2008 Woodie Awards
Hitching a ride
Scholarship selection process selective,
Caitlin Coyle
Issue date: 4/11/07 Section: Focus
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The situation is no different for students applying to Northeastern University. One thing that has changed in recent years is that the applicant pool of the university has gone from being one of the "underdogs" of colleges in the Boston area, to a competitive and highly regarded institution.
As Northeastern's reputation strengthens, the number of freshman applicants has grown dramatically causing a more selective admissions process and higher competition for scholarships. This year applications topped 30,000, doubling the number of applicants in 2000, said John Natale, media relations and public relations (PR) specialists of the PR department.
Often, students chosen to receiving a full academic scholarship admit receive the scholarship leads to an opportunity of a lifetime. Though they remain busier than ever, scholarships provide them with a number of educational and extramural opportunities like being able to spend more time involved student-run groups on campus.
The admissions department is in charge of awarding students academic scholarships, said Maritsa Barros, admissions counselor for the admissions department. She also said, the decision process behind who receives what type of financial aid is not easy.
However, once awarded a scholarship, students must work hard to keep them. In addition to maintaining a 3.5 GPA, many full academic scholarship recipients participate in a variety of school and community activities.
Laura Cedro, an Ell Scholar and middler pharmacy major, is a member of the ultimate Frisbee team and on co-op at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Ell scholars are chosen from the top 1 percent of freshman applicants who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, according to the Northeastern financial aid website.
Besides practicing three to four times a week, Cedro spends every weekend at ultimate Frisbee tournaments at schools like Yale and Boston College.
"It's a big time commitment, but I really enjoy it," Cedro said. "If I had not gotten the scholarship I would have not been able to go to Northeastern."
How was Cedro able to obtain her free ride? She presented a jam-packed resume.
In high school, Cedro was class president, captain of the soccer, cross-country running and track teams, the class salutatorian and secretary of the Student Government Association. She also ran conferences for middle school students on the topic of health and wellness. Before graduating, Cedro won a series of awards in high school, like her school's senior science award and the Air-Force math and science award.
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