Wash U Is Distasteful!

CopterMom
Fri, 09 Mar 2007 12:34:02 +0000

D applied for 3 of the “named” merit scholarships when she applied to WASHU 2 years ago. Through individually mailed thin envelopes we heard that she didn’t received any of these and we were initially surprised, but over the last 2 years we have come to know some of the kids that did win and recognize that D was never really in the running no matter how “special” we thought she was! Not to detract from my D - we love her dearly!- but there are simply students out there that have accomplished amazing things (sometimes under difficult circumstances) beyond what the typical parent of / and high achieving student thinks of. Face it - it’s easy to feel a sense of entitlement when you have a student that has received tons of recognition throughout their educational career. When they don’t get that recognition at the college level it’s natural to feel slighted. Just step back and realize that the scholarship committees look at applicants differently than WE look at our student and work with what is available…if what is available is going to a different school so be it. And on a personal note I don’t remember ever feeling hustled or mislead concerning merit scholarships. We knew that competitive meant competitive on a much higher level than she had ever participated and while we felt then that she had a shot we were wrong!
D did receive an engineering merit scholarship for 4 years ‘due to the information that she supplied in her other scholarship applications’ (which we are grateful for but seems smaller each year because of tuition increases ). She is going to leave school with loans to repay and I’m working additional hours at my job whenever possible so while it’s not a walk in the park financially speaking. We are a typical middle class family with little access to financial aid. With all that, the experience she is having has been SO worth it. She was, in HS, the smart “kid in the corner”, quiet and uninvolved with any of their social/club activities (none of your typical “leadership” items) because “that just isn’t me, Mom and it never will be!” (All of her ECs were away from the school ). Now 2 years later she is thriving academically, has had a research opportunity and is VERY involved in campus activities including LEADERSHIP roles! She has never been so confident in trying things outside her comfort zone. I have to believe it is the SUPPORT of fellow students and the faculty at WashU that is helping her become this “new” person! It’s hard to believe that a school’s students can be so competitive and helpful at the same time but that has been D’s experience.
So, once we got over the ego thing of not receiving a “named” merit award, and accepted that it costs A LOT to attend WashU when she could have attended another engineering school with nearly full tuition, it all came down to “fit” and WashU is the perfect fit for her - the old, quiet her, fresh out of HS -and the “new” her - the woman she is becoming. That’s a lot to credit a school with, but WashU isn’t your typical university. For our money (SO MUCH MONEY!) it has been worth it.