All aid is need based. Posse is an outside scholarship.
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That’s not what the Posse Foundation Itself Says:" The Posse Foundation could not exist without its partner colleges and universities, who provide Posse Scholars with full-tuition scholarships, weekly faculty mentoring, and other support. Posse thanks these prestigious institutions for their investments in the program and their commitment to the success of Posse Scholars.” College & University Partners | The Posse Foundation
I went to an Ivy mid/late 90s went to prep/boarding school before, which is a niche experience - we were ahead of the game 
) Internet was not part of the experience. I knew like 1 person with email before I went to college.
Kids were doing summer programs/volunteering abroad and on college campuses taking classes (e.g. I went to a top school over a summer and took 2 courses for credit), we were worrying about which one to ED too, trying to get recruiting (for athletes), using legacy to advantage, etc. US news rankings existed and we looked at them (how they ranked schools was a bit different then). We worried about types of ECs. BUT there was much less pressure to do national level things, or start new things, or what not. It was about about being best of the best at one’s school…
I took 6 APs (was an AP scholar with distinction - that is has been around) and 5 SAT II tests (plus SATs).
Most ivys were need blind/full need but not all. I remember thinking “poor Brown” which wasn’t. I don’t think aid was quite as generous, though.
I applied ED, knowing it was an advantage.
Schools had interviews (honestly don’t remember if it was required). Mine was with an AO, on campus! However, alumni interviews existed too.
The acceptance rates were higher, for sure. One of my best friends had Penn as a safety (and probably could have been mine). I feel like they ranged from 20-40% - Penn’s was very high (maybe even 50?!) if memory serves.
Students at my school were from all over, but still primarily from Northeast (say VA up through new england) in comparison to today. It was still kids at top of their class getting in…but few “top” students applied for sure.
Just my 2 cents, and was long ago, may be forgetting some things!
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My memory:
Harvard/Yale were EA
The rest were ED
I may be mis-remebering that though…I didn’t seriously consider a couple of them.
OH just found an old helpful post with historical data
Old thread with old US news info:
Cornell provides the funding, however, you don’t become a Posse Scholar by applying for the scholarship through Cornell.
The student is nominated, and then goes through two interviews with Posse staff and volunteers. Cornell gets a list of 20-25 or so finalists who are matched to Cornell, and Posse staff and Cornell admissions staff together select 10 of these to form a Posse. Cornell provides the funding for the tuition, though.
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In 1943 she would have graduated from the College of Liberal Arts for Women (kind of like Penn’s Barnard) - men and women weren’t truly integrated in the liberal arts college until the mid 70s.
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Ok, but that is still totally fair to call it a merit scholarship then, I mean in order to receive it you still have to apply to Cornell, some stamps schools are like this
I applied to some Ivys in the 1990s. Something new at the time was you could get mailed a disk for your computer to fill out the app in on a word processor, and you can print on your dot matrix printer. Most people chose to write them by hand. I used a typewriter which was seen as more professional (?). Georgetown asked for headshot photos stapled to the application.
I was low income first gen and there were zero resources for me. None. Not sure if I just didn’t know about them and my high school didn’t tell me? But did everything on my own. Was National Merit Finalist. Got waitlisted at a couple top schools. Ended up getting full ride to state flagship so took that and withdrew from waitlists.
Sure somewhat similar to Barnard and Teacher’s College at Columbia. I’m sure we can all agree it took way too long to be fully integrated.
I graduated from a little ivy in the 70s and we still looked for the proverbial fat envelope on or around April 15th, the one that presumably had a whole lot of essential info only relevant if you had been admitted. Stanford was still considered an upstart university with a lot of money (similar to Rice.) There was nothing like USNews; people relied upon a fat, encyclopedic, usually softcover book called, “Cass-Birnbaum” because of its co-editor’s names. A school made its “Most Selective” list if it admitted <35% of all applicants and about 30 universities and LACs mixed together alphabetically made the list on a regular basis. Oh, and it was often years before it was updated; you had to find it in a library.
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Brown was EA in the early 90s, at least.
We are missing the most important topic, though, which were the Viewbooks. I mean, not to brag, but my smiling face leaning over a table landed in the mailboxes of many prospective students for about a decade.
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Application back then was way simpler. I applied in the mid 80s. There was no such thing as ED/EA, only had RD. Did architecture at Cornell as a international student. My SAT scores were pathetic. 670 Math and 470 Verbal. I did TOEFL though and that was decent (couldn’t remember score). Obviously, everything was submitted by mail. BTW, tuition and boarding were a fraction of what it costs now.
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I see the subject was amended to say “late 90’s”. My answer below is from long before that time.
When I applied, I hand wrote my (3) applications, and I mailed them myself.
Yes to the big college view books but those weren’t what most used at my school. In the guidance office was a large bookshelf that had college catalogs in alphabetical order. We could go during study hall or after school and read them. We could also borrow up to three after school, but they had to be returned by the next morning.
My HS was an upper middle class one. Very few students visited colleges before applying. They just read those catalogs and showed up on move on day.
Payment was done by check…in the mail.
No common application. Every college had their own application…and they were all different. This was even true into the 90’s.
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And before the 90’s, it was all on paper. And to that point, there was no Common App, so people didn’t apply to 20+ colleges
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In the early 1980s, I typed my college apps, and using an electric typewriter with built in white out tape seemed a luxury.
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1996
I typed my 3 applications. I remember one of my essays for one school, but I don’t recall that the other two even required essays. I think I had like a 1260 on the SAT and mostly As. I was accepted to all 3 schools. I don’t remember getting the letter for the most prestigious one, where I eventually ended up, which is kind of funny. I DO remember walking to the mailbox on a sunny November day and getting my very first acceptance letter. The school must’ve had rolling admissions because that seems very early to me, looking back now. I know it was fall, though, because I remember that the tree leaves were changing colors. It was so exciting! (But I was nervous because it was not a thick envelope and everyone said acceptances are thick envelopes). Back then, when you got into a college, they announced it on the school intercom at morning announcements. It was a Big Deal. 
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I still have a draft of my application essay 
on my computer! (That has gone through a LOT of word versions, but still openable!)
My essay was atrociously written but wasn’t necessarily a bad topic or theme (edit) was LONGER at least my word version, than current (like 900 words). My word version likely was a draft, though.
There was another short paragraph about an EC - mine is an awful, trite one about poverty and volunteering at shelter (!). classic. 
I also have a hard copy draft of entire app, I haven’t looked in a while but I recall less space for ECs but over all structure not so different.
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I used a typewriter to complete 5 applications (I was deferred from ED to RD). I remember going to the library to check out the college guide books. Aside from Cornell, I applied to another Ivy (it would have been two but I nixed them after visiting), 2 slightly less selective schools and then the SUNY app which allowed for three schools on one application (ooooh, aaaah).
I took all honors and AP classes in school (I think 6 AP classes if my memory serves me which was a lot back then), graduated in the top 5% of my class, lots of music ECs, many hospital volunteer hours, and I had a job.
I remember not doing well on my SAT (1100 something) but taking the ACT and scoring well by the standards in those days (28/29 I think). That’s what was submitted to colleges.
I already had nice acceptances before Ivy Day but I remember queuing in line for the payphone to call home during the break of a dress rehearsal to see if it was just an envelope or a fat packet. Fat packet it was!
No admitted student days that I remember but there was a week long freshman orientation before classes started.
And I’m not surprised by the lower 6 year graduation rate at Cornell cited by Hippobirdy. I knew a number of people who were asked to leave after not getting off academic probation. All intro courses were graded on a regular curve. Grade deflation was very real.
It was a different world.
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