Chance me UMiami w/scholarship

GPA: 3.55 UW 4.1W
Took a very rigorous course load at a private school
AP’s taken/ will take: AB/Bc Calc, Psych, APUSH, BIO, Chem, Gov,
ACT: 34( taking again in June)
SAT: 1440( taking again in august)
Math 2: 800
Bio:760
APUSH: ? yet

EC:
Volunteering: 1000 in total (500 working in a hospital)(400 helping underprivileged children in India)(50 peer tutoring)(50 work in many of my clubs) + whatever I do this summer
4 years JV tennis–> 2yrs JV captain
4 years V Track–> 2yrs Leadership Council
MIT Inspire finalist (top 100 out of 5k)( contest involving subjects in the humanities)
Co-Founder of UNICEF Club–> 2-year member
GYLI Club(Global Youth Leadership Initiative)–> group leader --> 4-year member
Newspaper Club–> 4 year member–> editor for two years(Section then Senior Editorial Board)
Summer Job at Kumon/Mathnasium
Shadowing a nephrologist
Trying to get an internship at dentist office/ other business’s

Male, 1/2 Indian, Middle Class, top 15% of my class, Michigan, sister went to UMICH

Just got into the NYU summer lead business program

I’m interested in premed, and thinking about doing business as well

Interested in Umiami MSP program
and Michigan

Pls reply anyone

Honestly, I would recommend that you steer away from “Chance Me” threads. Simply asking what your chances are from random strangers - albeit likely very well-informed strangers - will not prove extremely helpful in your college search. You don’t need self-reassurance. You know you have great stats. And a few minutes researching would have told you that you have a solid chance for UMiami scholarships.

Please understand that I do not mean to sound harsh, but I just would like to provide some insight from someone who has recently completed the process. Instead of “Chance Me” threads, your time would be better served forming a refined application list; perhaps after creating a preliminary list, I would then suggest posting on CC to have this excellent community help you ensure the schools that you are applying to are most appropriate for what you may be looking for. Deciding which schools you apply to is a crucial aspect, and one that many families do not spend enough time researching.

For scholarships at Miami specifically, I would strongly urge you to apply EA. This will likely increase your chances to be invited for Stamps/Singer and at least improve the likelihood of receiving the Presidential, which is a scholarship that can have a value somewhere between $8k and $28k. You have a decent chance to be considered for all of these awards. Though, it certainly is not a guarantee - hardly anything in this process is guaranteed. Overall, if you’re looking for a school with solid affordability, UM is far from a strong bet. Miami is known to be harsh with financial aid, so it may prove expensive even with a reasonable scholarship. Also be aware that Miami awards scholarships by department, so if you apply as a business major (for example), there may be more scholarships available but a larger, competitive applicant pool. Make sure to have a respectable Mid-Year report as well - this can make the difference if you are deferred (unfair, but it happens).

The University of Michigan is an excellent in-state option. If you’re looking to have at least one extremely affordable option, though, try to find a school that offers large automatic merit scholarships with your stats. The University of Alabama and Ole Miss are good examples for respected, relatively large state schools - schools like these are likely going to be the ones that offer the big-time automatic scholarships. This way, your worst case/disaster scenario is going to a good school and graduating with likely no debt, which is a best case scenario for most people.

With all that being said, here is what I told a similar Miami applicant in a different thread:

I would just like to offer that while you certainly have high stats and should be competitive for many scholarships at UM, you should be careful when predicting merit aid and scholarships during this process. This past admissions cycle, I applied to UM with a 33 ACT, ~3.8 UW GPA, and solid extracurriculars. I am unhooked and from an Illinois family with a middling EFC. Overall, I had thought that I had a decent chance to be invited to an interview weekend and to be a strong candidate for the Stamps or Singer. Ultimately, I was deferred from EA and accepted RD with no scholarships offered - just a Coral Grant that may not have even been renewed the following year.

Even with a Presidential Scholarship, I likely would have attended. Though, the cost of UM was going to be at least $55k, and they were not willing to adjust the financial aid package to meet demonstrated need. The worker at the financial aid offices even told me that her own daughter chose FSU over Miami as a result of the lack of offered financial aid, which UM is notoriously frugal with giving. Truthfully, it is an extremely expensive school for a middle-class family if a sizable scholarship is not awarded.

Please still be excited about the University of Miami, but I just don’t want you to assume anything before it is given. I was extremely hopeful for a scholarship. And I was extremely disappointed when I did not receive one. Hardly anything is guaranteed with college admissions. Still, your great achievements show that you have much to look forward to! Good luck!

"For scholarships at Miami specifically, I would strongly urge you to apply EA. This will likely increase your chances to be invited for Stamps/Singer and at least improve the likelihood of receiving the Presidential, which is a scholarship that can have a value somewhere between $8k and $28k. You have a decent chance to be considered for all of these awards. Though, it certainly is not a guarantee - hardly anything in this process is guaranteed. "

Very good advice, spot on. One thing the OP is aware of for Miami and other similar schools that award lots of c.$20k merit awards is that many of these school are trying to wean students off of merit awards and move more money to need-based aid. In other words, while your stats might have gotten you the higher end of the Presidential or a shot at Singer/Stamps two years ago, that may not be the case next however. You should definitely apply EA though.

Miami is known to be stingy when it comes to need based aid. On the flip side, the can be very genourous with merit aid if they believe that you may be making your decision based on how much aid you receive compared to how much aid that schools like Tulane or NYU or even Ivy’s give you, for example. While some people can get great benefit from this, it may unfortunately come as bad news to hard working, middle class families.

@Cane615 Good points. I believe that currently Miami does not fully meet need so it may not offer as much aid as other private schools. However, as you and others have mentioned, it does seem to off quite a number of merit awards in the $20k - $26k range. Therefore, for some families who can’t pay/won’t pay $65 - $70k, but can pay around $35 to $45k, Miami may work well, although many middle class families can’t pay that much.