<p>Hi - My S - a HS Jr - is pretty set on attending UMN. I've read wonderful things about individualized campus visits on here. I am hoping to set up a visit for this spring and would like S to be able to see Middlebrook, talk to honors math dept and perhaps econ dept.</p>
<p>He has a high enough PSAT score that he should make NMSF and the grades to make NMF, and his other stats are good enough that he should be accepted to honors program and hopefully get some merit money. But obviously he hasn't officially been declared any NM status and it is a bit early to be counting chickens. </p>
<p>Do they bend over backward to individualize visits - esp involving honors program - for just the random student who requests one? Or were these set up by contacting the NMF (or another) recruiter ahead of time?</p>
<p>Is it obnoxious or presumptuous to contact the NMF recruiter before my kid has been officially declared anything? Or did people who did get help from the NMF recruiter not make contact until after NMSF status was official?</p>
<p>TIA for any advice on timing and contact strategy (if there is such a thing!).</p>
<p>Maybe there is a place on the website to register for a visit? I don’t think it would be presumptuous to contact the recruiter - that’s their job - but I don’t think I had to do so.</p>
<p>We just signed up for a regular visit on the website. While we were there, an adcom came and changed our schedule to include a a private lunch with the another adcom. It was pretty nice to have lunch with the Minneapolis skyline in the background Of course, this didn’t win DS over – it was the snow and the cold in April. We arrived the day after 6 inches of snow fell in Minneapolis. I was frozen but DS loved it!!!</p>
<p>Thanks noimagination & MTnest - they do have a web sign up, but I was hoping he could talk to profs there. I’ll try the recruiter for DS’ HS though none of the students who went to theHS rep visit have been contacted by Uof MN, which seems sort of strange considering there were some good students there and my DS has gotten a lot of repeated unsolicited contact and invitations from other schools. </p>
<p>The weather the past 2 yrs has been awful - Spring last year was hopeless and close to non-existent. This year is definitely the worst winter I can remember in decades of living in MN. Usually the ridiculous cold spells are only about 2 wks out of winter. My kid had 5 school days canceled due to weather and he has never had one until this year. They had to add extra days to the school calendar b/c no MN school plans for that many weather closings. So hopefully this winter was an aberration and people won’t judge UMN livability based on it. …though admittedly I’m thinking I may not want to spend the rest of my winters in MN.</p>
<p>MomMe32…I would have no problem contacting the NM recruiter at UMinn and see if they would be willing to personalize a visit. Our D1 (Class of '11) had a similar experience to MTnest in that she signed up for a regular tour and while there they invited her to lunch, etc. She toured in late summer before her senior year started, so she hadn’t been notified yet of NM status, but to be honest we were clueless at the time what NM could do for her scholarship-wise. I’m not sure if UMinn might’ve already been aware that she’d be named NMSF (colleges get a list of SFs in August IIRC) or if they just liked her stats, but the personal touch certainly helped sway her. Had we known at the time about her impending NMSF status I absolutely would’ve contacted the NM office to arrange additional meetings during the visit.</p>
<p>We talked/worked quite a bit with the NM office at UMinn during her senior year of HS and met with them when we revisited during the winter. We didn’t do a full tour at that point, but the NM office helped us set up a dorm tour of Middlebrook Hall. My guess would be they would’ve helped us set up faculty meetings, etc. if we had asked. They may do a separate guided tour of the campus or it may be in conjunction with a regularly scheduled tour, but I would guess they’ll certainly arrange “add-ons” for your S as an NMSF “in waiting”.</p>
<p>Our D is currently a junior in CBS at UMinn on a near full-ride scholarship package (including the $11K total/year NM money ) and absolutely loves it. She/we would recommend the U to anyone. Congrats to your S on his HS performance, and good luck in his college search!! </p>
