<p>Here’s our info re the 10K scholarship we received. My son was accepted last August - A&S UHC. He has an ACT of 34 (someone on here posted that Pitt concentrates on English (35)/Math (34). He was 3.8 uw and 4.4 weighted. Rank is 3.5% of 800 kids. We had sent the ACT scores last June, as part of getting ready to visit Pitt and submit his application. As soon as Pitt received the scores, son received the invitation to apply. He has tons of ECs and 200+ volunteer hours. My daughter is at Pitt and my son has wanted to follow her. I think he did a really good job of letting the school know that Pitt was his first choice (supplemental info). </p>
<p>Having said all that, my son’s friend started at Pitt (Engineering) in fall, 2012 and he received the same 10K scholarship with similar grades and ACT of 32 (and received the scholarship notification in December 2011!!). I’m sure he wouldn’t have received anything this year. Based on the info from a couple of years ago, I had some hope for full tuition but after seeing the info on this board, I’m thrilled with the 10K.</p>
<p>Lesson here. Cast the net wide because you NEVER know. @Dadfor2014 S’s stats are excellent. Makes no sense unless it was more than just stats and then it gets subjective. At a different school, I see the same thing only the difference in awards are $1-$3K differentials which is much more palatable. Anyway, wide net means more options. @twogirls, one of my Ds had similar stats and got $15K. Other one got full tuition. Their differential came down to 2 points on the ACT and .02 GPA = $45K over 4 years. All else is equal bc identical twins sort of have that weird twin thing going. Again, cast the net wide.</p>
<p>Cast a wide net especially if you will not get FA and need the merit scholarships to attend. Make sure you have a “financial” safety on the list.</p>
<p>As for the test scores, there is a difference between a 36 vs. 34 on the ACT (although both are considered to be in the 99th percentile). For 2013, only 1,162 students had a composite score of 36. For the composite score of 34, there was 11,162. </p>
<p>^^ Oh yes, I know 36 and 34 are different. That actually DID make sense to us. But $45K worth, ummm no. I know these 2 girls and on any given day they could’ve flip flopped. D w/ the 34 seems to be on a roll lately. I’m just saying that 34 and 36 aren’t woth $45K in my eyes. But I’m not complaining one bit. We cast the net wide. thankfully.</p>
<p>^^ Agree with this statement " I know these 2 girls and on any given day they could’ve flip flopped.". I think 2
points ± can happened in any Test depending on the Tester mood or if its rain or shine outside. Thats why some of the IVY league schools dont put too much in these Test Scores and they look at other important factors too.</p>
<p>I know of students who joins Teaching Academies spend Few $k to study just ACT/SAT and students who just spend few hrs and still score high. </p>
<p>^totally agree with you but Pitt is not an “Ivy” school and they place weight on the test scores. Given the number of kids who received scholarships without submitting recs or ecs, you would have to think that Pitt looks at the numbers and the numbers matter to them. Of course, this may be changing as the number of high stat students apply to Pitt and they can be selective. The only money we spent on the ACT was buying the book with sample tests and of course, the test fees. </p>
<p>Perhaps. On the other hand, my kid submitted recs, essay and ecs along with stellar test scores and was awarded full tuition. Our goal was to show that the kid is serious about Pitt, and maybe that or something in the ecs helped.</p>
<p>^^ Agreed. My kid (who received full tuition) also submitted recommendations, an essay, and ecs along with his high test scores. He wanted to show Pitt that he has depth - is more than just a kid with good test scores. Not sure if that helped. </p>
<p>The awarding of scholarships is changing with Pitt perhaps it will get more “holistic” or perhaps you will need to send in recs/ecs to boost your chances especially if others have “stellar” scores and they have to choose between candidates. My two DS received the full tuition scholarships and all they submitted was the essay (since it was “required” for scholarship consideration). I have seen others say, they didn’t even submit the essay and received the scholarship. Once again, it is who Pitt wants – if they want you – they will bend their rules.</p>
<p>Congrats on the full tuition scholarships! I hope your kids are considering Pitt :)</p>
<p>Yes, my kids also submitted all those things, along with activities and theater resume. I honestly don’t know if it mattered. My girls are visiting next week and both applied for Chancellors. We shall see… they are really interested in Pitt!</p>
<p>Has anyone else received scholarship offers in the past few days? We are still hoping for a little merit, but it seems the chances are growing slimmer with each passing day…</p>
<p>My D got $10,000 last Thursday. She had applied in early October, accepted in Engineering, in Honors, accepted into Masters, invited to apply for MD program. After everything we had seen on here this was what we expected . Now on to decisions. Congrats to everyone.</p>
<p>Got the scholarship letter on Thursday. Had applied via Prestige application to apply on the deadline, Jan. 15th (so did not send recommendations or essay etc.) CR&M = 1540; Very rigorous HS program, 3.5 GPA going into Sr. year (but dropped under 3.5 this first semester). Congrats letter stated 5K scholarship. hth for references </p>
<p>In-state student here, $5k per year
Bioengineering major</p>
<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2330; 800 CR, 750 Math, 780 W (2350 superscore)
ACT: none
SAT II:760 Math II, 740 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA (it’s complicated): 4.49
Rank: 6/347, last I checked
AP: Chem (5), World History (4), Language & Comp (5), US History (5), Literature & Comp
Senior Year Course Load: College Stats, College Calc, AP English II (Lit), Honors Spanish IV, Honors Macroeconomics, Computer Programming I, Honors Physics
Major Awards: National gold medal in Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Extracurriculars: National Honor Society, marching band (section leader/brass captain), Academic Quiz Team, Creative Writing Roundtable, physics pasta bridge team</p>