<p>Actually I just looked at the schedule and our Spring Break would be perfect as RPI has their Spring Break next week and ours is the last week in March. This may just work out after all! Thank goodness for parents like you. Thank you!</p>
<p>Where does it say which major/department you were accepted to? I’ve read my letter several times and haven’t seen mention of a specific programme…</p>
<p>There are no limits to specific majors.
Most students declare a major after their freshmen year.</p>
<p>@marymac Thanks! I was just wondering because I had seen others posting “I was accepted to [this programme]!”</p>
<p>I listed on my Common App that I wanted to be a physics major, which is no longer true. Should I update admissions now, only if I decide to attend RPI, or not at all?</p>
<p>@lamuniv If you go to RPI, you would want to let them know about your major change, as it would make a difference starting with your July orientation schedule, if I remember correctly.</p>
<p>got accepted as a Comp Science major with a $35,000 merit scholarship (24K leadership and 11K in grants)!! congrats to everyone who got in!</p>
<p>Just an FYI, grants are need based aid, not merit. Congrats!</p>
<p>I was accepted for the class of 2018!!!
Oh well, I probably can’t go because they want my family to pay 39k/year when our EFC is 13k. Boo.
Does anyone know if RPI changes financial aid awards significantly if you talk to a financial aid officer? </p>
<p>So things get interesting now! My S was accepted but our merit money isn’t as attractive as others I’ve seen here. It’s the most selective school now in the running for us, and in some ways has more to offer. I could argue for more scholarship money if my S really wanted to go. I’ve heard diametrically opposed opinions from former graduates. Stay tuned!</p>
<p>Accepted with 27k merit, will probably decline</p>
<p>Someone, I think maybe “gamergal” really hit the nail on the head last night with the way this board came to life after decisions were released. I have been lurking for a long time waiting to see how this would play out. So first off, in reference to the above posting by “crowlady” and perhaps “gg” you have an opinion here as well since I know you have been active on several of the boards of those schools to which my S also applied, I wonder whether the negotiations regarding aid which I’ve heard can be successful at times (when mentioning a comparable schools offering) apply strictly to need-based scenarios (which we probably don’t fall into) or whether this strategy can be successfully used with regard to merit awards as well. Any thoughts anyone?
“Crowlady” would you mind posting your S stats. Just curious as to what others have received at the lower end. Also we still have not obtained the link attached to the acceptance letter regarding any financial award. Expect it to be forthcoming soon, but has anyone else who was accepted yet to see this?
Finally to “proudfather?” The Tufts’ scenario could certainly be a factor in a very high stat applicant and I would add to this that the opposite scenario may be a related factor as well. Namely very high interest (as in the case of my S) can provide a definite boost, in my opinion, to a V.G. student who is not stellar but shows to be very well rounded and definitely into their chosen major and who is highly interested in the school. I’m not sure my S could have gotten in on stats alone without taking several additional steps which showed extreme interest in RPI and did so without being a nuisance. </p>
<p>We are going to wait to request a merit review until the USC decision and (hopefully) FA letter is released. In the meantime I am making plans for the RIT Admitted Students day and an RPI overnight. If USC comes through, we are done. I will pm you our merit. It was definitely lower than others but the CC crowd certainly skews to the ultra high achiever IMHO.</p>
<p>As to matching FA, i know for a fact that ivies will try to match or slightly beat a FA pkg from another ivy. I’m pretty sure that peer schools like rpi, wpi, rit, uroc would try to match merit if it results in a committ. Doesnt hurt to ask, i suggest doing something like this in person, if possible, not over the phone… </p>
<p>In our case, I wonder if our son was viewed as a good bet to attend no matter what, and perhaps that suppressed his merit award. He’s a double legacy, lives locally, showed interest, and has low financial need. Perhaps they expect us to swallow hard and pay the bill, assuming RPI is his top choice. </p>
<p>We have a friend that successfully negotiated a higher aid package last year. I’m not sure how they did it or how much extra they received, but their son enrolled and is attending as a freshman this year.</p>
<p>That sounds quite similar to our situation except for the legacy part, though we haven’t received the aid yet as I mentioned. Was your friends appeal a merit one or need-based?</p>
<p>What is the top merit award that RPI gives? I am getting a bit confused here because people are adding in grants. Does RPI really have $35K merit scholarships? I am not impressed by S’s merit offer from RPI. He is a legacy (undergraduate and graduate school), is graduating top of his class with near perfect SATs, has good leadership, ECs, awards. We are full pay. Yet I see his merit award of less than $20K is not exactly stellar. Does RPI take “lack of financial need” into consideration when doling out merit? They certainly shouldn’t!</p>
<p>Yes, it appears that some folks are combining their scholarships and their grants as “merit scholarships.”</p>
<p>As runswscissors mentioned, grants are need-based awards, not merit scholarships.</p>
<p>@dextersdad My S’s Leadership Award was $14,000. SAT: 2180 (I forget all the subscores but 800 CR), GPA UW 3.52, W 4.2ish. His stats are thus not stellar but he did make National Merit Finalist and RIT, for example, offers more (and Northeastern will offer $30K if he’s admitted – don’t know yet!). As RPI’s aid letter didn’t mention National Merit I can hope that this might add to their offer. </p>
<p>We did visit last year, his essays and his optional portfolio showed evidence of strong interest. I don’t know the answer about need-based vs merit aid negotiations. I can’t be indignant that my S should have gotten more (given his stats) but to echo others, more would make a difference given his other options!</p>
<p>Congrats to all who were accepted, good luck to those still awaiting your aid letter, fingers crossed to those who might appeal! @GamerGal27 I’ll be looking forward to hearing about your USC decision and if we make it to RPI on April 5th I’ll let you know.</p>