<p>Both my sons ended up being NMFs but they were only NMSF when they visited UMN. When we set up the visit for the first son in the summer before his senior year, I don’t think they asked if he was a NMSF but they did ask his ACT scores etc. When he got there, he was in a “regular” tour group when they pulled him out and scheduled him for his own personal tour. He also had a paid lunch with the recruiter and talked to the dean of honors. This impressed my son, especially compared to the visit to our state flagship (WI). He ended up attending and is a senior there right now. Back then the NMF package was only $8000 p/year, and a $1,000 or $2,000 annual NMF stipend, but he also did get another $2,000 per year Presidential Scholarship. These awards basically paid for tuition (we have reprocity so pay in-state tuition.) My oldest’s experience in CSE as a ME major has been positive. Classes have been challenging (he worked hard for his As and Bs). I remember him telling me in his freshman year how many “smart” kids were at UMN. I think there were at least a dozen guys on his dorm floor at Middlebrook who were NMFs.</p>
<p>My second son also visited UMN during the summer before his senior year. He also was a NMSF, had an outstanding ACT score so the recruiter actually set up an individual lunch with him and visits to the honors dean before we got there. We did the regular tour, and then were taken to Dinkytown and had lunch on top of a restaurant, then visited the dean. He was later offered the $10,000 scholarship, $1,000 or $2,000 NMF stipend, and the $5,000 per year Bentson scholarship. He felt very wanted. It was between this school and another and he had a hard time choosing. He ended up going to the other school because it was “warmer” than Minneapolis (plus I think he wanted to be at a different school than his brother). </p>
<p>UMN is a great school. I would recommend it for those who want a excellent education at a state school at a good price.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your input, wolverine and kjcphmom - it’s very helpful. You convinced me to contact the recruiter to ask for a tailored visit. I guess the worst thing that can happen is she says “no”. Good news to hear that a good ACT score can help toward the tailored visit MN is sort of ACT-obsessed so DS has taken the ACT already. He did well on the one he took already so hopefully…?</p>
<p>Being local, we already know the area well but it would be great to get to see a couple dorms and speak to some departments - helpful even for figuring out PSEO classes next yr. DS only has eyes for UMN-TC so it’s not like they have to do much to “recruit” him, but from reading posts on CC, it seems like he has stats similar to students who received some decent merit money. It must have been happy days for you when those scholarships come rolling in! And it’s even better to hear that your kids are happy and challenged at the U. </p>
<p>When you did your pre-app visit to UMN-TC, did they give any sort of indication re probability for merit scholarships or did you not really have an inkling until you got the official letter after application? From the looks of things, DS will most likely go to UMN in any case, but it would be soooo nice to have a little help.</p>
<p>MomMe32…There wasn’t any indication of potential merit money during our visits to UMinn, but from reading the threads from the past few years it seems like NM kids have been getting their “complete” scholarship offers earlier in the process than other high-stat non-NM kids. Our D1 had her scholarship offer in hand in early December, and that pretty much sealed the deal for her. We visited again in January just to make sure she still felt the same way about the campus, but it was really just a formality. The tour of Middlebrook was nice from an informative standpoint just to see where she planned to live freshman year and do the walk between West/East banks herself.</p>
<p>I did speak with Admissions a few times while we were waiting on her admissions decisions and scholarship info. I can be very direct (some would say blunt ) at times, and I basically told them that she had full-ride or near full-rides at other schools but UMinn was her first choice if it was affordable for us. I wasn’t specifically using the other offers as leverage, but out of pocket expense is a huge factor for us and I let them know that. She also had UMinn listed as her first-choice school when she submitted her NMSF package, but I don’t know if they were actually aware of that or not before we mentioned it to them.</p>
<p>If the scholarship offers follow suit from the last few years, have him apply early and he may have a complete package offer before Christmas. Other high-stat non-NM kids seem to be offered the Gold National (OOS tuition difference) early on and some additional scholarships added on in the Feb-March timeframe. It may be worth asking the NM recruiter whether that’s actually the case or if it just seems so based on the sampling here on CC. Good Luck, and Go Gophers!!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info wolverine86. Hopefully the same pattern will hold true for next application pool. </p>
