<p>I went to UM's net price calculator and it said that the minimum requirements for Singer invite are 1500 SAT, A grade average, and top one percent ranking (University</a> of Miami - Net Price Calculator). </p>
<p>Has anyone received a singer invite without one of these qualifications? I currently have a 1400 SAT and am valedictorian, however i'd really like to have one of these full tuition scholarships. If not, say I receive the Dickinson scholarship through early action. Would I be appeal to appeal for a singer invite if I were to improve my SAT to a 1500 in Janurary?</p>
<p>Keep in mind that this calculator is for the 2009-2010 term. Miami stopped using minimums for their scholarship and started looking at your entire application holisticly. I believe you still have a shot. But I would take the next available SAT if possible to try to boost that score… (or maybe take the ACT if possible).</p>
<p>Agree with Marinebio444’s comment about the holistic approach. My daughter had 1520SAT, an A average and was in top 2.5% of her class - she was awarded the University schiolarship (24k) and was invited to the Singer/Stamps weekend. She didn’t get either Stamps or Singer, but nabbed another 4k Gables scholarship plus a generous Miami grant a few weeks afterward. She is also a Foote fellow.</p>
<p>Based on the info you have given, I’d say you’d be in line for the Dickinson or University scholarships and depending on the quality of the pool of other EA applicants, you may be invited to Singer. I think UM really likes valedictorians - especially those that achieve that distinction taking AP, IB and honors couses.</p>
<p>Regarding your last question: I don’t think there is any appeal process in place. I recall reading lots of posts last year from students (and parents) who had called admissions to question the scholarship decision and none made any headway in obtaining a better financial award.
~Zinc</p>
<p>Would it be of my best interest to improve my SAT to a 1500 and then apply RD, rather than EA? Even a 24k scholarship would not be feasible for my family to afford UM. Also, the net price calculator didn’t qualify for any sort of need based aid either.</p>
<p>That’s a really tough question. I know they flat out said at the S/S weekend we attended that they LOVE students who apply EA - shows a higher degree of interest in the university. I should have asked if you have visited the school and met with someone in admissions - if not you should do that soon! </p>
<p>Now, you mentioned that your family could not afford UM even with the 24k kick-in. If you think your family’s income is low enough to qualify you for some Federal grants or if you believe you could find some outside (private) scholarships with the help of your guidance counselor, then maybe you don’t need the Singer quite so much and in that case I’d apply EA and hope for the 24k Univesity scholarship. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if you really think you can bump that SAT to 1500+ with a retake, AND you could visit the campus AND demonstrate some interest by meeting with admissions AND meet with a professor from the school you want to major in, then I’d lean toward applying RD and hope for the Singer invite. Keep in mind though that of the approximate 300 invited to the 3 Singer weekends, only about 50 actually got that award. Out of a freshman class of 2000, 50 is a pretty small number. </p>
<p>I think you need to sit down with your parents and have a heart-to-heart about the possibility of being accepted to UM, only to have doubts about being able to afford to attend. Every top student who applies really really wants that Singer or Stamps award, but only a small percentage get it, so if UM is truly your dream school (you never actually said that!), then you have realize it may take some creative financial thinking to get you there.</p>
<p>I hope others will contribute here, as I am certainly no Shaman when it comes to this stuff!</p>
<p>Good luck to you and let us know what you decide.
~Zinc</p>
That’s really relieving. I got worried for a second because even though I have a 35 ACT I’m only ranked in the top ~8% of my class so I would only qualify for Dickinson.</p>
<p>UM is no doubt one of my first choices. I’ve done two summer programs here on the medical campus (HHMI) and I would really like to go here.
I’ve decided to apply Early Action. I emailed UM admissions the other day and I was told that November SAT scores would be taken upon consideration. Hopefully, I will be able to pull my SAT scores and nab that 1500. Thanks for the information guys.</p>
<p>UMiami has always read holisitically - not like they just started. It’s really hard to get invited to Singer if you don’t meet the minimum requirements.</p>
<p>UMiami doesn’t use any face to face meetings or interviews in the admission process. Don’t know why some of you keep advising others to “meet with an admission officer” - ask them, they will tell you, they don’t use it.</p>
<p>Buf87, they might not consider responses given in a meeting with an admissions officer, but meeting with an admissions officer shows interest. One thing schools have been looking for a lot recently is student interest. Setting up that meeting means that the student is willing to commit his/her time to learning more about the university, which the university does take into account. They might not say explicitly that they do, but I guarantee that if you sit two students next two each other with the same exact stats and are only allowed to give a Singer invite to one, it’ll be the one that showed interest in the university as opposed to the one who just applied and let it happen.</p>
<p>The interest you show in the university is tracked. Phone calls, requests on line for information, college fairs, school reps visits to your area. It’s a bit creepy but necessary. There is no point in offering the top scholarships to students who have only a passing interest in the school. If they offer the scholarship, they want there to be a good chance your going to take it.</p>
<p>Expanding on this idea, that they will only offer it to those that they think will use it, I think the students finances are taken into consideration. If a student has no financial need because of wealth, or has a great need that would be met, at let’s say Harvard, I think it would be less likely to be offered. Yield management at these schools is a complicated business and likely the students and families don’t know the half of it. But they are businesses.</p>
<p>Marinebio444 and malami - just wondering, do you have an official response from UM that confirms they track demonstrated interest or are you simply making that assumption and telling others that it is true? These are issues that have always concerned with this site - people think they know what a particular policy is, are actually incorrect about it, and then pass it off to other as fact.<br>
This is a good site if what people pass on is factual.</p>
<p>malaml - UM definitely doesn’t use a family’s financial situation when making a scholarship decision - know that for a fact. Know of many students who received top scholarships at the U but could have easily paid full costs.</p>
<p>Buf87: No, I have not had an official response from Miami that confirms this. But I don’t understand what your issue is. Seeing an admissions counselor can’t hurt. The only thing it can do is help. I don’t get why you’re concerned about something like that… I mean, this site is about helping people by giving outside opinions. It’s the same thing as the chance threads. Obviously someone who’s not on the admissions committee is not going to know for sure whether someone will get into the school and with how much money in return. But that doesn’t stop someone from giving a general response that gives the poster a good idea of what to expect. If someone’s truly concerned about the validity of a post, they can go straight to the source and ask the school. But an outside source is sometimes a fresh perspective that people could use to their benefit.</p>
<p>Buf, I don’t have official verification that Miami tracks contacts by students but it is common among colleges in general. I will try to find a link about the practice. I’m not saying that Miami bases their scholarship decisions only on financial factors. The majority of scholarships are offered to early applicants before financial data of the students is available. I am saying that it would only make sense for them to offer the the big scholarships like the Singer and Stamps to people who need it and will most likely take it. If there are two people who look the same on paper and they can only offer it to one, they are going to give it to the student that needs it. They want these top students at their school.</p>