<p>My son has applied to Colorado School of Mines. His stats are good, so I'm pretty sure he'll be admitted, but I can't find much information about scholarships.</p>
<p>The Mines website mentions that all applicants are automatically considered for merit scholarships, but I couldn't find any information about what those scholarships cover ($500? Full ride?) Google turned up an article about a kid from a math/science magnet school in New York City who got a full ride to Mines, but that's the only mention of such a scholarship that I've found.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how many major scholarships (at least full out-of-state tuition) are available, and how competitive they are? Thanks in advance for your help.</p>
<p>I could be wrong, but I suspect that they don’t have any/many full-tuition (especially for OOS) since nothing is mentioned. Typically, if schools have such a scholarship, they want to brag about it.</p>
<p>Nothing is mentioned at all about reducing the OOS portion or anything.</p>
<p>I would contact their scholly office and ask specifically how much their schollies are for (the range), what stats are expected for the higher schollies, and how much do OOS students get (do they get more)?</p>
<p>However, since nothing is on their website, it’s not looking good to me. To me, it looks like they’re being very vague because they don’t have anything to brag about. JMO</p>
<p>Since their OOS tuition is $25k, and nothing is mentioned, I’m guessing that any scholly would be a token reduction - like maybe $5k. COA for OOS is around $38k per year.</p>
<p>I’ve posted his stats somewhere already…I don’t remember where…but the basics are:</p>
<p>ACT: 35
SAT: 800CR, 760M, 780W
SAT-II: World History 800, Physics 800, MathL2 770
GPA: about 3.5 at a math/science magnet school
APs: CalcAB 5, Spanish 5, Physics (E&M) 5, Physics (Mech) 4, AmHist 4</p>
<p>My son’s approach to college applications so far is this: one group of highly-ranked schools where our EFC looks like it would be around $8K to $10K per year, and another group of safeties where he believes he has a good shot at a full ride. Mines fits better in the latter group, although obviously the full ride is far from assured. (Hence my starting this thread.)</p>
<p>I know this is not the best strategy, and I’m helping him manage it as best I can, but his mindset is pretty much “if it ain’t elite, it’d better be free.” But I know I can steer him toward additional options if necessary.</p>
<p>Any info or suggestions are much appreciated. I post a lot in the Parents Forum and get tons of helpful information there, but here I hope to find out more about Mines specifically if possible. Thanks!</p>
<p>His reaches are elites, right? He has a good chance, but still a crapshoot for anyone (frustrating!).</p>
<p>Are you sure about that EFC? Can I ask what your family income is? I don’t mean any offense, but that suggests a rather modest middle-income (but I could be wrong… )</p>
<p>So, from your post, his attitude is “super reaches” or financial safeties that will be free. Right?</p>
<p>Well, with his stats there certainly are safeties that will give him that.</p>
<p>His reaches aren’t all super-reaches, but a few are. He is trying to narrow the list down from Stanford, MIT, Chicago, Yale, WashU, Rice, Rochester, Case Western Reserve, and Tulane. (I think that’s all of them.) His safeties are Mines, Pitt, and our state flagship (which is almost certainly a financial safety as well). At Pitt he’s hoping to compete for the Chancellor’s Scholarship, and he has been nominated for the Danforth Scholars program at WashU. So the options aren’t looking too bad at the moment.</p>
<p>The EFC of $8K to $10K comes from numerous calculators and consultations with others who have been through this recently at the schools my son is considering applying to. Our assets, family situation, and sub-six-figure income seem to put us in that range, although I’ve heard of people being rudely surprised when the actual offers come in, so I’m not counting on anything.</p>
<p>I’m wondering if that EFC is based on what top schools would figure. If your family income is “close” to 6 figures, then a state school or lower tier school would likely say your EFC is much higher. For instance, if your family income was around $80k, your EFC at a mid-tier school would likely be much higher.</p>
