<p>Hello all,
I used to frequent this site during my admission process last year. I haven't been on in a while, but since I just got done with my first semester at the U of M I figured that I'd want to help people who have applied here and are thinking of attending.</p>
<p>A little background on me first: I'm a freshman majoring in Chemical Engineering, managed to avoid the mistakes of many of my peers and ended up with a 3.98 GPA for my first semester. I am originally from Virginia Beach, VA, so going to the U was definitely an unconventional decision. Because of this, I didn't really have many people I could go and talk to in my area about what the U was like. Nonetheless, I feel that the decision has paid off since I enjoyed my first semester here, and now I'm willing to answer questions of prospective freshmen so they know what it's like.</p>
<p>I will most likely be able to answer questions about anything related to the U, but there are certain topics that I am very familiar with and can thus provide a very in-depth answer. These topics include:
-Anything related to CSE (College of Science and engineering)
-Coming from out-of-state and how to manage the transition
-Scholarships
-Greek life/party scene in general (I'm a member of a fraternity on campus)
-Things to do on campus/in the surrounding Twin Cities area</p>
<p>Thanks for opening up to questions. I’m an OOS student as well. I was just recently accepted to CSoM for 2013 and I have some questions.</p>
<p>How is the overall feel of the campus? Is it difficult to navigate, especially during the winter (ie: walking time, how are the buses, etc), and how are the people at U of Mn TC?</p>
<p>How competitive are scholarships? Do a lot of people receive merit aid? I am hoping OOS students receive a decent amount because my decision is largely affected by financials.</p>
<p>What is there to do around campus in terms of clubs, parties, and the surrounding TC area?</p>
<p>And how did you survive your first semester as an OOS with not knowing anyone or anywhere?</p>
<p>I also got accepted into CSOM!
I was wondering when do people usually receive their scholarship in the mail?
Also, I was hoping I get accepted into Honors program but I didn’t get a mail with it; does that mean I’m not accepted to honors program?</p>
<p>-The campus can be described as an urban campus: it almost feels like a miniature city since there are plenty of restaurants and shops interspersed with the actual academic buildings. It’s not as big as you would expect from a university of its size, and I found that by the end of the first week i knew where all my classes were. Winter doesn’t have that much of an effect since Minnesotans know how to deal with snow. When we got about a foot of snow a couple weeks ago, the sidewalks were cleared the next day. Buses are good for going downtown, but unless you have a class on the St. Paul campus everything is within walking distance (assuming you live on campus). The student body is filled with folks who embody the “Minnesota nice” archetype; thus, I’ve had no problem meeting new people and forming friendships.</p>
<p>-Since you’re from OOS, your surest bet for merit aid is the Maroon/Gold National Scholarships. This one isn’t too competitive, as most OOS students with decent stats get either the Maroon or Gold. There are some other upper tier scholarships that are a bit more competitive, but I’d say that if your ACT is at least a 30 you have a pretty good shot at obtaining merit aid. I had a 34 ACT and ended up with the Gold National, which covers the difference between in-state and OOS tuition. However, I probably would have gotten more had I applied before the priority deadline. Applying early is probably one of the best ways to increase your chances of gaining merit aid. Also, keep in mind that even if you get no merit aid, the OOS tuition is still a very low rate compared to other schools.</p>
<p>-The party scene is pretty much dominated by either frat parties or parties in nearby apartments. Partying in the dorms usually leads to an unwanted visit from one of the RAs. Even though less that 10% of the student body is Greek, Frat Row ends up being very packed on a typical Friday and Saturday night. However, when winter comes and the temperature drops the party scene dies down quite a bit. If you’re looking to do things in the TC metro, there’s always a pro sports game around if you’re a fan of that. Mall of America can easily be accessed by the light rail as well, so that’s definitely a place to check out if you want to spend some time shopping. There’s a whole bunch of other stuff that even I haven’t explored yet, so definitely check it out if you end up visiting campus soon!</p>
<p>-Honestly I’d have to say the biggest help to making the transition was joining a fraternity. I got a solid group of guys to hang out with and made plenty of new friends. Even if you don’t go Greek, you can still meet a ton of people just by living in the dorms. Just be very social and talk to people you just see around: chances are they will want to meet new people as well.</p>
<p>Hope this helps! Congrats on being admitted to Carlson and good luck with the selection process!</p>
<p>Congrats on the acceptance! I got my acceptance letter in January but my scholarship info didn’t come until about a month and a half later. The absolute deadline for you to receive scholarship info is the end of March so you will hear by then at the latest. </p>
<p>As for Honors, that usually comes with the scholarship info so there’s still a chance you got in. Just curious, are you in-state or OOS? That plays a huge role in your chances of making Honors, as most of the spots are reserved for in-staters. I had a 4.0 unweighted GPA and 34 ACT and didn’t make honors, which leads me to believe that it’s very competitive for OOS applicants.</p>
<p>If I have a 3.85-3.9 GPA, with difficult classes, 640 CR 700 M and 650 W SAT scores, and I’m top 18% of a really competitive school, do you think my stats are good enough for merit aid?</p>
<p>I’m a OOS prospective student admitted into the CSE for Fall 2013 semester. I applied mid October and got my acceptance in early November yet I haven’t heard back concerning scholarships or honors. Although I’m not expecting honors given your earlier post, is it likely that I would recieve a maroon scholarship? My school doesn’t rank but it’s a competitive public school on Long Island. My SAT break down is 640 CR 680 M 680 W and I have a Cumulative GPA of 92 (my school exclusively uses a 100pt scale) before sending in senior years grades. I’m not sure if it’s considered but I’m a first generation college student coming from a single mother (divorced). I also have outstanding ECs both in leadership positions, variety of activites, and number of activites and awards. Also with that being said, should I send in my mid-year grades even though I’ve already been accepted? I’m expecting a 96 avg for the first semester.</p>
