My son will be applying to UM this fall (probably for CS in CoE), and I’ve been comparing possible costs. We’re in-state, which is great, but the COA (30K-ish) is still far out of reach for our income/savings. Our family income (around 90K, one kid) seems to put us right on the edge of receiving any grant aid. (When I tweak the numbers in the NPC a bit, the estimate can go from 4 or 5K in aid down to zero.) Since we might not get much grant aid, every little bit of scholarship money would help.
I read some of the info about scholarships on the College of Engineering site, but I’m wondering if anyone might say more (or “chance” him?) for scholarships in CoE, and/or suggest whether LSA might be a better bet? My gut feeling is that CoE might have more money for strong students? (But also obviously gets more strong students applying.)
My son’s stats (as a junior) are strong: 4.0 uwGPA, maybe 7-8 APs with all 5s, and five upper-level math classes at a strong LAC near us (all As), and a 1510 (out of 1520) on the PSAT. He’s white, for what it’s worth, doesn’t have a lot of leadership stuff (just the regular ECs plus Robotics).
It is hard to say. Proportionally, I think the number of Engineering Scholarship of Honor per student is higher than LSA. However, there are 2 levels for the main LSA scholarships at $5000 and $10000/yr for in-state students. In CoE, it is $8000/yr. So it may be slightly easier to get the LSA scholarship than the Engineering Scholarship of Honor with the same stat but the amount may be more or less than CoE.
Since your son is in the second semester of junior already, he should have a real SAT score soon if not already. The test score is very important for merit scholarships although by itself it is not sufficient. He should aim at 1580+/35+.while maintaining his GPA at 4.0. Nevertheless, I know a boy with 4.0/36 but did not receive the CoE scholarship 5 years ago. On the other hand, my D got it with 4.0/35 the year later. It may be due to gender bias and/or ECs.
Thanks for the helpful info, @billcsho. I just read on the LSA Scholarships page that “Typically, 100 scholarships are awarded to each incoming freshman class of over 4,000 incoming LSA students.” Those are tough odds.
How many new students are enrolled in CoE each year? Around 1500? Any idea how many receive the Scholarship of Honor?
Yes, around 1500 of the 3300 admitted by CoE enrolled. I think it is around 50. As the scholarships are offered to admitted students before the May 1 commitment, the rate is even lower. It is around 2% or less of the total admission that may get a merit scholarship.
@billcsho no, I do not know the name of the scholarship. I do know this particular student got an ACT score of 36 and that is what my daughter thinks prompted the scholarship offer.