@Lisn123 Yes, I was fortunate enough to be part of the Engineering Leadership Weekend. It was very enlightening and definitely moved Michigan above the ranks. How was Top Scholars Weekend?
@Lisn123, LOL, yes, she has been there many times. I am an alum. She has even marched on the field at the Big House with HS band! But those wise Shipman folks must have known that it was not enough to convince D. She has always been one that wanted to go AWAY for college. She is very liberal, and would love to head to the E. or W. coast. What I hope this weekend will show her is that she can have that sense of independence and autonomy even here in-state, and that Ann Arbor is an amazing, vibrant town within the state of Michigan. She does “get it” about the financial part. We are not wealthy (some bad luck in past years with H’s jobs), and there is definitely grad/med school in her future.
@viphan - my son had a great time at Top scholars weekend and I would say it definitely moved UMich up to the top.
@ClueBus - Thats great to have a daughter so independent and ready for college. Hopefully they will “woo her” next weekend enough to make U of M a top consideration for her 
We try to share the same message with our son, about finances. Its wonderful to have has much undergrad paid for, especially if going on to graduate school and possibly a doctorate.
I would say, the “waiting” has been one of the most challenging parts for us. Waiting to hear offers from various schools before finally making a decision. I think my son is anxious to make a choice
It seems they do put more effort in these top scholar events than the regular campus day. We went to the Campus Day and the Spring Welcome Day (for scholarship winners) within a few weeks apart. The itineraries were over 50% identical but we can tell the different easily. For the Spring Welcome Day, there were buses waiting on the curb outside of Union instead of walking together to the bus stop a big block away. The Engineering Campus tour was much more thorough too and we did see a lot more. I guess, they did try to give the top scholars a better impression. 
I just wanted to give everyone some hope who hasn’t already received merit money that anything is possible. I received no merit money after being admitted EA in December, and after I received financial aid package I contacted the scholarship office at the COE and basically said I really need money. Today I got awarded the Engineering Scholarship of Honor for $20,000 a year. Anything can happen.
@Lisn123 I guess my son is unique in never having been to campus! We are OOS and it was one of the schools we decided we would visit if it became a favorite as decisions came in. We are still waiting on 9 more schools, but of course he would not miss this scholarship weekend. I am sending him alone. I went to UM for grad school so I am somewhat familiar although grad is different and was a long time ago! But I hope the weekend includes enough basic info as well for those that haven’t been there yet.
But yes, the overall waiting is the hardest part of this whole process. Having this trip to look forward too helps though.
@Musicmom2015 I’m sure they will still cover some of the basic campus tour stuff on the bus/ dorm tour for your son to get a vibe of the campus in general. Plus I think he will have time during the various discussions and dinners to ask questions. When my son was there he said everyone was really welcoming, easy to talk to, and full of information. I can’t believe you’re still waiting on 9 colleges! wow! That should help ease my sons stress some what about not having made a choice yet between 3 colleges. haha.
@Lisn123 @Musicmom2015 @ClueBus @billcsho
Do you know how many scholars are chosen out of the purported 30 for the additional scholarship? If so, is there a mandatory distribution among the various colleges & departments or is it every student for himself/herself?
@viphan No, I have no idea. My impression is that this is one of those things that they are very secretive about. Apparently the kids don’t even talk about it!
I have no idea how many get selected. But I’m guessing it is distributed in a particular way by school, since the scholars were selected by school. But like I said, just a guess. Now we are down to waiting for seven more! April 1st can’t come fast enough.
@Musicmom2015 Are you waiting for some Ivies?
@viphan - sorry, I have no idea either on how selection is made or if they are divided up among colleges.
@billcsho yes, a few ivies and a few other schools. But Michigan is probably one of his top two right now.
Are the parents of the Shipman winners going this weekend? (I know that musicmom said she couldn’t go) We can only go to some of the events because of another very important family commitment.
My H and I are going to the Saturday events. I think it is really important for H to experience the wonderful world of Wolverine culture, since he went to that other big school in Michigan.
My dad and I will be flying in from the northeast. Very excited for the weekend!
I wish I was going but my son is very excited. He just got the email about choosing which classes to attend. Since I did grad school there we decided to save the costs.
Has anyone heard from their kids at the Shipman weekend? And is anyone having a tough time deciding btw Michigan and another school?? How are you choosing?
@Musicmom2015 - I’ve heard its going great. My son is having a wonderful time and meeting lots of great people he said
As for choosing, I’m not sure how he will make the final choice. I think he was hoping that one school would sort of make the choice for him, by the scholarships offered. But he’s down to two, and they are both making it very appealing to him, which I’m sure is going to make the choice very tough for him. I guess is best to just write it all down, the pro’s & con’s for each school and hope between that, the schools reputation for what your child is interested in, and if they were able to visit, the “vibe” they had at the school. Hopefully adding all that up, will help them to make that choice. Best of luck in that big decision!
@Musicmom2015 , I talked to my D last night, she sounded so excited! She changed her plans so she could stay longer today and go to more classes! This makes me so happy. I did not want her to feel that we were making her go to Michigan because of the scholarship. We were there for the parent events on Saturday, and I got the impression that these were all “Renaissance kids,” i.e. both very intelligent and artsy, and this is definitely her tribe. She will likely be going there, but, as with many of these kids I would imagine, the final few decisions come tomorrow…