DCUM Forum

Anonymous

07/20/2023 09:39 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

PP here. Agree, but "cherry on top" is not what people are thinking when they are seeking merit aid. The PP who kept saying these are merit scholarships is doing a disservice to people looking for merit aid. None of the Ivy league schools offer merit aid. They are need based aid with some possible programs and research grants.

Anonymous

07/20/2023 08:57 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

Aren't these announced in the spring, once college decisions would be made? If so, it's not surprising that they got into top-tier schools, because their achievements correlate with what the top-tier schools want.

Anonymous

07/20/2023 08:10 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

Its confusing because the selection for these are merit-based, so technically they’re merit-based scholarships that come with acceptance for students that Penn most heavily wants to recruit. While they don’t reduce tuition, they come with many financial, research, housing, course registration, and overall academic perks that regular accepted students don’t get. It’s still a recruiting tactic because all top schools have fairly robust financial aid, so these Scholar programs and dual degree programs are a cherry on top of the already good financial aid. Out of an incoming class of 2400 students each year at Penn, ~300-400 will be enrolled through one of these scholarship programs or a dual degree program.

Anonymous

07/20/2023 07:45 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

geographic diversity.

Anonymous

07/20/2023 07:44 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

This quote seems made up. Where is it from? I find Penn referring to itself as Penn (not UPenn) in web lit, and they expressly say they only offer need based aid.
https://srfs.upenn.edu/financial-aid/grants-and-scholarships
Stop giving people some false hope of merit aid. Ivies don't offer merit aid. These scholars/scholarships/grants are research stipends or educational programs.

Anonymous

07/19/2023 23:33 Subject: Re:Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

My kid got in without a hook. Not athlete, not URM, not legacy. Top grades and all of that.

Anonymous

07/19/2023 22:54 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

None of these programs provide scholarships for TUITION. That is how most people define merit scholarships or care about: funds towards COA.

Anonymous

07/19/2023 22:47 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

Nope. Look them up. They are research stipends, scholar programs, etc, but not merit aid.

Anonymous

07/19/2023 16:25 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

"UPenn offers select admitted students merit scholarships through Ben Franklin Scholars, Joseph Wharton Scholars, University Scholars, Penn World Scholars, Civic Scholars, Rachleff Scholars, Public Policy Research Scholars, ISP Scholars, etc. along with multiple dual degree programs such as Huntsman, Jerome Fisher M&T, Vagelos LSM, NETS, VIPER, etc."

Anonymous

07/19/2023 16:13 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

The first one I checked, Vagelos, says applications are due Oct 23, after the school year starts, so I assume all the rest of the comment is lies too.

https://curf.upenn.edu/content/vagelos-undergraduate-research-grant

Anonymous

07/19/2023 15:21 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

Nope you're wrong. These are scholarships offered to admitted students to entice them to enroll. It's a recruiting tactic that generally comes with ample perks and funding throughout the 4 years at any school. Mostly they exist for schools to compete with HPSM.

Anonymous

07/19/2023 15:15 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

Yes. You do. Academics only won't cut it.

Anonymous

07/19/2023 15:15 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

Thise are not merit scholarships, they are research funding for current students. These schools do not offer merit scholarships for applicants.

Anonymous

07/19/2023 15:13 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

We were talking about recruited athletics all along. Because I just used athletics (I'm a lazy typist), you assume I don't know this? Good grief.
Legacy is also on your application, so by your definition, you'd have to exclude that.

My point is that hook is not a scientific term. Think about what it does and go with that. We don't need "hook" semantics police!

Anonymous

07/19/2023 15:11 Subject: Do You Really Need a "Hook" to Get Into a Top School Nowadays?

? anyone can apply. You just pay the application fee. And in fact, some students with less than 1500 do get into elite colleges, but yes, more often than not, they have a hook.