Merit Scholarships VT and Pitt

[Anonymous]

Pitt used to give away merit aid like candy, probably in an effort to rise in the rankings? I don't think they do that much anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My rising senior son will be taking the SAT one final time in August. He’s white but we live in a “rural town” per CollegeBoard and he will get award. Are chances of substantial merit Scholarship at those two schools a pipe dream?

We live in MD. So far SAT is 710 math 670 verbal so 1380. Will graduate with 14 APs; 9 through junior year. He’s taken 8 AP tests for his 9 AP classes, one sophomore year he didn’t feel prepared for. Almost all AP scores are 3s (nothing lower).

4s in: AB Subscore of AP BC Cal (overall 3), AP Lang and one other easier social science AP.

Senior year schedule includes AP Physics C and MV.

UWGPA 3.98 and WGPA 4.9. No amazing activities just one long term volunteering commitment where he’s been promoted from assistant to leader in an activity where safety is super important.

If my son is able to increase SAT by X will he have a shot of any substantial OOS scholarship as UMD Pitt and VT are three top choices? Assuming acceptance to all three, UMD would be half the cost without scholarship.

Expect zero from Tech and minimal ($5-10K) from Pitt. There were threads on that topic (Pitt) and Collegeconfidential also has a thread about merit aid and associated scores. UMD is your best bet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nova kid got 10K per year merit from Pitt. Engineering. Apply EARLY. SAT 1520. 4.0 UW. Tons of rigor, AP.

I’m this poster. They didn’t get any money at VT. We were not surprised about that, though.

Thank you so much! What fantastic stats but it’s a bit disheartening to hear with even those stats not better merit. Better to prepare my kid now. For us we will tell our child either we can pay OOS undergraduate or IS undergrad plus grad school/ house DP etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My nova kid got 10K per year merit from Pitt. Engineering. Apply EARLY. SAT 1520. 4.0 UW. Tons of rigor, AP.

How early?

If OPs kid takes the August SAT, result known in September, that early enough?

[Anonymous]

Check out Minnesota for better merit offers. Also rolling.

[Anonymous]

VT doesn’t give out merit aid. It doesn’t need to.

Pitt is much less desirable and more desperate so might offer some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VT doesn’t give out merit aid. It doesn’t need to.

Pitt is much less desirable and more desperate so might offer some.

OP here. Pitt is becoming popular at my son’s school as an OOS option, particularly for kids that are accepted into honors. I think this is a more recent development in the last 10 years. VT has always had a following particularly for engineering but more-so now. They are probably the top two OOS alternatives for kids from our school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VT doesn’t give out merit aid. It doesn’t need to.

Pitt is much less desirable and more desperate so might offer some.

PP. That slam on Pitt's a crappy remark.

I think the pullback in aid is because they were giving merit money away needlessly. Demand is strong enough that they don't have to. To me $5K is just a "Hey, we like your kid" and "We know parents like to brag on merit aid" gesture. It's not enough to sway a decision. It tells me they still aren't too concerned about geographic diversity from within a day's driving range.

PA colleges have high tuition, relatively speaking. State support has declined, so tuition has had to stay high. It's a talked-about issue in PA news.

When I attended Pitt years ago, there were already visible ties to MoCo. Marylanders like to go North/Northeast for college if they don't stay home. Virginians like to go South. Has to do with where people feel culturally comfortable. My MoCo friends were Jewish. Pitt was a very comfortable school for practicing Jewish students at that time.

[Anonymous]

Applying early to Pitt means before September 1 in my book. My kid applied a couple days after August 1st and got in.

[Anonymous]

MV in high school indicates “really good at math and really interested in it” - somewhat inconsistent with 670 SAT score.

I’d be curious to know the average math SAT of kids who took MV in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nova kid got 10K per year merit from Pitt. Engineering. Apply EARLY. SAT 1520. 4.0 UW. Tons of rigor, AP.

How early?

If OPs kid takes the August SAT, result known in September, that early enough?

I’m the poster. My kid applied on September 15. Heard Oct 4 re admit and a couple weeks later on merit. Honors college in 2024, don’t know when.

[Anonymous]

And they did use August SAT to super score the 1520

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MV in high school indicates “really good at math and really interested in it” - somewhat inconsistent with 670 SAT score.

I’d be curious to know the average math SAT of kids who took MV in high school.

710 Math 670 was verbal. Yes it’s low for a BC Cal student in 11th. It is what it is.

[Anonymous]

FYI, Pitt does not accept self-reported SAT scores. If you are submitting scores, your application is not complete and will not be processed until the receive your official scores from College Board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VT doesn’t give out merit aid. It doesn’t need to.

Pitt is much less desirable and more desperate so might offer some.

OP here. Pitt is becoming popular at my son’s school as an OOS option, particularly for kids that are accepted into honors. I think this is a more recent development in the last 10 years. VT has always had a following particularly for engineering but more-so now. They are probably the top two OOS alternatives for kids from our school.

Their applications rose by 20k between 2021 to 2022. They are getting close to 60k apps and really don't need to attract students with merit aid anymore.