<p>approximately when do we find out if we've received merit aid from carnegie mellon?</p>
<p>Good question. Sorry I can’t answer it, but I’d like to hear the answer too.</p>
<p>You receive a notification for merit aid in your financial aid package. So approximately 48 hours after you turn in all your financial aid documents.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that merit aid is extremely rare and they only offer it to people who receive none or little financial aid.</p>
<p>Half right…but not totally.</p>
<p>Merit is announced with your financial aid package…for RD – that is going to be anytime March 15 - April 15. </p>
<p>For EA and ED-- your Merit is announced with your fin aid package as well. The package isn’t necessarily going to be announced 48 hours after your stuff is in…it’s announced after they get to your file for fin aid purposes. The receptionist said they were starting that process last week for the EA/ED pool…and said, if everything is received, you’ll see the results on the “Where Am I” page 48 hours after it’s snail-mailed…but that means they still have to get to things. They are probably still slogging through the 26,000 RD applicants! At CMU, there is not a separate finaid department for freshman- the ADCOM handles both admissions and financial aid. So their staff is probably swamped!</p>
<p>Merit is very rare…as I wrote a few weeks ago…they really scaled back many of the larger merit scholarships offered in previous years and are spreading more aid to more students. They took a terrible hit in their endowment - as did so many colleges. Rather than giving half and full rides to a hundred or so students…they now give that money to a wider pool to make things more affordable for more students.</p>
<p>That makes good business sense…CMU is way up in the rankings yet again and judging by the continued increase in numbers of applicants, they aren’t having any difficulty attracting very fine students.</p>
<p>Has any ED or EA student received a fin aid package yet?</p>
<p>[Admission</a> > Grants and Scholarships](<a href=“Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University”>Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University)</p>
<p>That link above used to include 5 other named scholarships - no longer listed as of last year. The school stated they had reformulated their approach- there are FEWER merit options for a FEW students than in the past-- and MORE opportunities for MORE money for MORE students.</p>
<p>…so they got rid of the “Presidential Scholarship”?</p>
<p>There were a 4-5 separate endowed scholarships …none of which appears on the list any longer, i.e., the Judith Resnick Scholarship (there’s also a Resnick Hall)…(she was a CMU grad…perished on the Challenger).</p>
<p>We had asked the an Admissions Officer about the merit program when we saw the change in the webpage and that’s how we got this info. They were candid that they made a strategic choice to give more money to more people rather than giving just a few people such huge awards. </p>
<p>CMU meets full need…so that is still very positive!</p>
<p>Also, CMU negotiates…they are very open to seeing and responding to competing awards of competitor institutions. While some schools consider that totally inappropriate, CMU has a process to go through to show those awards and get a match if not better deal! If you want to go to CMU, they will aim to make it happen - if they admit you , they don’t want to loose you over money. In our experience, that was not the case for D or her friends with admissions offers received from Ivies (Where Ivy packages include loans and work study and there’s no bargaining whatsoever) – we did successfully “bargain” (tacky word elsewhere…but acceptable practice at CMU) and get a great merit package at CMU with first child.</p>
<p>EA/ED have no bargaining power in this process however.
RD has plenty of bargaining possible.</p>
<p>“CMU meets full need…so that is still very positive!” - Yes, that is very positive. I’ve read some posts at other schools where students are very disappointed with pkg vs EFC. </p>
<p>“CMU negotiates” - That was our impression too when we visited. I guess that way the know they are the top (or near top) choice for the student.</p>
<p>CMU has a list of “sister colleges” which they match Fin Aid packages with. The list is somewhere on CC and the top college they match packages with is Rensselaer.</p>
<p>I was trying to find that list…
You’re right…RPI is on it, as is Cornell, as of course as expected, Stanford, MIT, Caltech
NO public institution is there-- so even if Michigan, Illinois - top engineering schools accept you…they will not bargain with those.</p>
<p>Each school has a separate list…so even the Art and Drama majors can bargain…and their list of competitor schools differs from Engineering, MCS, and CIT.</p>
<p>Does any one have a link to these “sister” schools for Art And Design?</p>
<p>[Peer</a> Institutions - Institutional Research & Analysis - Carnegie Mellon University](<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/ira/infox/external/peer.html]Peer”>Peer Institutions - Institutional Research and Analysis - Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning - Carnegie Mellon University)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/ira/factbook/pdf/facts2010/2_fact_book_2009_10_studentenrollment_earlywebversion_.pdf[/url]”>http://www.cmu.edu/ira/factbook/pdf/facts2010/2_fact_book_2009_10_studentenrollment_earlywebversion_.pdf</a></p>
<p>You can click along the left hand side and read some very interesting materials to help you bargain…</p>
<p>I know people who apply to RPI just so they can match RPI’s FinAid apps with CMU.</p>
<p>Click on Admission and First-year Enrollment (.pdf) on this page
[Factbook</a> 2009-2010, Vol. 24 - Institutional Research & Analysis - Carnegie Mellon University](<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/ira/factbook/facts2010.html]Factbook”>http://www.cmu.edu/ira/factbook/facts2010.html)</p>
<p>What do they mean by unique applicants?</p>
<p>I think unique applicants and admits adjusts for dual degree programs.</p>
<p>If you were thinking it’s an adjective which refers to the applicants with nobel prizes and those who have won gold medals at the O …not quite! </p>
<p>It’s a statistical control…to avoid double counting each person who fits multiple categories…that’s all.</p>
<p>mom2012and14-I’ve learned alot from all your posts. This is my 1st time thru the applications process. I was wondering if you might be able to answer some Qs I have.
