Can I ask school what % of students lose their scholarships? Forum

[anne922]

I was wondering if it would be appropriate of me to e-mail a school and ask what percentage of scholarship students retain their scholarships for the following year. This seems like an okay question to me, just want to make sure I'm not out of line here. There seems to be a lot of worry about scholarships stipulations on here, so I just wanted to ask the school directly what the numbers were.


Opinions greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Ludo!]

This is a great question to ask. And if the answer is more than 'nobody' then don't go.

[cinephile]

You can always ask, it's not like they'll rescind your acceptance. But I doubt they'd give you a meaningful answer.

I wouldn't take a scholarship with any stipulation other than "good standing."

[kaiser]

You can ask a school for any information you wish, and you are entirely justified in doing so. Think about how many Q's you would ask before buying a new car. Now imagine that car costs ten times as much. You are damn well within your right to ask for whatever info you desire before taking that plunge.

People sometimes get stuck in the "bowing down to the schools" mindset that we are all forced into during the admissions cycle (i.e. "Write a statement telling us why we are the best school in the universe"), so its hard to adjust and realize that now you are just a customer deciding whether to buy a product or not. You owe nothing to the seller, and only should be looking out for yourself. So get every scrap of information you can get, and if the school isn't willing to offer up the info you want, then give them the proverbial finger and walk away.

[splitbrain]

Well put, kaiser.

[bobbyh1919]

You can ask a school for any information you wish, and you are entirely justified in doing so. Think about how many Q's you would ask before buying a new car. Now imagine that car costs ten times as much. You are damn well within your right to ask for whatever info you desire before taking that plunge.

People sometimes get stuck in the "bowing down to the schools" mindset that we are all forced into during the admissions cycle (i.e. "Write a statement telling us why we are the best school in the universe"), so its hard to adjust and realize that now you are just a customer deciding whether to buy a product or not. You owe nothing to the seller, and only should be looking out for yourself. So get every scrap of information you can get, and if the school isn't willing to offer up the info you want, then give them the proverbial finger and walk away.

This. There comes a shift in the process where us applicants become consumers pitting different products (schools) against each other. Ask away and don't be afraid to press if they're being vague.