Where Most Scholarship Money Comes From - and How to Get it
Below are two draft sections from with the introductory chapter. I'd love any feedback, especially from university staff who can confirm or add more to the nuances in admissions.
Where the Money Really is
When people talk about scholarships, they tend to think of big-name scholarships like the Coca Cola Scholarship or other scholarships that are not tied to any school. These scholarships, however, are very hard to get - only a handful of students in the country receive these. Everyone’s heard of them so you’d be competing with thousands of students across the country.
This is not how most students get their scholarships. Top universities end up giving 40%-60% of admitted students financial aid packages using the university’s financial aid funds. Without income-based “promises”, these financial aid packages can vary a lot because the amount of aid depends on the school’s generosity, how badly the university wants the student to choose their university, etc. So, applying to over 8 universities could save students hundreds of thousands of dollars because they compare different and unpredictable financial aid packages.
However, you are a unicorn because of your family income. Since your family income is less than the median family income in the U.S., you’ll get very large scholarships by focusing on full-need met schools. By only applying to universities that will award you a full scholarship to cover whatever your family can’t afford, your financial aid packages will be pretty predictable - full or nearly full rides (including room and board usually).
For you, the main concern is getting into one of these 50-75-ish universities.
Getting into Generous Selective Colleges: Explained
Focusing on these 50-75 colleges doesn’t have to be intimidating. These schools need people like you to apply. Many of these schools don’t have enough students from the bottom half of America’s income rank. You are a rarity, although you might not feel like one.
Most of these generous full-need-met schools have difficult acceptance rates: ranging from accepting only 4% to 50% of applicants. However, unlike famous scholarships, you’re not competing with students nationally. You’re only competing with those considering this specific school and even then, you’re not competing with all applicants.
Many universities aim to have geographic diversity, as well as diversity in terms of public vs private high school, rural vs city dwellers, etc. The more selective the university, the more likely that you’re only competing with students in your region, state, city, public school system, etc. Notice how Yale consistently has students from 50 U.S. states - this can’t happen without prioritizing geographic diversity. A Yale alumni I know admitted he wasn’t the best student at his high school. He even started caring about grades and extracurriculars quite late - his sophomore and junior year. However, he credits his status as someone from a public high school in a rural state with a small population as helping (friends with experience in admissions offices confirmed this is likely true). There are very few students from his small state at Yale, and the other student(s) that year is probably from the private high school.
What does this mean for you? Just like college tuition prices, college’s “acceptance rates” don’t apply to everyone equally. You can get into these tougher schools. By being from the bottom half of families by income, you’re already very unusual to these schools (unfortunately). Studies show that students of equal merit and SAT scores but from lower-income backgrounds do not apply to these top schools. You are going against the grain.
Other things in your favor:
You aren’t being compared directly with very privileged students: universities do take into consideration life circumstances. When I applied, I had never been abroad, I didn’t learn any languages, I didn’t have any prestigious awards on my resume. But I did have a short but strong track record of helping disadvantaged communities near me. I had volunteered to do taxes for low income families, had an internship from my state’s low-income youth matching program, and was a leader at my student government in community college, among other things. I excelled at the opportunities I had access to. You’re not being directly compared to high-income students whose track record might look more like: spent a summer in Latin America building houses, interned at a family or nearby elite law firm, star in a skill or sport that depends on years of costly private lessons.
You’re likely diverse in some way that you might not realize because everyone around you is similar. Being from a rural area, a border community, underrepresented cities/state (i.e. not Bay Area, Manhattan), single-parent household, child of immigrants or immigrant yourself, from public school, etc. You might also be an unusual combination of identities (Mormon or Cuban-origin person active with Democrats, etc.) or a have a story of triumph and personal change (former criminal record, nearly dropped out) that you can use to write a very compelling essay.
Because you didn’t start preparing for college since middle school or freshman year of high school or (insert whatever time you’re going to start preparing for college), you’ll show an intentional growth-type of trajectory in your resume. Growth trajectories are good especially if you explain your shift.
You can strategically take on leadership positions since you know what universities you’re aiming for. If you’re a high school senior, you can do this the first 2-4 semesters of college. If you’re a junior, you can do this your junior and senior year, apply to college your senior year. If you don’t get in, use the be-an-all-star student route at a community college or public university, then apply again to transfer your sophomore or junior year of college.