<p>I think I have to force DS to apply to some other colleges that offer good merit money just so there is some leverage and choices in the end. He’s so bent on going to UMN, but with the common app, it isn’t too much more work for him to do a few more applications just to see what happens and to be able to say truthfully that he is looking at a few schools but does like the U a lot. In any case, I don’t like the idea of having all eggs in one basket because you just never know no matter what history of admission to honors and merit money demonstrates based on stats. This analysis paper I read from the UMN re merit money and kids coming in w/ high stats and credits (from AP/IB or PSEO) suggests they are sort of torn: these kids up status of U (good), but end up taking fewer intro classes which are cheaper to offer (bad) - even aside from merit $, </p>
<p>I hope to have him apply by end of summer/start of school year (if we have to wait to get the transcript in) and cross fingers. It would be so nice to have things buttoned up and relax and enjoy the rest of his Sr year. </p>
<p>I think Middlebrook would be a great dorm for DS. It sounds like it has a wide variety of students from different areas of the country and world and lots of smart kids and not all math majors. DS seems to have an eclectic group of friends in HS but most seem to not be “typical MN types”</p>
<p>Definitely cast a wide net especially for scholarship money! Also, how a school award scholarship money can change. Look at Pitt – kids with stellar stats that would have gotten the full tuition scholarships last year are getting lesser scholarships this year. So spread the applications around and see what it brings you :)</p>
<p>MomMe32, I think you should definitely have your son apply to other schools just to give him a choice. I don’t know if it gives you “more leverage” but I think S1 got the $2000 p/year Presidential Scholarship because I called the admissions office and asked what happened to the scholarships that went to students who decided not to attend, and if they give them out to other students. I also mentioned how much my son wanted to go to UMN but it was between them and another school. They explained that they do not award the scholarships they are going unused, but low and behold he got a letter about 2 weeks later giving him that extra scholarship. I don’t know if the two things were related but…</p>
<p>S2 knew by December that as a NMF he was awarded the $10,000 gold scholarship, and the $5,000 Bentson. In March we received a letter telling us the $5,000 Bentson scholarship would be upped his junior and senior year to $7,000 if he attended. He ended up going to the University of Alabama (check it out, they have a great NMF package) because he liked the vibe there and its a good school, but basically because it was warmer than Minneapolis. Another great NMF school to check out is Arizona. Good luck to your son.</p>
<p>(Something to consider wherever your son goes is travel costs; they really add up when you have an OOS student. Plane fare for Thanksgiving is outrageous. Just keep this in mind when comparing costs.)</p>
<p>Good point kjcphmom - airfares are getting into the category of outrageous and traveling feels more cattletrain than the old People’s Express (anyone old enough to remember that airline?). That said, I really would like him to at least look at other schools not only to see what others would offer him, but also just so he can see what’s out there. He may surprise himself.</p>
<p>How does your S2 like Alabama and does he know what he wants to major in yet or are there departments/classes he especially has liked or other aspects of the experience he is discovering he really likes? </p>
<p>I can’t wait until about this time next year when things will be clearer. His HS is little help and, in case you didn’t notice, I’m still scrambling to get my act together on this college business, so I really appreciate everyone’s willingness to share their experiences and advice.</p>
<p>Thanks, kjchpmom! I really appreciate the added info you shared. I don’t know if I can pm yet because I don’t have a lot of “qualifying” posts myself. I’ll try. </p>
<p>One general question you may be able to answer is: It sounds like Alabama will let a student take grad school classes for grad school credit w/ the scholarship(s) such that a student could actually earn a graduate degree during their 4-5 yrs there, but UMN may not? Similar to your sons and no doubt many others, my son would come in w a lot of credits via AP (and if at UMN, also math credits) but has been very clear that he wants the full undergrad experience - doesn’t want to rush through just because he could. So it would be nice if he could use the 4 years to get grad credits and/or a grad degree. Another variable to consider in the college decision process…</p>
Of course, this didn’t win DS over – it was the snow and the cold in April. We arrived the day after 6 inches of snow fell in Minneapolis. I was frozen but DS loved it!!!</p>
) and absolutely loves it. She/we would recommend the U to anyone. Congrats to your S on his HS performance, and good luck in his college search!! </p>