<p>Does CMU give out any merit aide, and if so only to the very very best applicants, or is it common to receive money?</p>
<p>Yes, CMU does give out merit aid. It tends to be very shrewd in giving out its money, targeting the types that they want who do not tend to go to the school. It is rare for a Pittsburgher to get merit money, for instance. They get enough of them. Performing arts kids tend to get little in the way of awards even though the talent there is breathtaking. Engineering and computer science (techies) don't seem to get what they should. Minorities in those fields and women do well. Athletes are also well treated.</p>
<p>Is there an earlier application deadline at CMU in order to be considered for merit awards? Or is everyone who applies by Jan. 1 considered?</p>
<p>In their guidelines CMU states that they will only meet full "need" for ED applicants. All others they cannot gaurantee meeting full "need". I know this doesn't touch upon merit aid. But I think in some respects CMU does use merit to meet need.</p>
<p>CMU doesn't have a separate merit competition per se. They give out merit as part of their whole admission/final aid process. </p>
<p>US News or the College board site can give you more information on aid and need based aid.</p>
<p>My S did not get initially offered any FA but we sent in an offer from Penn and CMU did come back with some money. He was a strong applicant but I doubt he was one of the top ones. CMU will compete with their "peer" institutions - there's a lot of info on this in earlier threads.</p>
<p>Jamimom wrote:
[quote]
It is rare for a Pittsburgher to get merit money, for instance.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not necessarily so. My D graduated from Pittsburgh public schools and was offered half tuition in visual arts. </p>
<p>They will offer merit for any candiate they really want. I will defer to Jamimom in the performing arts area though...</p>
<p>Girls have a better chance for merit aid, as CMU tries for gender balance.</p>
<p>Girls outnumber boys in most visual arts programs nationwide. At Mica it is 2:1.</p>
<p>I think it is that way at CMU also. While the overall gender distribution is 65% male to 35% female, the fine arts department is more even at 45:55 in favor of females. I noticed that within the fine arts department the music and drama had slightly more male students, while visual arts and design had slightly more female students. </p>
<p>Any scholarship from CMU is an accomplishment. :) (My son was offered a small one, but we don't really know if it was from the music school or the engineering school.)</p>