…And mine got nothing either and is similarly crushed.
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Yes, I understand that, I thought it was funny that this person was not happy to have received a large merit scholarship replacing the need based grant.
I only posted this example in response to someone saying they would not change the aid package but apparently, they do.
@CanCam I don’t think it was the lack of the SAT score… My daughter has a 1570 (one take), 800 Bio Subject SAT, is a National Merit Finalist, has a 4.0 (weighted to 4.76 - all honors plus 13 APs), taking linear algebra online because she ran out of math classes at at her HS, involved in a variety of ECs, and only got $2000 in merit. Not sure what their criteria is tbh.
This is making me realize why more and more kids are choosing NOT to go to college in America. This is just so disappointing. Not all families can or want to take out $200K in loans for one, two or 3 kids to go to college to then try to get low paying jobs (if they can find one) when they get out of school, or to be told they have to go back to school to get a grad degree to compete in the market.
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I got merit without a 4.0
What are your other stats?
Absolutely ridiculous!! Outstanding stats. Very disappointing. These kids are told to work hard, take hard classes, yada yada and it will pay off, right!
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My son applied last year, my daughter this year. Following the threads from both years and having attended several Pitt presentations, I believe the SAQ responses weigh heavily as well in who receives what aid. They stress they view all applications holistically over and over and even state their SAQ essays are used in determining aid. Stats are obviously not the be all/end all here. And, up until things were changed up this year, they never looked at a list of ECs. The essays were supposed to speak to what the student was about and you were told to talk about any ECs you were passionate about in your essays.
So future students reading this thread, spend time on your essays and make sure they reflect what type of person you are and how you will contribute to and gain from Pitt.
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I hear you, but they only have enough to offer to 20-25% of those they accept, so there’s no entitlement even for those with excellent stats. As for those with less than 4.o GPA getting it, perhaps they just said that was the “floor” to my kid to make it seem logical / equitable. Truth is, it’s a subjective process we have no way of controlling.
Congrats - I’m guessing you received The Cathedral of Learning Achievement Scholarship.
my daughter actually spent quite a bit of time on her Pitt essays. Pitt has a specific undergraduate computational biology program (very few schools do), and she wrote about why she wanted to attend Pitt because of that… so it is still unclear to me how they decide on who gets merit, and how much.
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I think merit is heavily based on SAT/ACT. I had a 1550 SAT but only a 3.7 UW GPA, and got $10k/yr
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So true. It’s disheartening for our kids!
Has anyone who submitted their application on December 30th received a decision yet? The 4-6 week waiting period just ended so I was wondering if anyone has heard back.
Wow those stats should warrant merit from an Ivy I would think. I wonder if she was penalized because Pitt figured they were just a safety for her?
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Well Ivy schools don’t give merit aid, but she has applied to a few. Yes, Pitt was her safety, but she would have considered going if they had offered her considerable merit.
I think they give the considerable merit to OOS students.
@Mjkacmom I have seen several instate substantial merit awards on this thread over the last few months
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I think they are still evaluating for honors, chancellors, and in state Stamps/Nordenberg scholarships by late February, perhaps your daughter is being considered for one of those. Best of luck, I’m sure she will have some great choices.
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Yes but the majority are OOS, which I’ve seen on other threads regarding public colleges. Besides Pitt, so far my daughter’s merit ranges from $13,500 - $18,000, I’ll be shocked if our flagship gives her more than $2000. But hopefully you child is in the running for an even bigger merit offer.
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