Son still waiting on Engineering decision, in-state. We know to be patient as he has a cousin at UMass who didn’t hear until mid-January last year but got in. My views on this are more practical than most…
Alot of this shouldn’t be a big mystery about merit aid - all good in-state students likely got their scholarship from the MCAS score program already and the highest in-state award I have seen reported was another 2k (unless I missed something). All of the larger awards seem to go to OOS. And students for business, engineering and nursing are all super competitive, and they know they will get kids to enroll, so why give out extra money to them…
As UMass becomes much more competitive, they will give less merit to in-state kids as they know they cost is far less than most schools, especially for families that don’t/won’t qualify for financial aid. It seems to be approaching that level where they get so many good applicants that they can be more like the UVAs and Michigans of the world. And they give OOS scholarships to bring the cost down to a few grand above in-state tuition and attract those students. It’s smart. UMass does not have a huge endowment and funding of public colleges is not great. They can’t give it away for free.
@jjandjab basically I agree with your theories but but @mark2019 daughter is well above the 75th percentile for isenberg (1360 SAT)and honors college (1411) . I think it should be clear how they are determining it when multiple students on this site are reporting no honors or merit with Stats well above these numbers. I don’t think it is ok to be saying you are making these determinations one way but actually doing it another way.
I have a problem with colleges admissions as a whole- it should not be like the lottery or it should be exactly like the lottery- either way- as long as they are disclosing how things are determined.
Umass has always specifically said that admittance to to CHC isn’t based on grades and scores alone. They went into great detail about this on our tour. My son is well beyond those percentiles as well. We knew not to expect admittance to CHC. They are never going to give a clear understanding because they are looking for a varied, well rounded group and what that group looks like is going to change from year to year.
But it will never be “clear” to anyone’s liking. Scores and GPA are not always the best measure. Some kids in our town take SAT prep courses and get personal college counselors, spending thousands of dollars gaming the system. Schools also have the regular essay and two short answers and recommendations and activities/interests/experiences of student to examine as well (but not be be overly cynical, these can be fudged too).
Too many variables to make it truly transparent. And yes I agree - the whole process is problematic - but hard to say that there is a “better” way given college is an elective activity. The only true, transparent and reasonably priced option is community college - graduate from high school and you can go.
My son got his email on 12/26 Admitted to College of Engineering
In state
4.0 GPA
1490 SAT
no merit/no honors college
.
Was also accepted to Umass Lowell with half tuition scholarship and Honors College…go figure.
I think you are saying you know the criteria and therefore based on what you know the criteria (which you think are simply GPA and SAT/ACT scores). Maybe you are wrong about the criteria? If UMass is smart they are using the $2K awards to entice the kids that most likely are on the fence…not the ones who are likely to attend. And I do think UMass is a lot smarter than some folks are giving them credit for.
The reality is that UMass is a good school with an increasingly solid reputation. As college costs have skyrocketed UMass has become more attractive to a wider set of families than ever before. I also think as certain high demand schools (Isenberg, Engineering, etc.) have increased their reputations the university doesn’t see the need to use merit to entice kids to enroll.
I made the assumption he would not be selected for honors because I know their criteria is somewhat random, specific to each major etc.
I don’t think it should change a students decision to attend. My daughter has had tremendous access to all her professors- small honors classes and 300 person lecture halls.
The 2 advantages of honors are air conditioning in September and I think slight edge in research positions because some prof. assume honors college means something about the student- and that may just be in the sciences.
Most good students are going in with credits so they move up in priority of registration immediately and housing is completely lottery. So a student interested in honors can apply to enter chc after 1st semester and have honors housing sophomore year. Based on students my daughter knows this has not been difficult- it has been more difficult to move into Isenberg. Also honors classes can be taken by non honors students.
So no sour grapes just a belief that the admissions process everywhere should be more transparent and overall needs to change. People are making huge financial commitments based on very little information.
@SwimmingDad I think admissions is very smart- it is a straight numbers game- they are using $2000 per yr as a carrot based on an assumption that’s my problem- then they are not doing what they are saying- a holistic review
Most estimates put the time spent on an application by admissions at 10 minutes- especially at schools that are receiving 40k+ applications. I think most of the ivies acknowledge 15 minutes. No holistic review is happening in that amount of time. The Harvard case has made it apparent that holistic review equates to applying personality traits to applicants based on very little and likely in part due to biases the admission personnel bring to the table
Maybe transparent isn’t exactly right- how about honest- it’s not holistic- we cull out some apps based on numbers, we pick some below our average for various reasons, we always pick the kid from Idaho but mostly it simply comes down to random luck- I think most kids would handle that better than we do a holistic review of your application and you didn’t make the cut.
