<p>Friend calls Miami and speak with regional rep - very nice conversation. She was told that the lack of rank did not hurt her son - not considered. But - he did lack a little rigor - with only 1 AP class as of the end of junior year. They have the discretion to create new scholarships that are not listed on the website - where they want to reward a student who is strong - but perhaps not as strong as some other accepted students. The rep reiterated that the guidelines on the website and the net price calculator are just minimum qualifications. She also encouraged them to apply for additional scholarships that are available to accepted students.</p>
<p>So - it is what it is. They are still disappointed and not sure if Miami is going to be financially feasible for therm - but at least they have some explanation and can now move on to the next step.</p>
<p>I was in touch with the Director of Admissions because my daughter only received the Dean’s Scholarship with SAT 1440/1600, top 5%, great EC, community service, taking the hardest curriculum at her school, great recommendations etc. She was expecting to receive at least the Dickenson. She was definitely disappointed. Well, I was told that many more students applied to U of M this year, and that many of the students were more qualified (higher scores and grades) and that tough decisions had to be made. Apparently, the Dean’s scholarship was what she qualified for based on this years applicant pool. She also found out that a friend who is number 1 in his class with other similar stats received the Dean’s scholarship as well. She is still disappointed but I guess glad to hear that it was not about something negative regarding her as an applicant. She has been offered more by other schools and is still awaiting other decisions. This had initially been her top choice so we shall see!!</p>
<p>So, all of the speculating about the class of 2016 applicant stats going up sounds like it may indeed have done just that. I think I better retire from “chancing” people for the class of 2017…too difficult.
Best wishes for your daughter - sure she will make the best decision.
~Zinc</p>
<p>Would Miami consider offering extra money (even a small scholarship if your SATs aren’t up to par but you are top of your class with great community service) if you honestly can’t afford it? I have a disabled parent and my mom doesn’t make that much so there will be no way to afford Miami :(. Anyone know how good they are with financial aid? And are they worth taking out loans for? I’d like to keep it to a max of $10,000 a year.</p>
<p>With the USNWR ranking (#38?), reputation of school and knowledge of lots of merit aid for top students, I think the applicant pool is on the rise. More competition than ever for those scholarships. </p>
<p>My own son (Singer/Foote Fellow- no Stamps then) was HS valedictorian, High ACT (on all parts), 4.0 UW GPA (each school weights differently so I won’t mention weighted GPA) and 13 AP’s and 1 college class. Though several other kids at his graduating class went to UM, it has since become popular to apply to. HS val picks UM (over $50K top choice, no merit) and does well… not a bad choice for your child.</p>
<p>This is just another textbook example that it’s not always about the best stats; the more academically inclined as shown on paper doesn’t always take the cake, as there’s so much more to it. I know we all hear it all the time but it’s clearly true: I’m not even ranked in the top 5% of my class (out of ~500, so there’s plenty of room), My highest SAT (of three – all sent to UM) is only 1320 (though my ACT is a 35), and I got the University scholarship with a Stamps invite and Singer finalist. You can’t count on anything anymore, especially based off of just stats because in UM’s eyes, there’s more to it than just your numbers.</p>
<p>The quality of the applicant pool has risen every year since I started following the U’s stats (S is a 2009 UM grad). The school’s rise in the rankings these past 10 years has been meteoric and the student body is top notch. Being accepted with/without any merit aid is a nice accomplishment.</p>
<p>S received a great education and was afforded wonderful opportunities while attending UM and beyond. Both he and his fiancé (2010 UM grad) are in rigorous grad school programs and feel UM prepared them well. I hope the family can find a way to keep UM in contention and I wish the student well.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how merit money will work for those students invited to the singer weekend but with a lesser scholarship (16K or 20K)? Could the weekend bump them up to a 20K/24K scholarship? I was always under the impression that only students who received the 24K scholarship could be invited to the weekend…</p>
<p>IvanKaramozov, I also believed that to be the case, and I’ve never seen a situation where someone didn’t have a 24k scholarship but was invited to the singer weekend.</p>
<p>If this is the situation you’re in, you might want to give them a call to ask if you we’re supposed to get the 24k scholarship. The only danger there is that they might have meant to give you a lesser scholarship but not have intended to invite you to singer weekend.</p>
<p>From what I understand, though, many people who go to singer weekend but don’t get the scholarship get something called the Gables scholarship, which is an additional $4000/year.</p>