<p>Tough call. Your SAT score is pretty good, I’m not sure if that 3.85 is your unweighted or weighted GPA. If it’s 3.85 unweighted then I think you definitely would get at least Maroon National, and would probably stand a good chance of getting Gold National. If that’s the weighted GPA, I think you still have a solid shot at Maroon National with a reasonable chance at Gold National. I would be very surprised if you ended up with no merit aid at all. Just out of curiosity what state are you from? I don’t know if you knew this already but if you’re from certain states like Wisconsin or North Dakota you pay in-state tuition even without scholarships.</p>
<p>First off, congrats on the admission to CSE! I can tell you firsthand its a great program. As I said in that earlier post, the absolute latest they would send you scholarship info is late March so there’s still a chance you could get into that. Given your grades and SAT score I would think that you’d at least get Maroon National, possibly Gold National. I got mine about a month and a half after my acceptance letter, so as of now it’s been around two months since you got your acceptance letter. Not having scholarship info yet is perfectly within the normal timeframe that it takes for the U to send it out, but even if it doesn’t come within the month remember that it could still come anytime until the end of March. Hopefully you end up with some merit aid your way!</p>
<p>Oh and the U doesn’t even look at midyear grades, nor do they specifically request them. So don’t worry about sending those in, especially since you’ve been accepted already and they’ll be using the grades already in your file to determine your merit aid.</p>
<p>Fortunately, the 3.85 GPA is unweighted. My weighted GPA is probably around 4.1, I’d need to check. I’m from Arizona, so unfortunately I wouldn’t receive reciprocity tuition. It’s good to know that it’s favorable that I’ll receive some form of merit aid. Are you aware of how much the Maroon National and Gold National are worth? I need something in the range of at least $5000 to attend U of Mn.</p>
<p>I’m not out of state but I don’t qualify for in-state either. I lived in Minnesota for 7 years but I don’t have a permanent residency here. I only have a temporary visa in America so I don’t qualify for in-state (I’m not international either…)
My unweighted GPA is 3.87 (top 12 percent but the school I attended is very competitive). My GPA kinda low because I was a full time PSEO student at the U during my junior and senior year and took harder classes…
I sent two SAT scores: one was 670CR 760M 650W and the other one was 600CR 780M 740W. </p>
<p>Do you think I will receive some amount of scholarship? How about Honors?</p>
<p>I am a prospective student from the Philly area still waiting for my decision (It’s taking SO SO long!). I applied as an economics major in the CLA with a pre-med track using the Golden Gopher application. Does using the Golden Gopher application give me an advantage over other applicants? Also, how is Minnesota football, basketball, and baseball? Is there any modern architecture on campus (On the website, application, and Wikipedia, I see mostly historic looking buildings)? Finally, how is their marching band (I’m a prospective drummer)?</p>
<p>Hey all, sorry for the neglect of this thread, I’ve been busy as of late.</p>
<p>@saltytokyo: Gold National is $5000 per year, Maroon is worth half of that. @pooopface: Being PSEO might help your scholarship chances, even if you didn’t get as high of a GPA as you wanted. I think you’ll definitely get Maroon National, and you’ve got a good chance at some other merit aid. @FutureDoc31: The Golden Gopher Application doesn’t affect your chances of admission. That being said, for some applicants it just takes longer to receive a decision so don’t give up hope. Our football team is definitely on the rise…despite the tough loss in the bowl game they’re way better than they were a couple years ago. Basketball hasn’t been too great recently but now they’re a top 10 ranked team so everyone’s excited to see how this season goes. From what I hear baseball is a pretty solid team as well, although it’s not as big of an attraction as the hockey team. As Kajon noted, the science teaching building is a pretty prominent example of modern architecture, as well as others interspersed throughout campus. Don’t know too much about marching band other than the fact that they always please the crowd at games. @dudedad: all I’ve heard so far is that it’s being considered, and that was actually in a Star Tribune article. I doubt it would be in place by next year if it is adopted.</p>
<p>DS was accepted to CSM for 2013 as OOS. His unweighted GPA 3.2 weighted GPA 3.9, ACT 34. He is kind of slack. I am worried if he can survive in CSM.
How is the workload in CMS (especially Computer Engineering)?</p>
<p>@Looper59: congrats to him! Sounds like he definitely has the natural intelligence with the 34 ACT and if he develops good work habits he’ll be fine. You said he was accepted to CSM, which to my knowledge stands for the Carlson School of Management. Computer engineering isn’t within Carlson but rather CSE (College of science and engineering). If his intended major is indeed computer science then he will definitely have to get rid of the slacker mentality. A lot of people with 4.0s in high school ended up with 3.0s for the first semester. From what I’ve heard Computer science isn’t too hard the first year, since it’s just a lot of general requirements like physics and calculus. It will pick up though, so it’s definitely important to not slack and get into good study habits. His ACT score indicates that he’s definitely smart enough to handle the coursework so it’s work ethic that will determine his success.</p>
<p>@brockwell: Definitely the new one (17th street residence hall) should be the first choice since it’s located right in the middle of frat row and is in a pretty central location relative to the rest of campus. After that I’d suggest either Territorial or Frontier (Frontier has the engineering LLC btw, and most of the people living there say they like it. It is pretty quiet there though so if you’re looking to go out and party a lot it’s probably not the best place to live). Note that you should submit the Housing App ASAP, even if you dont go to the U of M you can still apply for Housing. Territorial and Frontier are the most popular choice and so they’ll fill up quickly.</p>