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But the playing field does seem relatively equalized anyway considering that Michigan does take residency into account when deciding how much money to give. LSA scholarships, for example, are $20 K OOS but only $10 K IS. The Michigan Scholar Award is a relatively significant schol (20 K over 4 years) and it's only for OOS. To me, it doesn't seem like Mich isn't favoring in-staters (in terms of merit schols) at all even with the Regents Scholarship. It's just not a significant award; so it doesn't make much of a difference....
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<p>I understand what he's saying and I don't agree. Thank you for stating that it doesn't make much of a difference for IS students, because it really doesn't. Congrats on your scholarship though, you will definitely be a great student if you choose Michigan! Way to go.</p>
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The main point is this: if we look at scholarships from non-private donors, the amount of purely merit-based scholarship moeny available to in-staters and out-of-staters is quite disproportional to their relative tuition rates. In my opinion, that's a big problem.
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<p>The point of offering scholarships like Regents is to keep outstanding students from the state of Michigan from leaving to greener pastures i.e. Ivy Leagues, Stanford, MIT, etc. A one time award of 1500 dollars would maybe be enough for books for one year. It is close to nothing. LadyInRed brings up a good point, U-M does give more money for the same scholarship for OOS students. Is this fair? The IS student and OOS student who got the scholarship (merit) should have roughly equal stats/activities/essays right? Equal meaning they were impressive enough to the adcoms that they were offered X scholarship. So, with roughly equal credentials, U-M is discriminating against IS students because they know OOS students need it more. In a regular scholarship competition (merit), most donors/sponsors would give equal amounts of money for equal credentials be they test scores, grades, ECs, essays, etc. </p>
<p>OOS students, if they're qualified enough to get X scholarship, will get X scholarship + a little more because they're OOS. How many IS students apply to U-M and how many OOS students apply? I would say there needs to be more merit funding for bright IS students since more of them usually apply. Let's face it, most students outside of the Midwest and East <em>tend</em> not to apply to Michigan because they don't know much about it or other reasons. Thus, more IS students apply, which I am sure hoedown could verify for you. Typically, a class at Michigan has 1/3 OOS (which is a predetermined percentage I think) to 2/3 IS. Obviously, there are fewer OOS students at Michigan and hence fewer source of merit funding. You're a math major, that makes sense doesn't it? </p>
<p>I really don't understand why you're getting into a fit about U-M giving 1500 dollars for ONE YEAR for having outstanding scores/GPA/ECs. From my experience, a 33+ ACT / 1530+ SAT and 3.9+ U-M GPA is usually required for the Regents Scholarship. There are more IS merit funding for a reason; there are more IS students, and by logic, more than likely there will be more NUMBER of highly qualified IS students. In the context of the IS population at U-M, it's probably equal with OOS merit funding in terms of percentage of admitted pool who get them. </p>
<p>This argument is really a moot point because we're arguing over how to best allocate merit funding based on residency. Michigan is a public school, plain and simple. Even if state funding is 0.00000005 percent, it has a vested interest in producing well trained in-state grads because in-state grads tend to stay in-state having ties with family and home. Better in-state grads can only help the state economy which isn't doing too well right now. Why should Michigan care about the state economy if the state isn't funding them as much? It's located in Ann Arbor, MI, and I don't think that's going to change any time soon. Anything that happens to Michigan will affect the university directly or indirectly in some way. For example, higher unemployment means fewer people with insurance to pay for medical treatment; U-M Hospital's revenue is a big asset to Michigan. Another example, people who don't have jobs usually don't spend money too quickly especially on "frivolous" things like athletic games. Athletic ticket revenues are a huge asset as well to Michigan. I can't give you exact numbers but I am sure they would be a big blow to Michigan's budget if Michigan's economy continues spiraling down as it is now.</p>
<p>So, overall, Michigan DOES have a vested interest in the state for more than altruistic reasons; its budget will be hurt badly if it doesn't contribute to helping the state grow and rebuild itself. This is why keeping strong IS students in state and giving them more merit aid is a better idea than attracting OOS students who may or may not stay in Michigan. OOS students add to the diversity at Michigan, and may perhaps bring strong qualifications, but they certainly shouldn't be sought after. U-M does more than enough for OOS students, in my humble opinion. I await your rebuttal.</p>