This was my son’s first acceptance and came by email! He completed the Golden application and submitted September 3. He was excited that they did not require an essay but the version of the application he submitted had two optional essay topics. He did them both bc I pretty much told him that there is no such thing as an optional essay and he MUST do it. He is OOS and received a merit award of $12,000 a year, I believe in part because he took the trouble to write two essays and submit early. His GPA is not the strongest (freshman year was not spectacular) but rising each year. He had a 32 ACT and a ton of ECs with depth - music and photography and tech clubs. Also some internships with local engineering and tech firms.
My recommendation to anyone applying CSM is to submit early and also absolutely submit a quality essay. If nothing I think it gets you seen and potentially gets you money.
If your son’s GPA is 3.5 or higher then he would get $12000 according to CSM merit scholarships page. Please refer to the section for out of state students. So, I don’t think the essays were a factor
Congratulations to you and your son!
My son also got his notification of admission and merit scholarship today. BTW - he did not write any essays.
Did anyone else notice the typo in the acceptance letter? “We have a number of accepted student events WERE you can explore our campus and programs and figure out if this is the right fit for you.” (5th paragraph, last sentence)
Applied 9/5/18 (Golden)
Accepted 10/11/18
SAT 1590 (790 E, 800 M)
GPA 4.00 UW/4.35 W
Class Rank: Top 5%
State: South Dakota
Major: Computer Science—Research Honors
Applied 9/1/18 (Golden)
Accepted 10/11/18 → counselor had too many apps so mine was put on the backburner for a bit haha
ACT 35 (36 English, 35 Math, 36 Reading, 34 Science)
GPA 3.80 unweighted
4.62 weighted
Class Rank: top 10%
State: California
Major: Chemical Engineering w/ Biological Specialty