<p>But…that said…</p>
<p>Tulane will (at a minimum) give him about $25k per year (that’s what they gave each of my kids). </p>
<p>Will his state’s flagship really give him a free ride (tuition, room, board, books, etc)?</p>
<p>UPitt should give him good merit. Do you know how much they’ll give him?</p>
<p>Is there a concern that his GPA might hurt him a bit (altho his test scores are awesome.)</p>
<p>I would contact Mines and get specifics. I wouldn’t consider Mines a safety if they aren’t able to adequately reward your son’s stats.</p>
<p>I believe our income this year will be about $75K. I recognize that our EFC will be higher at middle-tier schools, which is why we’re not looking at many of those, unless they seem likely to offer a lot of merit aid. Tulane, Rochester, and Case all seem to have very good reputations for merit aid.</p>
<p>That said, I really have no idea how much merit or need-based aid we’ll get from any school, so this is a craps shoot to some extent. As long as my son is applying to at least one school that’s sure to offer good aid, then I’m comfortably letting him apply to whichever other schools he chooses, just to see what kind of packages they offer. If they’re generous, then great! If they’re not, then we have at least one affordable backup.</p>
<p>To answer your question about the full ride, yes, it appears that he will qualify for a full ride, or very close to it, at our state flagship. We live in one of those states that’s trying to avoid a “brain drain” by enticing good students to stay in-state with lots of scholarship money. Lots of kids from my son’s high school get full rides in-state with lesser stats than his.</p>
<p>I’m a little worried, but not extremely worried, about his GPA. He attends a math-and-science magnet school where no one has a 4.0; 3.5 puts him in at least the top 20% of his class, possibly higher, with a very tough course load. I’m more worried that he has a C and D on his transcript from the two years before he entered his current school, but I’m hoping the rest of his stats will help to overcome them in adcoms’ eyes.</p>
<p>If this is true, then why isn’t he applying to at least ONE school where his merit award would be guaranteed??? It doesn’t make a lot of sense not to apply to even one such school. </p>
<p>When DS1 was applying (with similar stats), we made sure he applied to at least 2 schools that we knew (for sure) that he would get a full-ride.</p>
<p>Just for the sake of sanity ( ), apply to at least one school with a guaranteed big merit. It’s a relief to know that you have at least one “full ride” (or nearly full ride) safe in one’s pocket.</p>
<p>Maybe I wasn’t clear. It appears that he will have a full ride to State U. The only reason I don’t say it’s certain is that we have paperwork to file, etc., to make it happen. But if he does what he’s supposed to do, he will have a free education at State U as one of his options.</p>
<p>Why do you suggest applying to two, rather than just one, financial safety school? We have visited State U, and he liked it and said he’d be satisfied going there. Are there other reasons he should apply to a second financial safety as well?</p>
<p>Yes, he is a NMSF. That, of course, would open up numerous additional options. I’ve been hearing great things about Alabama, for example, and Auburn sounds good, too. I’m considering a road trip to those schools sometime in the Spring.</p>
<p>Oh, you just mentioned Alabama to Mom2CK. The flood gates may be opened. There is a very good thread by Keilexandra in this forum about National Merit Finalist scholarships you may want to look through.</p>
<p>I’m hearing a lot of stuff about Alabama these days – is there some kind of concerted effort by the state to attract or retain top students? What is compelling about Alabama for an OOS student? (sincerely asking, not challenging)</p>
<p>Yes, he is a NMSF. That, of course, would open up numerous additional options. I’ve been hearing great things about Alabama, for example, and Auburn sounds good, too. I’m considering a road trip to those schools sometime in the Spring.
