To be honest, I'm not a fan of pre-pod school scholarships. I feel that the school is purchasing the candidate rather than investing in him/her with their education. That being said, I don't mind the concept of rewarding students on a GPA basis...
I'm gonna go the other way on this issue and state that I'm always a fan of free money. You have to think how much value you are getting by the time all is said and done. If you can save even $15-30k with total scholarships during 4yrs of pod school, that actually saves roughly $24k-48k by the time you pay it all back (20yr repayment at 5%).
I agree that schools could wait until a student had put in their tuition deposit or signed a letter of intent to release scholarship details, but let's get real here: the schools want to attract good students. Good colleges across the nation offer scholarships upon acceptance to attract qualified students. Many colleges also use scholarships or tuition/housing discounts to attract good athletes, faculty, or staff.
A scholarship might not matter to a student who already has much scholarship or family support coming into pod school, but for other students who are heavily weighing cost of living, tuition, etc for a school, that scholarship amount and its renewability conditions may make a big difference in the ultimate decision. I was pretty sure I was going to go to Barry anyways simply due to my parents retiring nearby, but a significant scholarship offering which was renewable yearly with only a 3.0gpa made the decision even easier for me. I've enjoyed that scholarship and put the money to good use, and I will keep working hard in attempts to maintain that money as well as work on getting additional scholarships which become available as I enter my 3rd and 4th years.
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To respond a bit to the OP, your best bet may be to check out Barry for yourself. Ask questions, talk to adminstrators and deans, peek into pod classrooms and labs. I'd pick the school based on your criteria for a graduate program and what you feel is the best fit for you. It's a very important and very personal decision.
Many of the people who bash the university may just be spreading rumors and it's quite possible that they have never even been on the campus. Barry is the newest pod school aside from AZPod, so many Barry grads aren't real far out of residency yet (esp grads since the current dean took over). That and the fact that many Barry alumni like the warm climate and remain in the southern US might limit how much some of the northern pod programs might really know about the program and the quality of the podiatrists which it produces. Who is to say opinions you hear from people who study/practice 1000+ miles away from Miami are not just based off one or two Barry externs or residents they ran across many years ago? If you apply yourself, there's no reason you won't learn a lot anywhere. Why else would a program be/stay accredited?
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