@fakesnek
same here - accepted on Sept 30th, OOS and still no merit(:
DS admitted to SCI 9/6 (stats in post #7). OOS. No merit so far either.
Is the “Pitt Passport” site, under “Application Status” where I should be looking for the buttons I see mentioned? App was complete 11/6. Applied to Swanson OOS 3.8UW, 34 ACT. Thanks for the help and good luck to all.
Merit notification came today in mail. No notification on portal. In state student $15k / year (60k total) . Also applied and hoping for Chancellor scholarship invitation in February.
PAdude congratulations!! That’s awesome. do you care to share any stats for comparison? Thanks.
Congrats!
Do these come in regular envelopes or large ones, like the acceptance package?
@TheVulcan Ours came in a regular envelope.
Congrats!
Just want to clarify you received the merit aid separate from the regular admission mail correct? If so, how much later did you receive merit info than regular decision.
So you could see it in informed delivery?
@TheVulcan Yes, it showed up in our Informed Delivery. From Pitt Office of Admissions and Financial Aid.
@Susanb33 the info came in a regular envelope from financial aid office. Stats are 14 AP; 5 dual enrollment (Lehigh University) 1 /425 class rank . 1560 SAT but took as a 9th grader, I’m not sure that actually counts for anything but I did noticed the college board notes the year you took the exam. Hoping to enroll in Pittsburgh GAP for medical school, received invite to apply so will need await invitation to interview. Seems others have similar stats so I can’t say what the difference in merit might be? One thing I can note is he (my son) has always personally felt colleges are interested in well rounded classes not necessarily well rounded students. He had said this several times through high school He always felt it was most important to be exceptionally good at a particular thing then be pretty good at a lot of things. For him he was exceptionally good at mathmatics. By end of Junior year he has progressed through mathmatics curriculum up through differential equations and linear algebra at the collegiate level. So I think that may be his hook in a way. Anyway hope this helps. All these kids are pretty amazing in my opinion.
@PAdude
Congratulations to your son.
Yes he is correct about a well rounded class - we have heard it multiple times from info sessions.
@emptynestpls-I just want to make sure I am looking in the right spot. When you say you “have buttons” is this within the “Pitt Passport” website under “Application Status”? Pitt’s system seems like the most confusing/least modern unless I am looking in the wrong place. Thank you!
@gregM2020, see post #9 in this thread
@gregM2020 and @TheVulcan - Thank you! I agree that the “Pitt Passport” portal is the most confusing of the 9 portals we are juggling between twins. Checked the link referenced in #9 and DS has buttons for Swanson Engineering! Applied 10/22. 4.212W, 19 Honors/AP classes. Taking an Engineering Academy class with a local college as a senior. Really strong in math, calc, physics, and micro. Good EC’s and works part-time at a machine shop on CNC equipment. Aiming for Industrial.
How does one apply for Chancellor scholarship?
The sad truth about American college admissions game is that no one truly knows what colleges are looking for. That said, we also are of the opinion that true depth matters more than shallow breadth.
To that end, our kids have always followed MIT’s “applying sideways” approach without even knowing it.
https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways
Regardless of how admissions/scholarships lottery shakes out, I know they will have no regrets about following their passion for learning and reaching for the top of their academic fields in the nation instead of trying to figure out what colleges want and then attempting to fake it.
Congrats again to your son, we always say in our house, if you can learn math, you can learn anything. Did he participate in any olympiad style math competitions (MathCounts/AMC etc)? Those are great fun for math lovers.
My daughter was fortunate to be selected a chancellor scholar. She received notification that she was nominated I think in merit letter, and then was instructed to an online portal where she had additional essay questions to answer that were due by the end of December. I think in February informed made to interview. Our understanding was that about 100 kids were nominated, they interviewed around 30 (full day on site) and selected 10. I could be off on those numbers.
This was our experience from two years ago, it could be different now.
What are the “buttons?” My son was accepted with a merit award, but I don’t see his acceptance or his merit award in his Pitt Passport.