I apologize in advance if this is a stupid question but haven’t been able to find an answer. Are there any automatic merit awards at UM for high stat kids? DS1 is “qualified” for all of their listed awards but it appears that they all require interviews etc… So are there any automatic awards like Bama? If not what are the odds of getting something significant? Like $10,000 per year +? We are well into full pay territory and I don’t want him to start getting excited about UM if it’s gonna cost $70k.
They don’t have any automatic aid that I know of except for National Merit finalists. Those students must get in and name UM as their first choice, and then they’ll get no less than $16,000.
The main scholarship UM has is the Presidential Scholarship which ranges from $8,000-$28,000 per year. You’re automatically considered for it when you apply, so there’s no separate application. The best way to increase your chances of getting the scholarship and getting a lot of money out of it is to have very high test scores (a 33+ on the ACT or the equivalent of the SAT, and UM superscores and doesn’t require the writing sections for each test). Miami also likes to see a very high class rank (at least the top 10%), and getting straight A’s also helps. Scholarship-wise, it seems like an applicant’s academic achievement comes first, and extracurriculars are secondary. Of course, all of UM’s full tuition/full ride scholarships are extremely competitive, and it eventually is just a crapshoot.
It’s hard to predict what your son will get because UM has no clear-cut answer as to how they award scholarships. You can see what stats got students scholarships in this thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-miami-florida/1709491-university-of-miami-class-of-2019-early-action-results-p151.html
I’m in a very similar situation as your son. I’m expecting little need-based aid and trying to earn as much merit money as possible when I apply this fall. I’m not willing to take out loans for undergrad so my gut feeling says that I’m not going to be able to attend UM if I get in.