<p>Does University of Wisconsin-Madison offer any significant amount of merit aid for out of state students? The university website mentions scholarships but is not specific as to criteria needed and how much merit aid might be awarded. Also the net price calculator does not provide any estimate based on academic GPA or ACT/SAT scores. </p>
<p>Short answer – not really. There are a few competitive scholarships but my kid was nowhere in that ball park so we never researched it. As a state flagship, UW’s commitment is to instate kids, and the State of WI, not OOS kids. Few top publics offer merit aid to out of state students because they have plenty of qualified kids prepared to pay full OOS tuition. Once you drop down a bit, there is merit aid available, for instance, at IU Bloomington and University of Iowa. </p>
<p>I am not aware of any merit aid awarded at UW-Madison simply for achieving specific GPA or ACT/SAT scores. </p>
<p>Generally, any merit aid awards are department-specific scholarships that are highly competitive and involve a lengthy application including essays and multiple recommendation letters. Generally, most of these are single year awards with small dollar value ($500 up to a few thousand) and not many are for incoming freshmen.</p>
<p>The NPC shows you the need-based aid, because that is all there is at UW-Madison which is awarded automatically.</p>
<p>Unlike some schools UW does not automatically give money for having a certain gpa or test score. Do not count on any UW money based on your record. Merit awards are typically given to highest achievers from instate and I believe are from the state, not the university.</p>
<p>I received merit aid from CALS, OOS (35 ACT, ~3.85 GPA). $1500 one-time scholarship, which is apparently the norm (there’s also something in the fine print about receiving another $500 from the university if I keep my grades up). If you are OOS and interested in UW, base your calculations of cost on the assumption that you will get nothing in merit aid. For some reference, I was offered $22,000 per year at Rutgers, $15,000 per year from UConn, and $12,000 per year at UMass. All were OOS except Rutgers. If you’re looking for generous universities for OOS applicants, UW is not one of them. My scholarship was funded by a private donor but awarded through the university.</p>
<p>national merit finalists who list uw as their top choice get $7500 merit scholarship.</p>
<p>Do ALL NMF who list get the money, or only a set number per year?</p>
<p>Someone in the scholarship office told me last year that they have many more to hand out than they have enrolling. So there is a ceiling theoretically. It was on the order of 75 or something like that. It is primarily for IN-STATE students, but may be given to some OOS students at their discretion. The money comes from some foundation, not general university funds, it’s called Kemper-Knapp. So the recipients aren’t listed in the NMSC annual report as the university is not sponsoring them. If you google the scholarship you will see it listed for various amounts like $5,000 or $6,500. The award has risen gradually over the years and some of the info you’ll see is not current. This is a one-time non-renewable award given to freshmen.</p>
<p><a href=“http://scholarships.wisc.edu/Scholarships/schlrDetails;jsessionid=83pPRjxfncGm9ZlDwJLpK12xvbZNHsRnCQvJBtv22xy5DyW3hqvb!836908902?scholId=1185”>http://scholarships.wisc.edu/Scholarships/schlrDetails;jsessionid=83pPRjxfncGm9ZlDwJLpK12xvbZNHsRnCQvJBtv22xy5DyW3hqvb!836908902?scholId=1185</a></p>
<p>Separately the university has a NMF scholarship for 5 NMFs, on the order of $2,000/yr. depending on financial need. Those are the ones you see listed in NMSC annual report.</p>
<p>We’re counting on this to lower our costs for S next year. Though also encouraging him to look at UMN-TC and Michigan State, which have large National Merit scholarships.</p>