<<<<<</p>
<p>I recommend that students who have money concerns to have 2-3 financial safeties. </p>
<p>The reason that I’m a huge proponent of having 2-3 financial safeties, in such cases, is this…</p>
<p>1) a financial safety that a student “likes” in the fall, may no longer be appealing in the spring. At that point, what is a kid to do if the other schools don’t work out???</p>
<p>2) if none of the pricier schools’ FA packages are acceptable, then the student won’t feel “railroaded” into the one only financial safety he has. He’ll still have a choice to make in the spring. :)</p>
<p>3) a friend of mine’s D only had one financial safety last year. So, when her other choices didn’t work out (acceptance wise and financially), she felt that she got stuck with going to the “consolation prize” (her sorrowful words ). Again, no choice at that point.</p>
<p>4) Sometimes a financial safety will offer additional incentives when they learn that you’ve received better offers from another financial safety.</p>
<p>So, that’s why I think kids should have more than one financial safety. (If money is an issue)</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>BTW…if you’re considering applying to Alabama, the deadline for scholarships is Dec 1 (for the scholarship app - but you must apply to school first. A few days after applying, you’ll get an email with logon ID to apply for scholarships. Alabama has additional departmental scholarships in addition to NMF and others. So, a student getting NMF scholly who majors in Engineering, would also get an additional $2500 per year - as long as ACT is 30 or higher. That is huge. That makes the whole package worth about $125k. And, unlike Auburn, Alabama’s NMF scholly includes the super suites honors dorms.)</p>
<p>LOL…well, since Erin’sDad sounded the alarm, I guess I should comply. (as if I need my arm twisted. )</p>
<p>Since around 2000, The University of Alabama has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the school -with new buildings, new labs, new infrastructure, new dorms, new dining venues, etc. The new Engineering and Science Complex is a mega complex that recently won a national award. The first two phases are open. The 3rd phase has begun. When the complex is complete, it will be one of the largest in the US. UA is one of the few state schools that is not suffering from cut-backs. </p>
<p>The goal has been to become a top destination school for the best in-state and OOS students. Offering generous scholarships to in-state and OOS students with strong stats is part of that plan. </p>
<p>UA is one of the few schools that is still hiring faculty. Many of the UAs profs come from the best schools. You can go online and look at their PhDs…they’re from the Ivies, Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, UMich, Duke, Emory, UVa, Vandy, etc.</p>
<p>Last year, over 100 National Merit students enrolled at UA - all getting that NM scholly. UA has over 500 NM at the school - that’s a huge investment. In addition, many OOS students have accepted the Presidential scholly for full OOS tuition (ACT 32 and above).</p>
<p>UA went from getting 8,000 applicants about 5 years ago, to getting 18,500 last year. That has also allowed the school to pick “the best and the brightest.” :)</p>
<p>While football is not part of the “academic plan,” hiring Nick Saban to bring Alabama back to national prominence in football also helps the school for name recognition and dollars for the entire athletic program. Alabama has also recently hired an impressive basketball coach so that Alabama can also dominate in that athletic area, too.</p>
<p>Granted my data is a few years old, but when S1 was accepted at Rose-Hulman, RPI, and Colorado School of Mines, he received nearly the same merit scholarship at all 3. It was most likely figured based on combination of SAT and GPA/Rank. It was generous, but not full-ride. Unfortunately, he received acceptances very early in the process, but it took until mid-Spring before he received the information about merit $. </p>
<p>Even for OOS, CSM is significantly lower COA than privates.</p>
<p>do you know if CSM had scholarship speciifics on their website back then? I think it’s odd that it doesn’t have that info now. </p>
<p>However, I do know that colleges can change their scholly info on an annual basis (adding, reducing, removing, raising stat req’ts, etc), so it’s risky to use info from a year or more ago.</p>
<p>Our son is also thinking about Colorado School of Mines and is University of Alabama so this thread is of great interest to me! </p>
<p>We toured CSM two summers ago and as a parent who knows our kid I thought it was perfect for his temperament, GPA and SAT…but as you know…what we as parents think is not always what our kids are thinking…but he did apply via CSM’s “Golden Application” and should know as soon as next week if he got in (they said decision in 21 days) </p>
<p>Anyway - I was also surprised that the CSM scholly info is not as clear cut as I would like to see it… - I guess we will see what they say as far as scholarships go with CSM…I will let all know what happens…</p>
<p>Today at his school the University of Alabama college representative is coming to speak <l think=“” it=“” might=“” be=“” the=“” dean=“” of=“” honors=“” college=“”> - so, hopefully he will go and see what they might have to offer and come back excited.</l></p>
<p>We’re nearing the end of the 21 days, and I’m checking the mailbox obsessively (well, once a day) for what I hope and believe will be an acceptance letter. I think that just having one acceptance in-hand will make the rest of this process seem easier somehow. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.</p>
<p>Golden, Colorado…ah…it sounds so damned nice. Plus they make Coors there. It must be wonderful!</p>
)</p>
). Again, no choice at that point.</p>
)</p>