No merit letter today in IL. Bummer! Miami is one of my top choices, so knowing the amount of merit I receive is very exciting. Hopefully tomorrow.
I got mine today!
OOS (MN)
35 ACT (36/36/35/31)
Top 5% of class
3.95 unweighted GPA
5’s on all 4 AP’S, internship @ state house of representatives, cross country captain, french club officer, some volunteering
$26,000/year and invitation to Presidential Open House!
A tad surprised because my ACT was at the higher end, kind of was hoping for $30k but very very excited!! Hope everyone gets theirs soon 
That was my S19’s first offer from Miami, but he ultimately ended up with $41k because he was invited to compete for Pres Fellows, but didn’t get it, and Miami revised his offer.
Did you, by chance, toss your hat in the ring for Pres Fellows? Also, did you list an intended major? I’m guessing maybe Pol Sci based on your internship.
buckeyeinbama - Interesting info, thanks for sharing. We are still waiting for the letter here in Illinois - hopefully today. We did already get the invite to the Presidential Open House.
I would expect to get about what hereuses received - stats are virtually identical, but we are so in the dark about the whole process, so it seems maybe there is hope for more, especially if invited to the Pres. Fellows program.
Had your son accepted Miami by the time he received the second offer? Does it matter? $41K would cover all tuition and part of room and board - we did not even know that was an option - we thought only tuition was on the table unless accepted into Pres Fellows, which is a long shot. Also, wondering whether major makes a difference. Ours applied for Games & Simulation and plans to double major computer science.
Also, I think this may have changed, but when we applied we simply checked a box to be considered for all 3 of the programs (Honors, Scholars, and Pres Fellows). This then opened another field to add the essay. But the point is that it seems everybody who simply checked that box is theoretically in the running for it.
Daughter admitted to UHP and scholars. Just checked Usps informed delivery and still no merit letter for today, Saturday. Wish it would come!
She got an invitation to the presidential open house yesterday. I think all who are UHP and/or scholars get that.
Not sure the merit letters all went out because they would have for sure been here by now.
we’ve been waiting too here for our letter. Yesterday I read through some long threads from last year and the year before about merit awards. . He’s got pretty good stats (OOS); but our optimism is diminishing as we wait after reading those threads. My kid did not apply for honors or the presidential program. . . . and I think that will hurt Oh well! good luck to you all though.
And honestly - I get it. We are out of state. Our own state is showing some love.
I see a letter in USPS informed delivery but it is not postmarked and instead has a barcode scan? From admissions- could it just be the some random mass mailing? S20 in top merit tier and did apply for UHP/ASP/Presidential. The waiting is soooo hard!
@buckeyeinbama Yes, I applied for the Presidential Fellows program! My current major is history (can’t decide between that & political science). I put an emphasis on my love for & experience with languages (French/German) in my essay.
Anything extra would be great so it’s good to hear your son was offered more because of the Fellows program! Just wish it was more of a “slam dunk” decision than playing the waiting game lol
@mountainmomof3 Same here. Informed Delivery shows something from Miami, but looks more like a mass mailing. D20 did apply Honors, though. Mail should come here soon, so I’ll let you know what I find.
@pandorasbox1 , did you get your merit scholarships? And does it have Bridges scholarships also? My S got his merit letter but no info. for Bridges. I am not sure it already includes Bridges or not. Does anyone else know about Bridges scholarships?
We received our merit letter in the mail today, in Indiana. It was on-par with the published merit scholarship table posted on their website. The letter was post marked 12/23.
@mountainmomof3 Mail just delivered. The Miami letter is the invitation to the Presidential Open House. Still no scholarship letter.
No letter today again. I feel like it must be lost in the mail or hasn’t been sent at this point lol
S20’s mailing was for the Presidential Open House. But I am little confused. To be clear, this is NOT an invite to compete for Presidential Fellows right? I thought that was something separate that would come mid-January?
@mountainmomof3
Our understanding that it is just an invite because your child made honors or scholars or both and has nothing to do with the presidential fellowship. It’s confusing because the names are similar.
@Etienne_72772 - that was what I gathered from the actual invite but was confused by some of the earlier discussion.
@YS1111 No mention of Bridges at all. I assume any amount allocated for Bridges is included in the “merit scholarship” amount in the letter, but that is far from clear.
IS student received letter yesterday. He was offered merit as expected. Applied and received UH, waiting to hear about Presidential Fellows invite. I agree that applying to Honors is probably part of the algorithm when merit is awarded. Oldest son is now senior at Miami and the final letter that is sent out in March included an extra scholarship from Dean of A&S along with FAFSA funding.
Something of note, there are many departmental scholarships and Honors scholarships available to 2nd to 4th years that can help with extra expenses such as research and study abroad during JTerm expenses…
Miami has helped keep senior son’s debt to a minimum and has also offered a multitude of internship and study abroad and research opportunities.
It wasn’t his 1st choice but it has gotten him exactly where he needed to be 4 years later.
(my user name is tongue in cheek ?)
@YS1111 I did search old threads to see what I could learn re Bridges and the merit scholarship letter. Things can change year-to-year obviously, but it seemed like the Bridges amount was always included in the initial merit scholarship letter. However, the fact that people were definitively saying their award included Bridges as soon as they received it makes me think their letters may have expressly said so, making me question (read: hope) that there may be an additional amount to come since our letters made no mention of it.
@pandorasbox1 Thanks for your posting. Let hope it comes as an addition.