Hi!!
I will be applying EA to UM, my top school.
GPA (W) 4.1072 (UW) 3.9107
SAT 1260
AP Euro, AP English Lang, AP Chem, AP US History, Spanish 4,5,
Senior year- AP Stat, AP Gov, AP Eng Lang, AP Spanish, Physics, Advanced Orchestra
I was President of Spanish Honor Society,actively involved in National English Honor Society and National Honor Society as well. Honor Roll (bc of A-s) Varsity Tennis team, volunteering, part time job.
Although my SAT isn’t amazingly high, what do you think my scholarship chances are? This is my dream school and I’ve visited 3 times.
@tuppit4 Admission to the University of Miami is becoming increasingly competitive. The SAT score you listed is below the 25th percentile for the Fall 2017 freshman class so you are unlikely to receive any merit scholarships. I urge you to take the SAT (or ACT) again and bump up your score. Here is the link to the freshman class profile:
http://admissions.miami.edu/undergraduate/application-process/class-profile/freshman-class-profile/index.html
I might add that each and every applicant is unique. You might have some qualities that are very appealing to admissions that might compensate for the lower SAT score:)
Following- would like to know chances for Scholarships too- wondering what SAT score is needed for larger scholarship levels (>$25K). And SAT scores / GPA/ Stats etc for those who are invited to attend the Premier Scholarship weekend.
What if I have a weighted 4.0 at a difficult private school with a 6 point scale, with a very upward trend and a 35 ACT and great extra currics and essay? What are the chances you think I could get a $15k/year scholarship to Miami?
I am by no means an expert (only a parent!), but it seems to me that if an applicant is above the 75th percentile or at the upper range of the middle 50%, then that applicant stands a better chance at merit aid. Check out the link I posted above to see where your stats put you. I have heard that Miami is moving towards awarding more need-based aid than merit aid.
^ @sdteak Well said. I agree. I would add that since UM likes student from diverse geographic backgrounds, so that may help with merit money. Having said that, the merit money window is slowly closing as the school would like to be able fully meet need. I get the impression that UM would like to be able to support its local community by admitting more Miami-based students who require need-based aid to attend UM, which I think is great.
^ @londondad I am wondering where you have seen the information about UM merit money window slowly closing/ UM offering less merit aid and more need based money- and is this something that is anticipated to happen for current seniors in high school?
^ This is from a combination of things. The school has stated publicly that it 1) wants to move to fully meeting need for incoming students (which it does not now) and 2) wants to shift more aid from merit to need-based (these two issues are related). Also, anecdotally I have heard from parents that some kids in the class of 2021 received little or no merit aid which was a surprise based on the experience of siblings, neighbours, Naviance, etc. If you have a current HS senior, it probably makes sense to apply EA (deadline 11/1) to try and get merit money. UM has an easy application with no additional essays.
@londondad -thank you for the information. Already applied EA,but am hoping for at least 25K merit money to be able to afford UM. Am concerned that the merit money they have to offer for HS seniors is not going to be what I have seen from others posts for past years.
No problem. Good luck. Hope it all works out. If your kid is high stats compared to Miami’s Common Data Set, he/she may be invited for one of the full scholarship programs.
@londondad: 1480 SAT, 10 APs, 3.98 UW GPA, top 2.5% of class, volunteer work, paid work, leadership in math honor society, Yearbook editor, 4 honor societies.
But I’ve seen that a 1500 is required to be invited for scholarship weekend. Any information you have on that?
“But I’ve seen that a 1500 is required to be invited for scholarship weekend. Any information you have on that?”
I am not sure. I heard that the kids in my son’s class (sophomores) that are Stamps Fellows were in the 34 or 35 ACT range. My son is an international student so did not have to submit SATs. I’m not sure what the current 25%/75% SAT range is as the CDS lists it in the old SAT format, but (in my opinion) I think that a 1480 SAT and a near perfect UW GPA should get your kid at least an invite. If you haven’t yet, you should definitely do a campus visit and have your kid reach out and contact the regional adcom to express interest.