<p>It depends on the scholarship you guys got.</p>
<p>Some scholarships will explicitly say that they give preference to minorities or people from underrepresented states. They are, however, a combination of academics and minority status, so I guess you can think of it like "I beat out everyone else that qualifies for this scholarship". </p>
<p>Obviously it is not tainted money. The institution gives scholarships out this way, and you should feel pretty happy!</p>
<p>For also those people that think I -- or anyone else for that matter -- is a cry baby, I would agree. I'm pretty ****ed that the money being given to upper-class minorities is not going to people with better reasons to get it. That is really where my only concern lies. I know that I won't be getting any money, and I don't really care, because I know that there are plenty more deserving people. However, if I -- or anyone else -- got money that they didn't need, I would think much less of the scholarship distribution system. As it turns out, that is fact, and I do think less of how Umich gives out money. However, it isn't my decision, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion.</p>
<p>However, when all people can do is call me a cry baby and provide no viable alternative to the existing system, I really wonder how any progress will be made. If all people can do is play straw-man here and criticize opponents, I don't even see how the legitimacy of the system can even begin to be questioned.</p>
<p>I apologize, my calling them crybabies wasn't totally serious, but definitely was unnecessary.</p>
<p>epsilon, I can understand how you feel...and I do think any university considering race in admissions and scholarship decisions should consider why, especially if they aren't meeting full financial need for others. That being said though, I do believe race is something that cannot be ignored in admissions, because like it or not, race affects a lot more of our society than any of us realize. If you are going to do merit scholarships then, you might as well consider race, or have separate scholarships dedicated to race, as that is something that can affect people's academics, especially stuff like test scores (studies have shown self-intimidation often causes people of URM to perform worse on standardized tests). Of course, it also benefits the university to have URM scholarships, for then they'll end up with a more diverse student body.</p>
<p>I'm not here to argue, but felt like throwing in what probably is the University's reasoning. I can definitely see both sides' points, and I'm unsure which one I agree with. However, because I am multi-ethnic and diversity has played a major role in my life, I kinda feel like I did deserve this scholarship...also because the money really, REALLY helps my family's financial situation. So I'm probably going to take the scholarship, not ask too many questions, and be very thankful.</p>
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I kinda feel like I did deserve this scholarship...also because the money really, REALLY helps my family's financial situation.
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<p>That's awesome. Your type of situation is exactly what scholarships should be targeted for, but my argument is also pretty simple:</p>
<p>More money leads to better education and better scores. If minorities have an education that far surpasses anything an inner-city kid can get, then they have a huge advantage in the scholarship process. They are essentially going to get the money that they really don't need.</p>
<p>Sometimes I think race is just too much of a factor in admissions/scholarships. Personally I think basing things off of "race" is pointless. I mean, is "diversity" really measured in what color a person's skin is? Shouldn't "diversity" be measured as the differences in perspectives and opinions? I think diversity is found in a frame of mind, not in the color of a person's race.</p>
<p>With that being said, being of a different race leads to different perspectives/opinions therefore I can understand how/why a person's race could be used to judge. However, it is not very accurate. I mean I think a person who has a poor economic status but is white defintely has a different view of the world when compared to a hispanic living in middle class. However, schools favor race almost too heavily in my opinion sometimes. I'm personally in favor of socioeconomic-AA as opposed to something based off of race. </p>
<p>For example, my friend (1/4th Hispanic, 3.6-3.7 UM GPA, 32 ACT) recieved a full-tution scholarship. However, my friend lives in the middle-class, much like me. On the other hand, I have nearly the exact same stats, (3.6, 32 ACT) but I got deferred? Does race REALLY make THAT big a difference, where two students with similar stats, that one gets deferred while the other gets a full-tution scholarship? I personally feel that is ridiculous.</p>
<p>I apologize in advance if parts of this doesn't make any sense, I'm quite tired, and I'm running on three hours of sleep :P</p>
<p>A good friend of mine received full-tuition, and I believe he had a 28-29 ACT, which is good, but compared to the Michigan pool its only average. He's black. He's also really, really rich :)</p>
<p>when did the last batch of regents go out? has anyone accepted on 12/15 gotten one? do you think scholarship decisions will be put off until 1/10 as well?</p>
<p>Actually, epsilon, I'm not sure about U of M but some schools definitely target merit scholarships at kids who have too much money to get anything from the FAFSFA/the college's financial aid system, and at state schools, OSS kids. 30-40 thousand a year is a lot for ANYONE, and that is too seldom recognized.</p>
<p>Ugh...I'm hoping that I get some sort of award, because Michigan's one of my more top choices (simply because of atmosphere, really) but it's SO expensive...it'd be almost half of my parents' income if I got no aid/scholarship.</p>
<p>Do awards keep coming in for a while? I got in 12/15.</p>
<p>Anyone who got the Regents scholarship got it about a week after their acceptance. It's tiny, and a lot of the people who got it are quite likely going to get more. I didn't get it, and I'm just hoping that that doesn't mean that I won't get anything.</p>
<p>^That's definitely not true. You'll get it when you get it, if you get it. With all the computer problems and legal issues that UM has been having, nothing admissions-related is following any sort of set predictable timeline.</p>
<p>Granted, but it's not something special for backfire to have gotten it "already" around 12/23. About 7 out of 7 people I know who have gotten it have gotten it a week after acceptance. But of course you're right about that not being definite.</p>
<p>I was accepted to the Engineering department on 11/17, and got the 15k/yr MSA scholarship in the mail a week or two after that, and then got the Engineering Scholarship of Honor in mid-December. For the Scholarship of Honor, I know someone mentioned this earlier, but you have to notify them soon if you're going to accept the money. If you say you're going to accept the money, do you HAVE to go to the school? I'm still weighing one more school, and waiting for financial aid from them :-\ </p>
<p>Thanks, and congratulations to everyone who has been accepted or given any money!</p>