There are more students in the CHC than there are dorm space in the honors dorms. So, don’t expect to automatically get a dorm room there. My middle son was able to get a dorm room in the CHC dorms this year but didn’t last year. He’s hoping to get it again next year but it all comes down to the random # that you get for when you get to choose your dorm.
Daughter was Accepted 12/26
College of Engineering
Honors College
Chancellor’s Merit Award
Out of state (Illinois)
ACT:33
GPA: 4.0
Rank: Top 5%
We visited this school back in October and really liked it. I think her only hang up is that their biomedical engineering program isn’t officially accredited until next year. But we were super impressed with the facilities and I’m hopeful this school remains in contention. Congrats to all who have been accepted!
Daughter is OOS and was accepted about 2 weeks ago. Older daughter graduated last year. IMHO admissions at these large, very good, but not top 25, Universities is simply a business decision. They want to accept the best all around kids THAT THEY THINK WILL ATTEND. U Mass has made a monstrous move up the polls (ie. US News & World Report) over the last 8 years or so. They have significantly improved the academic facilities; The Honors College, which neither of my daughters are part of, has made it very attractive for the higher level students to attend. Students and parents who tour the University always seem to come away impressed. I visited 6 other colleges with my youngest daughter cause we did not think she would get into U Mass, and we were less than impressed with many, while just a few others were equally impressive. So who they accept and who gets monies or acceptance into the Honors College is all part of that overall plan which has been wildly successful. 10 years ago is you asked Mass residents about U Mass Amherst as a serious university, they looked down there noses at it. Today, with the increase in tuition across the board but ridiculous numbers of private schools, they have become a great alternative. Even OOS, which is 49k this year, is very competitive if you get some money’s and almost all do. So with all that being said, they want to know you are very interested, that is part of the “Holistic approach”. My daughter made it very clear in all her contact with Admissions that it was her first choice and I am convinced it helped. They offered her money, not a ton, but just a little sweetener so they could compete with the other schools in this academic range. If she was applying to Nursing, or Engineering or Isenberg, she likely would not have been accepted and certainly would not have received any money, cause they don’t need her. But remember, they need a certain amount of better students to attend and certainly need OOS students to pay the higher fare. I am sure they have looked at the numbers and come up with a plan that allows them to offer just enough to incentivize them to come, purely a business decision. Same with those they offer Honors College too. One thing is for sure. It is a terrific school and great place of our young ones to grow into adulthood and plan for a bright future. Literally something for everyone there, socially and academically.
I WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY HEALTHY NEW YEAR, AND CONGRATS TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE GAINED ADMITTANCE. Go Minutemen!
Son accepted evening of 12/28 to College of Engineering
In-state, no merit or Honors College
GPA 4.0, weighted - would have been much higher if he didn’t have to take 3 years of Spanish
SAT 1350 (750 Math)
NHS and a few other extra-curriculars
Will come down to size and location - he was accepted to Rose-Hulman and Milwaukee School of Engineering as well (both much smaller mid-west schools focused on Engineering). But he did really like the fact that the Engineering “Quad” at UMass has its own smaller feel amongst a larger university - definitely has more opportunities than smaller schools…
Son accepted to something he never applied to. College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and awarded $8,000/yr as as OOS student. His first choice was Business. 2nd choice Sports Management. Got neither. So he’s accepted into an undeclared major; confusing. 3.9GPA…1220 SAT. Nice offer, but likely won’t attend a school that won’t allow him to pursue his major from day 1. Starting off undeclared and hoping to transfer into major not that simple.
@SonnyDNJ Business and Sports Mgmt are both under the Isenberg School. It was clear in the application that the second choice major was to be from a different school within the university. If one is not accepted for one major within the business school, they wouldn’t be considered for another within the school. Now that your son has been accepted into the university, he can change his major to whatever he wants. But, the school of business, engineering, CS, etc. are very competitive and changing to one of those majors requires permission from that school.
Accepted OOS to Isenberg on 12/10 with 1420 SAT, 4.0 w/3.7 uw GPA (my school is literally known for having a weird weighting system, I had straight As/Bs in only honors, accelerated, and AP classes), and very very strong ECs/essay. 12k in merit. Disappointed about no CHC but it’s really no big deal.
I only applied to UMass and UConn so I’m hoping to hear from them in February or March, as that is when my friends heard in previous years.
