My son OOS in Illinois and interested in chemE. He cannot go to Minnesota without a really great scholarship. He has a 35 ACT and hopefully will be NMF (218 on PSAT). He is 5/530 but next year his school will no longer be ranking students. What kind of scholarship could he get? Does anyone ever get full tuition?
Check this out - he has at least a couple opportunities for major scholarship money, esp. if he’s NMSF. Gold Scholar for $10,000 (preference given to National Merit) and Gold National which covers the tuition difference for OOS students. There is also Cyrus Northrup and National Excellence for lesser amounts.
http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/costsaid/schol_campus.html
He should definitely apply because it’s such an easy application to complete. No essay and no rec. letter necessary. Furthermore, OOS applications usually have a fee waiver either via the Golden Gopher application or just by contacting Admissions.
Regarding the change in ranking policy there are some things to consider: First of all, the application period will open in July so the transcript to be sent will just be through Junior year. Therefore, it’s quite possible that it will still have a ranking on it. You should find out when this policy goes into effect (this June? after first semester next fall? etc.) and possibly time that submission so that this information is still available. If that can’t work, then definitely speak to Admissions to better understand how they deal with transcripts that don’t have a ranking (it’s getting increasingly common) and whether there would be a risk to a scholarship situation. Also speak to his counselor to see what they WOULD be able to send in terms of describing his relative academic position.
Your son has excellent stats and he’d be one of the first to be admitted (CSE admits beginning in October, and OOS students with very strong stats are typically among the earliest to be admitted) - so applying early will not only give him an excellent prospect early on, but he’ll be on the first in line for scholarship consideration.
He sounds like an excellent student and UMN LOVES National Merit kids. Crossing my fingers for your son! Good luck to him!
I applied via the golden gopher app this year and received a scholarship. I had a 3.79 GPA, 34 ACT, 226 PSAT, NMSF, 24/850 and received the gold scholar and gold national that were mentioned above. I think that brings down tuition to ~4k, so not full tuition but very close.
If you’re talking about the 2016-2017 year, then the priority deadline has already passed and it’s not worth the time. If you’re talking about 2017-2018, then he has an excellent chance. Good luck!