<p>Don’t know about your finances, but W&L financial aid made total costs more in-line with our state schools (which did not offer us aid). Don’t count it out until you see offer.</p>
<p>Well, we received our ‘sorry’ letter too yesterday. It was dated the 28th.</p>
<p>4chicksmom, I feel your pain, and darunner, I am with you. Wow, what difficult choices they must have had to make. I just can’t imagine who wouldn’t ‘want’ my son…what a fabulous young man he is and has accomplishments to beat, including rewriting the Honor Code at his school, as he is the president this year along with his scores and many other activities. The good news is, if this is what we have to look forward to in our young people…we shall be taken care of in our old age! I feel comfortable growing old and turning the world over to them.</p>
<p>I’m sure W&L did the best they could…better them than me under these circumstances. 4chicksmom look at W&L’s scholarships on thier website…there are SO many. We are still in hopes of him attending W&L…if one of my dreams could come true, it would be this one.</p>
<p>Best wishes to you all, I know we will all be happy with our choices…if the process doesn’t kill us first!</p>
<p>kfnpemai and wonderbreadmom: Thanks for your encouraging words! I guess I thought all of the scholarships were wrapped up with the Johnson–that was my understanding. I will check out more on their website again. </p>
<p>Again, good luck to all who made it!</p>
<p>While we are disappointed that daughter did not make finals-I have to admit that it makes the whole college choice really exciting again! All of the cool schools that we visited in the summer and fall are now back in play-and they are all great-With the Johnson Scholarship, in my opinion, you would be hard-pressed to not to to W&L. But without it…who is that I hear calling? Wesleyan, Oberlin, Hamilton, Kenyon, Columbia------it took a few days to get over the modest and even expected disappointment-but carpe diem students and parents! Seize the day!</p>
<p>DaRunner, I can feel the pain that you experienced. My DS got rejected from other scholarship program I was shocked when I knew it. It tool 2 days to get over it. I almost gave up the hope DS will attend any top college/university. Some how God rewards him here. Thank God. Good luck to you D and she will find a good school she likes.</p>
<p>My understand is this regarding other scholarships: The Johnson is an academic, non-needs based scholarship. If your son/daughter is admitted to W&L, you will get a financial aid letter based upon need. I don’t know if that helps or not, but my understanding.</p>
<p>McKnight:
I have a daughter who is a sophomore at OLM, and reading through these posts I wonder if she will be able to compete on this level, seems to be scary competition! And the truth is, there is no way we could afford this school without a substantial amount of scholarship money.
Did your son go to McQuaid?</p>
<p>Yes, he’s a 2008 grad. of McQ.</p>
<p>Just a note of encouragement here to JSFs. As previously disclosed, our son is one of those who fell below the avg SAT score for JSFs, so he was not the strongest candidate on paper but he still got somehow got a full tuition scholarship. I honestly believe that his greatest gift, far more than his test-taking talents, has always been in connecting with people and that this served him very well in all of his scholarship competitions. I like to think that W&L recognized this gift as worthy of its considerable investment. And lo and behold, during the course of his four years, he has completely changed his major, career interests, and extracurriculars, sometimes in a manner that has challenged and surprised all of us. In the end, his journey has resulted in a far better “future” fit and an unforgettably happy college experience for him; for W&L, it has meant a student who has developed this special gift for which he was rewarded, in ways neither the school nor we would have predicted, using it to serve and lead within the W&L community. </p>
<p>Every JS has an individual story explaining why W&L chose to invest in him/her. Don’t worry about anyone else. Focus on what you see yourself doing at W&L and why you think you would be successful/happy there, even if you change course in your major, interests, or activities. Be honest with yourself, your interviewers, and the scholarship/admissions staff. I once had a teacher who opined that college is 30% academic growth and 70% social growth. I’m not sure where she came up with that split, but to me, the underlying message is that it’s equally important that you get to know W&L as it is that you let them get to know you. Because the one thing I can confidently predict is that your college experience will not be the one you are predicting right now :)</p>
<p>A question for finalists: What kind of EC’s do you have?</p>
<p>I’m a junior and my stats will likely fall somewhere on the borderline. They say it’s about more than just numbers though. My EC’s are pretty good, I think, but they’re all school activities and none of them are really super-super prestigious awards or anything. I really like all of them though and have been a consistent contributor to all of them, which has given me pretty high leadership positions. </p>
<p>I guess basically I want to know is what kind of record they’re looking for</p>
<p>@Nulli: if it helps, here are my stats (copied from another thread)</p>
<p>White female from WI
ACT: 34
SAT II: 800, 790, 750
APs: Five 5’s so far; will take around 6 more tests this year, including Calc AB and Physics B (I’m taking tough science/math classes despite my humanities bent.) I’ll take more AP tests than my school officially offers. Correspondence college classes as well, including one in fiction writing.
