If I can get OOS tuition waived at A&M, I’m going there as it’s my #1 choice. If not, I’ll have to look elsewhere. I’ve been admitted into Mays as an academic admit. I have a 31 on the ACT (26 science, 30 math, 34 reading, 35 English), solid ECs, and what I think are great essays. Is there any chance I get any merit aid? I’m also Hispanic
Although Mays has lots of scholarships, freshman are primarily academic or top 10% admits with a sprinkling of review admits. The resumes are pretty impressive within that school. Some scholarships are designated for honors, so if you’re in honors your chances increase tremendously. There are several places that your application will go for merit consideration - the main university ones (they are based on a point system off of your application), Mays ( a committee which includes current students & admin), & various groups that sponsor scholarships who all have their own methods of deciding. There also some school-wide scholarships, that are decided by a committee vs. the point system (a representative from Mays is on that committee). No one really knows who will be a good candidate, there are so many venues to consider & each have different criteria. If you’re lucky you’ll line up with one of the scholarships, yes lucky - there are lots of very qualified students who do not get scholarships. Sorry for the wishy-washy answer, it really isn’t a straight forward process & result like some schools. Good luck!
@ItsOVO Are you a National Merit or National Hispanic Scholar? If so, you should qualify for OOS tuition and scholarships.
I am not a National Hispanic Scholar, unfortunately. Missed it by just a couple of points
@ItsOVO Then the trick is to qualify for at least a $1000 scholarship administered by TAMU. This would qualify you for in-state tuition. One choice is joining the Corps of Cadets You should have no problem getting accepted and you would get a qualifying $1000 scholarship with that. Unlike ROTC, there is no service requirement after college, unless you take that option junior year.
I have one son at TAMU who is an OOS National Merit Scholar. He has two younger brothers who just missed NM status, but otherwise had very good test scores (both scored 33 on the ACT) and a ton of AP exams passed. We ended up looking at other State universities that gave significant merit aid for high-achieving students. My second son is at Miami University in Ohio, which has a very good business school. He got a $20,000 merit scholarship there. My third son is a HS senior like you. He has applied to and been accepted to Arizona, Arizona State, Michigan State, Iowa State, and Alabama. Alabama has offered a full-tuition scholarship and he has received very good scholarship offers from the rest. ASU’s WP Carey, Arizona’s Eller, and MSU’s Eli Broad Business Schools are ranked as high or higher than TAMU"s business schools. ASU (4th) and MSU (1st) are very highly rated in Supply Chain Management - a very hot business major.
@Beaudreau we are currently waiting for results of NMSF/NMF, my son has been accepted to TAMU, did your NMF son get a full ride to TAMU? Should we be doing anything scholarship wise while we wait for results? He has also been accepted to U of A and ASU, but his first choice is TAMU. Thank you for your insight.
@wyonurse16. The NMF package is basically full tuition, versus a full-ride: tuition, room-and-board, books, and expenses. TAMU ended up slightly less than ASU and slightly more than Arizona after factoring in their merit scholarships and additional travel costs to College Station. I would budget $1500 - $2000 for airfare from Arizona, double that if you plan on flying your son home for Thanksgiving and for spring break.
Good luck with exam results, although I thought they were out already. Did your son already get a qualifying score?
@Beaudreau. He is currently a Semifinalist, waiting to see if he is a finalist. U of A (Alabama). All of this is making my head spin. What to do?
@wyonurse16 - Virtually everyone goes on from semifinalist to finalist. No worries as long as the application gets filled out completely.
I see people are getting rejection letters, so far, we haven’t.
@wyonurse16 The students who are getting rejection letters had problems…poor GPA, C’s, low SAT, discipline problem, etc.
Getting rejected isn’t random.
What is your son’s major?
Be sure to check to see WHAT the GPA req’t is to keep the merit. TAMU requires a 3.5 GPA (that is a HIGH req’t for a STEM major…particularly for an eng’g or CS major…very easy to lose).
@mom2collegekids his major is Engineering, no disciplinary problems, straight A’s several AP classes. He’s been to the Engineering school, spoke to admissions and they were thrilled with his transcript, said they’d give him a scholarship. Crossing my fingers. There are only 3 NMSF in our school. Not sure how many in the state. Our cutoff was 203.
@wyonurse16 I don’t think you understood what I wrote.
Yes, TAMU said that they’ll give him the scholarship. BUT TAMU requires that your son maintain a 3.5 GPA while he’s a student at TAMU to KEEP that award. You may think, “no problem, he’s a 4.0 high school student.” College is very different, and many top students end up with 3.3 GPAs (or worse) as eng’g majors.
@wyonurse16, congratulations on your son’s academic accomplishments and potential National Merit Scholar status.
@mom2collegekids is making a great point regarding the minimum GPA required to keep the scholarship. I cannot find on the A&M site where the GPA requirement is for maintaining the National Merit Scholarship package. It is absolutely worth investigating and comparing against the other schools that offer NMS packages and what their requirements are for maintaining a minimum GPA. I agree that a 3.5 in Engineering anywhere will be challenging.
Are you guys investigating for you child? Right now, my son is so not involved with college stuff and I’m feeling frustrated that I’m the only one concerned about next year. Ugh!!!
@wyonurse16, I think we are technically hijacking this thread started by ItsOVO. It sounds like your son is in a waiting period anyway. He had applied, been accepted to a number of schools, now waiting for NMF notification. Has he applied anywhere in his home state? Sometimes kids think they want to go far away, then when it comes down to it, they change their minds.
Likely he is just swamped with senior year! He will probably get involved when he needs to.
@lots2do he has not and will not apply to our in state University. Just cringes at the thought of going where the whole senior class will go. He’s adventurous and ready to go (will be 19 soon). He’s over us. Ha! He isn’t nearly as swamped as his junior year, but I agree, we really are in a waiting period. I’m just nervous for next year.
@wyonurse16 Just to clarify, not all the A&M scholarship package is contingent on maintaining a 3.5 GPA. This is true for the $10,000/year award. However, the OOS tuition waiver (worth ~ $19,700 per year) only requires a 2.75 GPA.
I agree that maintaining a 3.5 GPA in Engineering is challenging, but it is doable if your son is willing to work really hard. My NMF son just finished his third semester at TAMU in Aerospace Engineering and his GPA is 3.83.
One other thing about TAMU. I love it, and the traditions and culture are very special. But OOS students only make up about 3% of the student body. There are two reasons for this. First, Texas is a huge state and there are just two flagship state universities. Second, the legislature requires admission for every student graduating in the top 10% of his/her class. So, after taking care of the in-state students there is not a lot of room for OOS students. My son is pretty outgoing so it has not been a big issue for him. Student organizations provide a real opportunity to make friends. My son is in the Political Debate and Discussion Club, the German Club, Model UN, and the AggieSatLab team.
I’ll go a step further to let you know that I do have a scholarship that requires a 3.5 gpa. My first semester did not meet that gpa. Financial aid people have worked with me, and I continue to keep that scholarship. So, don’t take too much advice from people who look at the 3.5 gpa and don’t attend there. TAMU has got more going for them as many have said.
@Beaudreau @TiberiusShift thank you both for your comments. My husband is an Aggie, so we are aware of the comroderie of that campus, and that is what he loves, the deep traditions, the campus environment, the many ways to get involved. He’s very outgoing and I sense he will find his way to the different organizations to join. Still no rejection letter. Feeling hopeful.