I have recently been admitted to the College of Engineering at Texas A&M, and am wondering if and when I would be notified of any potential scholarships? I have a 34 ACT, took 6 AP classes, 5.06 GPA and was a National Merit Commended Student. My class rank is 6/198 although I don’t think my high school reported it. I am an out of state student as well.
I believe both my engineering students heard in March or April and even got some additional notifications in the summer.
What we have been told is that merit aid announcements are sent out late February and need-based aid packages sent in late March. All information to the students by early April giving students a month to decide for the May 1 deadline. I think National Merit scholarship notification is different, and the scholarship more substantial, but they are only awarded to NM Finalists. (Not sure about that information though.)
Did you apply for Engineering honors? The honors programs have some of their own scholarships. They trickle in like NETarrant mom said, since your application goes to every area that you meet the qualification for their scholarships. Each one decides their offers and has their own timeline.
Getting a $1000 competitive scholarship is an achievement here, in particular if you are OOS. It gives you instate tuition as well, so a 4 year $1000 scholarship is worth roughly $65,000. They do tend to recognize the combination of high scores & high rank. FWIW, really high FAFSA(we’re talking well over the OOS tuition bar) does count against you as does your OOS status when you compete- however, you can overcome - it just is more of a challenge. I was surprised to find out that need had a consideration in merit aid.
There is a Facebook page for the Financial Aid department - it does announce when their scholarships have been decided: Texas A&M Scholarships & Financial Aid. Keep in mind, those are primarily university wide scholarships, not all scholarships ( I know that because my student has other scholarships & they posted after they said all scholarships have been awarded) Good luck!
Bumping this to the top - if you have had a scholarship offered already as an incoming freshman, can you please post. That will help those who are waiting…
Those of you asking about scholarships… the current students have NOT had their scholarships awarded, they just cut off applications for continuing students on Feb 1st. If you have the time… search on dars.tamu.edu - there is plenty of info on statistics on there including average amounts of scholarships,stats of fellow students, etc.
If you are comparing scholarships between schools, look at how much you PAY vs. the scholarship amount – some schools charge much higher tuition.
Also some merit scholarships do need FAFSA filed to be eligible, I believe priority date is by March? You do not have to have need to be eligible but you do have to file.
Keep in mind your application goes to many places, they are not contained in one building or one department, eventually they go through the Financial Aid building for consolidation letters that list all your scholarships - including outside scholarships that you’re awarded from non-TAMU sources. My kids have received outside scholarships every year - do not wait for just TAMU scholarships- there is money to be had through many scholarship programs. Check every source, organizations, your parents workplace or yours, your old schools, local competitions, national competitions and check with your college counselor for some local scholarships - Good luck!
I’m a international freshman undergraduate for fall 2016. So you mean that my scholarships might have not been even decided yet?.. I don’t really want to get my hopes up high
Yes, there isn’t a hard & fast date. You might get a departmental scholarship for example, versus one of the general ones that comes from the financial aid section only. Most scholarships are holistic - some weigh certain things more than others. Scholarships are VERY competitive here - keep in mind, full admits are over 85% automatic admits. There are no guarantees, nor chances of getting a scholarship - my oldest had access to hundreds of resumes which listed scholarships received, there isn’t a pattern. It takes achievement and a little bit of luck that you happen to be recognized as the top person in each scholarship competition you are considered for. I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high, but don’t give up yet - you have til May 1st to make your final decision as to where to attend.
Found this document (while looking for something else) http://web-as.tamu.edu/ApplyTexasSpecialInstructions/Scholarships/Special%20Instructions%20-%20FR.pdf
D got an offer letter today. Have to admit she’s disappointed. Even though we knew TAMU wasn’t handing out huge scholarships to non-NMF it still doesn’t come close to other scholarship offers she has received. Maybe the competition too tough with 48,000 applicants? ¯_(ツ)_/¯
@hmays1 what were her stats? And instate or OOS?
@ItsOVO In-state, SAT (CR+M) 1440, GPA 3.9
hmays1 – This early in the spring, there may be additional offers coming as well.
@NETarrantMom We hope so! Fingers crossed. We are trying not to push D towards any school, but TAMU is our first choice. Our older D graduated from TAMU last year, so we know what a great education and experience the school offers. The networking is incredible even outside the US. Our older D lives, and works, overseas now, and she regularly meets other Aggies who go out of their way to help her.
Received a scholarship award letter today. $12000 for 4 years (President’s Endowed Scholarship) and $18,592.00 per year OOS tuition waiver. In addition, $1000 Academic Scholarship Study Abroad Stipend. I am OOS female accepted to Civil Engineering. ACT 35, GPA 4.3
Would scholarship info show up on howdy before physical mail?
It would be in the financial aid portal, under awards. The letter I received was dated January 25, arrived in CA today.
Sorry, to be more clear, what I’m asking is did the portal update before you got the actual letter?
@ItsOVO Not for my D. The letter dated 1/25; received 2/4. No changes on her portal. Don’t know if this info is relevant, but she was accepted in Sept/Oct as academic admit with scholarship info submitted late Oct/early Nov.
We have had : first posted on howdy FA portal then a letter, a letter then FA post, an email then FA portal and just FA post- no letter, no notice just shows up like magic ( a wonderful day when that happens!)