My son was accepted to UMD. We love the school and are very interested in attending, but the price is very high (we are out-of-state. Does anyone know if UMD offers money to students often or under what parameters? Even a small scholarship would make a big difference for us. My son has a high GPA and rigorous classes, but his SAT scores were not as high as they could have been. Also- if he is being offered money, does anyone know when those offers are made?
First off, congrats and welcome to Terp Nation!
Typically, merit money is offered anytime between mid-February to the end of February. Merit scholarships are extremely hard to predict - if anything, they appear to be consistently inconsistent. The only thing I can surmise, and again this is pure conjecture on my part, is that standardized test scores are a big factor. If it helps to know, there are lots of departmental scholarships that are available after matriculation (which I realize is not helpful for incoming freshman year). To get a sense, look up your son’s advising college on this page and click on the appropriate department http://advancement.umd.edu/celebration/listScholarships.php. These scholarships do NOT consider standardized test scores and are based only on college performance as well as need.
In general, it is important to remember that Maryland is a public state university, so they do not have the same kind of endowments that private universities have. They do their best to spread what little wealth they have in that regard, and typically, it is a disappointment to many.
If you accept MD, and put down your deposit, etc. before merit scholarships are awarded, do you know if that might hurt your chances of getting one since they know you’ve already decided to come without one? Thank you!
I can’t say for sure, but I don’t believe that commiting to the school would jeopardize your chances of a scholarship. My engineering student received a scholarship from the engineering school after he already committed. That was a very welcome surprise. The school has criteria it considers in awarding scholarships. It is my understanding that if you meet the criteria, you get a scholarship offer whether or not you have committed. You could always call the Office of Admissions to ask about it.
My son was going into exploratory. He wasn’t sure exactly what he wants to take yet. His GPA was very good, but his SATs… not so much. Obviously they weren’t terrible, he got accepted to all of his schools, but they aren’t merit level.