Rank: 1/~500
GPA: 4.00 UW
Volunteer: 320 hours
Work: Waitress, 20 hours per week
EC’s: Yearbook editor; French horn section leader; freshman mentor; pit orchestra; marching band; chorus; attended prestigious writing camp over the summer
Awards: Scholastic Silver Medal; Scholastic Gold Key; National Merit Semifinalist; AP Scholar with Distinction; a few other less famous national writing awards and several regional/local awards</p>
<p>Nulli:</p>
<p>My D is a finalist, and is not nearly as accomplished as TRES is. So, if you were intimidated, please dont be, TRES is on the high end of the scale. (IMHO).</p>
<p>I do not want to go into specifics about my D. The interview has the word “Competition” in the title, and although it might seem paranoid, I dont want to get too detailed.</p>
<p>If I had to guess (and this is purely a guess), you need a high GPA and High SAT/ACT to even be in the running. 2000+ people applied, I am pretty sure the short stack was about 500 people based on scores.</p>
<p>Next you have to demonstrate leadership. TRES does not specifically show it, but I am guessing there is considerable leadership roles in her resume. </p>
<p>Also involvement. TRES shows considerable involvement, and ‘stick to it’. Her grades, her AP, her working, her volunteerism.</p>
<p>Of Course, an Essay that ties who you are all together. W&L is making a HUGE investment, and they are not giving away scholarships because they want to be known as the Santa Claus. They are looking for future leaders that will enhance and solidify the reputation of WL.</p>
<p>Finally, and most of all, I have to say some luck is involved. Reading the stats of some students that were not selected was heartbreaking. So you have to hope your reader ‘connects’ with you somehow.</p>
<p>I am a new member of this forum. A friend mentioned it to me, and I thought I’d post to see if I can give any prospective students (and parents) iinformation about W&L. My son is a first-year student. We are extremely grateful that W&L has given our son the extremely generous gift of a free education, as he is a Johnson Scholar. So far dh and I are very impressed with the quality of education our son is receiving.</p>
<p>dadwonders, thanks, i think that is a more thorough analysis. your D must be very accomplished also though. and i think leadership is the weakest part of my app, although i do have some: yearbook editor, section leader, freshman mentor, etc. and everything on here is a bit skewed toward high-stats, so keep that in mind. i found it intimidating last year.</p>
<p>anyone else not get any travel info yet?</p>
<p>I got my travel plans on Feb 2, via email.</p>
<p>finally they arrived.</p>
<p>Just thought I’d pop in. </p>
<p>I qualified as a finalist for the JSP. I felt quite honored and can’t wait for the trip to Lexington - but it isn’t my only full-ride offer so I’m unsure what the next few months hold for me.</p>
<p>Anyway congrats to all the other finalists.</p>
<p>can’t wait for the frat parties, although i will probably end up choosing regents at cal</p>
<p>^so they still take us to those?</p>
<p>i certainly hope so…anyone care to confirm this?</p>