<p>3tallblonds, we are out of state as well, so the cost is not the same. With his stats, we were initially hoping for full tuition, but when I saw some of the others’ results on this board, we lowered our sights on $15K to make it on par with our state flagship. That’s why although we are grateful for the $10K, it is a bit disappointing. I think the class rank did it. He has had a great first semester though and has moved up into the top 1%. Wondering if I made a call and gave them this info they would reconsider.</p>
<p>I’d do it, incadinca. What do you have to lose? They’ll probably send a form to fill out.</p>
<p>@indacadinca - It is always worth asking for reconsideration, especially since you have new information. Your S’s stats are excellent so hopefully the improved class rank will help with scholarship $.</p>
<p>Oh sorry @indacadinca, I didn’t know you were OOS too. Yea, I don’t get it then. Definitely send in info. about class rank improving. Nothing to lose. </p>
<p>I have 35 ACT and I got accepted in early October with honors coming later. Should I call the Pitt office to see if I didn’t get aid or if it was lost in the mail?</p>
<p>schindaddy, I believe they continue to send out scholarship awards through Feb. Web site said something about if you have not heard by March 1 then you did not receive merit aid. Doesn’t hurt to call though.</p>
<p>schindaddy - let us know what you find out. My son had 34 ACT and was accepted A&S/Honors College in August. We haven’t heard anything about aid yet either.</p>
<p>Oh schindaddy and nascarnewyork… very odd. Class rank? Rigor of classes? M/F? I’m baffled.</p>
<p>schindaddy, nascarnewyork, and 3tallblonds, don’t panic. They have til the end of February. My D’s been riding a similar wave as yours for a similar length of time. Admissions seems to be going thru these stronger apps one by one, maybe meeting only once a week, and taking their sweet time about it, er, trying to be as thorough and careful as they can. I cannot discern any rhyme or reason for why some people have heard and others haven’t. 3tallblonds has heard for her two Ds, yet there are certainly stronger candidates than one of her Ds who haven’t heard and others who have heard and gotten less money than that D. I could go on with examples of why I cannot find a pattern, but I think we just need to wait. February is almost here, and it’s a short month. Now, let’s all hold hands and sing kumbaya.</p>
<p>So, I spoke with a scholarship committee member today and found some interesting info I think others would like to hear about why my S did not receive a higher award. She said that budget cuts have had a huge impact on scholarship funds availability and that combined with an increased number of high quality applicants this year compared to previous years has made it especially tough to distinguish among candidates. She said this is particularly true among those admitted to engineering. So, my S is being compared to those with in the Swanson School and those tend to be higher on average than the rest of the U. She also said they don’t consider Science and Reading ACT scores and those were my son’s highest sub scores so in essence his 35 ACT was more like a 33 in their eyes. She did also mention most with the higher awards are in 1-2% of their class. My S is 4%.</p>
<p>Bottom line: No increase in the $10K award. However, she did say if we received a higher award from a similar OOS school I should give them a call back. So there is still hope as we have two other OOS’s we are waiting to hear from!</p>
<p>3tallblonds - my son seems to meet all the basic requirements - ACT 34, rigorous classes, top 4% of his class. What kills me is that he was accepted in August. I thought we would’ve been finished with all this by now. </p>
<p>incadinca - good information - can’t believe you actually spoke to someone on the scholarship committee. According to what you found out, my son’s 34 would become 34.5 since his english was 35 and math 34. Probably a few years ago this would’ve translated to full tuition scholarships but now I think you’re lucky to have gotten the 10K (since we have nothing). </p>
<p>well, that’s certainly interesting, incadinca. nice cache of info you scored. not looking as good for D as it was before today, but who knows? I’ll count my chickens once they’ve hatched this month. </p>
<p>Thanks for sharing the information, Incadinca. It’s great that you got to talk to a scholarship committee member. Wishing the best for all of those still waiting to hear about scholarships.</p>
<p>incadinca, thanks so much for all that information. Both of my Ds are in top 1% of class so that might have tipped the scales. Plus they aren’t in engineering (even though we tried and tried and tried to get them interested). Those 2 wouldn’t even apply to a school with the name Technical in it. Did they only look at ACT/SAT and GPA/Class Rank? Wonder if they took a step further and reviewed supplemental info. sent in, essays, recs, SAT2s, AP exam scores, ECs. </p>
<p>@TitanMom16 - thanks for your insight! You make a few great points that I hadn’t considered. My son is going in for Business and wants to minor in Film, so it’s hard to judge because the school rankings seem to vary based on who you ask. Northeastern seems to rank higher in most lists, but not all. My s played varsity football, but he’s not as into watching games as one would think (he spent most of his life playing on Sundays, not watching). Cost of housing is a factor… I’m pretty sure they are only guaranteed housing in NE for two years, so if Boston is pricier that may factor in. Still, I’d love to see him get something from PITT. He was accepted at PITT before he even took the SAT the second time and he scored 150 points higher. It would seem a shame if that didn’t seem to matter in the end! I’m fairly certain that he would not have been offered merit at NE without the higher score. I am glad to hear your S is enjoying PITT. We are about 50 miles outside NY, so PITT is about six hours vs. four for NE. My son also was feeling that he would have better odds of knowing other people in Boston at other schools, which seems less likely at PITT. How do you find the holiday buses from PITT? Does your S come into NYC? Thanks to @amandakayak too for the input. I definitely felt better about the free public transportation at PITT vs. having to walk most places in Boston. More to think about! I just think that even 5k from PITT would tip the scales. Right now, it seems too close to call!</p>
<p>3tall, we did not get into the criteria beyond the ones that likely affected my son’s scholarship, which were class rank and test scores, which interestingly, they convert all ACT scores to an SAT equivalent. She said my son’s 1520 combined CR & M was just below the cutoff for the higher awards. No mention of supplemental info.</p>
<p>Thanks incadinca. So it sounds like a truly number based decision. 1520…no matter how you look at it - you must be very proud. </p>
<p>I am not sure it’s all just numbers based. We just didn’t get into the other areas as it relates to my S. The committee member did say they have really had to “split hairs” this year in deciding who’s deserving, so I imagine those supplementals have to come in play. And, yes, I am very proud of him! Thank you.</p>
<p>My D is a junior and we are OOS. She has almost a 4.6 weighted GPA ( out of 4.0) and about a 4.33 unweighted taking all AP and advanced honors ( one grade ahead). She is in the top 1% of her class and has the test scores and leadership. I find it discouraging that she may not get merit money. Has UPitt really gotten so competitive? She is going into the sciences with a Soanish minor but not into engineering. </p>
<p>Congrats to everyone who got merit money!! </p>