Initially, I was pretty discouraged on getting merit, based on some of the posts and the CMUs website said only 8% receive non-need based? But it looks better after reading this. Do you have any idea if they consider Rose Hulman as a peer institution? It is not as widely known, but is ranked #1 in undergrad engineering and is an excellent eng school. We expect a nice offer from them.
I hadn’t planned on filing the FAFSA because we will not qualify for fin aid, however CMU requires it. I have figured out the process and realizing it is not complete until your taxes are filed slowed me up, since I was waiting on a K1. I did submit the preliminary last week and corrected it last night after getting the K1. Do you know if CMU gets the preliminary or just the corrected and how quickly? Does CMU post online when they receive the FAFSA for merit, so I know they have it? I copied info below about it. I guess if we do get merit, then we will still need to complete CMUs fin aid form and send in tax returns?
We applied to RPI, however, it is more of a backup. It looks like they will post acceptance tomorrow online, but we haven’t heard anything from them. However, it appears they have a disorganized admissions process. I am interested in following up, however if </p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon offers a Carnegie Scholarship to incoming first-year students. Carnegie Scholarships are awarded to academically and artistically talented middle income students who qualify for little to no need-based financial aid. Carnegie Scholarships are open to all qualified U.S. citizens and permanent residents, regardless of race or national origin. You must apply for need-based financial aid to be considered.</p>
<p>You must submit the 2010-11 FAFSA in order to be considered for Carnegie Scholarships. If you are awarded a Carnegie Scholarship, you must submit all of the required Carnegie Mellon and Federal Student Aid forms and tax documents before the scholarship can be credited towards the student’s account. Scholarship winners will be notified along with their notification of financial aid</p>
<p>TIA</p>
<p>I did look again at the Where am I and saw at the bottom w/fin aid info that the FAFSA did not have a date received yet. Any idea on how long it takes for CMU to receive it from FAFSA? I’m assuming they did not get the prelim I did a week ago, since it could not be processed without final tax #s and signing w/the PIN.</p>
<p>Thanks xcmom-- I am happy to help. I’m a real fan of CMU- – They do an outstanding job on many fronts and I particularly am impressed with how faculty and staff go out their way to help students and parents address issues. Academics top notch-- social is unique-- it has to feel like a fit for your S or D…it’s a quirky sort of place. It either feels right or it doesn’t… My D is extremely happy at CMU on all fronts…</p>
<p>Let me try to answer your questions on merit/financial aid:
Merit aid is dished out “strategically”…what that means, they go after the best students that they think they can honestly attract to attend the school who will also make the campus an interesting place. There’s many high preforming students-- CMU aims to create a very diverse and interesting student body-- so as an example, they’re going to give money to the 3.7 student who gained a national ranking in a sport, traveled to many countries, etc before dishing out money to a 3.9 student who does nothing but the usual ECs - Math team, Computer club, etc. (not that this is uninteresting or unimpressive- but it’s not unique for CMU applicants- most of whom have done this sort of thing) They also give money if you have a hook–highly academic and promising URM and females in CIT or SCS get money-- hands down. Highly academic means- your child stacks up against MIT, CALtech… I want to be crystal clear so no one is disappointed with my comments— NOT every female coming to CMU CS or CIT is getting money-- the strongest of those females is going to get some serious money. I am less familiar with the arts side of things…my comments address the CIT, SCS and MCS population. I’ve heard but cannot confirm that CS does NOT have to give out merit since it’s in very high demand-- I cannot comfirm that-- but can point to another anecdote…</p>
<p>RPI Is a competitor! My D has a friend in CS who used RPI to garner $10k more in merit from CMU ! We talked to her parents at freshman parents weekend and compared notes o how we both had managed to afford CMU and our particular bargaining for merit. So use RPI to bargain- since you have two weeks to get RPI to give you more money (no harm insulting them if you aren’t planning to attend) you will have more to bargain with at CMU.
Rose Hulman is bargainable institution…! If you get a sweet deal use it on your form.
The link is not yet up…but as SOON as you get the package, get the “request a review” form faxed to admissions. It might help to connect with a specific Adm person directly to follow through on your request. It does not hurt to call personally (IMHO financial haggling is best done by parents – very few 17-18 years old can tackle that). Stress how much the fit is there and your kid wants to attend. Make sure to use the form for a competitor review…there’s another appeal form if your family has had unusual circumstances – high medical bills, recent or anticipated loss, etc. They aren’t going to hand you a full ride if they gave you a half a ride-- but they will throw a few more thousand you at likely…and if that is enough to sway you…it’s worth a try.</p>
<p>Finally-- you must File a FAFSA!! check the “will file my taxes” box in the drop down menue…even with an estimate…you will have to send your final tax documents anyways if your child enrolls…no harm filling the FAFSA unless you have some serious privacy issues…your choice…but it’s there game-- if you want their money-- you have to file at least once.</p>
<p>Everyone posting here is stating it looks like 3 or so days to see the FAFSA pop up on the weblink at CMU. THe other materials – taxes, W2s…that is taking upwards of a month to see on our page.</p>
<p>Good luck with RPI, Rose Hulman and CMU-- all excellent choices!</p>