<p>What do you guys think my chances are at getting a scholarship (as well as getting in) for University of Miami? I cant go there unless I get some scholarship money. What about UF?</p>
<p>The chances of you getting a scholarship from the University of Miami is a good one. A conservative amount would be $15,000 a year. I would not for sure the amount because it’s on a sliding scale dependent on the applicant. </p>
<p>University of Florida is a bit picky…I’m unsure if they will give you a merit award.</p>
<p>I believe you’d have to do it yourself. They weight their classes so that:
A (90-100) —> 4 points
B (80-89) —> 3 points
C (70-79) —> 2 points
D (60-69) —> 1 point
F (59 and below) —> 0 points </p>
<p>+0 for each regular course
+0.5 for each Honors/PreAP/PreIB course
1 for each AP/Dual Enrollment/AICE/IB course</p>
<p>You add all the points you got from the grades you earned while in high school and divide by the number of course taken. This is the GPA that the adcoms will calculate and use to compare you to other students and scholarship bars. This weighted GPA will allow you to base your GPA against the current incoming class to see where you lie.</p>
<p>@Bob I don’t agree with your post. I don’t see the point of posting a 75th percentile statistic. The 25th is 1270. Your other statistic does not state the scores of those 422 freshman receiving that amount of money. </p>
<p>The numbers show that 21% of Miami freshmen received merit aid. A student should therefore have test scores well into the top 21% of freshmen (i.e. well above the 79th percentile) in order to expect significant merit aid. That is the relevance of the 75th percentile scores.</p>
<p>The OP has asked for chances, and I have given my opinion based on the numbers. There is no need to become confrontational about it.</p>
<p>If those are the numbers for significant merit aid, then you should have said so. However, OP asked for his chances for any merit aid. Depending on his Miami weighted GPA, a 2000 SAT with at least a 4.2 weighted GPA, will most likely* get merit aid. </p>
<p>*considering he’s a competitive applicant: AP classes, leadership experience, and the like</p>
<p>Your statistics only show the percentage (21%) of freshmen who had no financial need AND received merit aid. Of those 422 freshmen, the average amount was $19, 874. On the flip side of your statistic:
<p>The average weighted GPA for Miami is 4.2, and the average SAT CR+M+W is 1965. 4.2/2000 stats are close to average for Miami, and merit aid goes to the top 21%, not to the average.</p>
<p>The 75th percentile score level is 2110, so a student needs to shoot higher than that for a reasonable chance at any merit aid.</p>
<p>“Merit based gifts” that are part of a need-based package are a whole different story, not relevant to a discussion of pure merit aid. If the student has financial need, then we need to get into family finances to try to predict aid, rather than grades and SATs.</p>
<p>I know for certain that you do not have to be in the top 21% to receive merit aid from the University of Miami. The University of Miami gives scholarships with their acceptances. Need has nothing to do with the scholarships they give out with their acceptances. They are fully merit based awards. You can check their website. You can check past year’s Decisions thread. These students are NOT only the top 21%. </p>
<p>Neither of us have a statistic that has NO relation to the applicants need. If “merit based gifts” are a part of another story, then your magic number of 21% has no bearing. Their merit based awards are based off of the applicants GPA, scores, course rigor, rank, and ECs.</p>
<p>Nowhere does UoM state that they give merit aid to the top 21%. Not one single place.</p>
<p>Niquii, you seem to be very confused by the difference between need-based and merit-based aid. The figure I originally quoted is from the Common Data Set published by the university. It states quite clearly that 21% of students with no need receive merit awards.</p>
<p>When colleges award need-based aid, the package is usually divided into several components, one of which may be labeled “merit-based gift”. The 42% figure that you quoted is from the need-based portion of the Common Data Set. Regardless of the name, which may have confused you, these awards are part of a need-based package.</p>
<p>When a student asks about chances of merit aid, the appropriate statistics to examine are the merit aid awards for students with no need. It could be that the University of Miami is lying in their Common Data Set, and that more than 21% of students with no need are receiving merit awards. If you truly believe this to be the case, you should report Miami, because falsifying the information in the Common Data Set would be a serious deception.</p>
<p>Anywho, I have no desire to explain anymore. Continue to base off of the Common Data Set if you want to, Bob. Just know it doesn’t work that way. </p>
<p>shaun, good luck your UoM decision. Hopefully, you’ll update us on this thread!</p>
<p>Students looking for competitive merit aid should be aware that the described approach is a pretty good way to estimate if merit aid should be expected. If merit aid goes to the top 20%, then apply to schools where your stats put you in the top 20% (preferably higher) in GPA/scores.</p>
