<p>@rjkofnovi Sport Management with a pre-law emphasis. MI is one of the top programs in the country.</p>
<p>@Wendeli – my post was kind of obnoxious. Sorry about that. </p>
<p>The main point is that Michigan simply does not seem to be awarding as much merit aid this year. Two years ago it offered our son $10k in merit aid. He had very good stats but not as good as his sister’s. So we have been surprised. She has a large merit scholarship offer from Tulane ($25k) and she’ll be deciding among a number of schools, including MIT where she was just accepted. But need based aid should have priority and I understand that Michigan has to make difficult choices about how to use its scarce scholarship dollars.</p>
<p>Quick question-- I’ve read through the thread on behalf of a younger sibling (who’s been interested in UMich for ages). What are the differences between the Shipman and Stamps selections processes? (Ie Is one easier to apply for? Which one has more recipients? Do they both require interviews? etc) </p>
<p>I’m having trouble comparing and contrasting the two. Thanks!</p>
<p>I think they don’t know what they’re doing there. I went to OFA to turn in a tax return and overheard some high school seniors talking to some old lady at the desk, who was practically deaf. They asked about scholarships and she was like “We don’t have those here,” then another lady came up, but was just as clueless.</p>
<p>I realize some scholarships are privately funded, but i think they should just focus on grant $. The practical difference between admitted students is shrinking and it just doesn’t make sense to dole out scholarships to already wealthy students.</p>
<p>I believe the Stamps and Shipman Scholars are chosen through the university application and do not require any additional application, but there is most likely an interview process available by invitation-only. That is typical of most large merit scholarships at just about any college.</p>
<p>Excuse me for getting a bit off-topic here, but I dont understand why everyone seems to think that merit scholarships are doled out only to the wealthy. Yes, Im sure the wealthy get a fair share of them, but just as admission offices are need-blind, so are merit scholarships. Here is another viewpoint. </p>
<p>I think it is great to have students vie for awards based on their accomplishments and not on how much income and savings their parents have. Have we become such a socialistic society that we no longer care about encouraging true effort and rewarding accomplishments? It is a shame that we are not a rich enough country to offer even more merit scholarships because these opportunities are so few and far between, and even the great kids dont have much of a chance of securing one. It really is hit and miss from college to college as to which students will be chosen. I am grateful for those private endowments that encourage greatness among our future college graduates. They do it, by the way, to entice those superstar students to come to their university where they are required to maintain a high GPA. It is not to say that all of these students will become highly successful as adults, but their odds are better. And the universitys reputation relies on how many Rhodes Scholars, Fulbright Scholars, CEOs, Presidents, Representatives, Pulitzer Prize winners, etc. they can boast as alumni.</p>
<p>Also realize that the way the system works, Ivy League schools, which dont offer merit scholarships, are available to the richest and poorest students in the country. Those middle students, whose parents make too much to receive much (or any) need-based aid but do not have enough to pay $240,000 per child to send them to a top school, are destined to attend their state university, however good or bad. Merit scholarships offer them the opportunity to spread their wings and reach. Most top students will be weeded out and not receive merit scholarships, but at least they were offered hope and a chance. Unless a need-based student has received a full-ride without loans, I have yet to find parents that feel like they have received enough free support. By the way, in discussions with parents in my area, it seems that everyone seems to define wealthy as someone that makes more than themselves. Everyone is griping. </p>
<p>Note that age is not a consideration for FAFSA calculations. If I were to have had my children 20 years earlier, they could have gone to an Ivy League school on scholarships. But since weve saved so much and are at the top of our earnings as we approach retirement age, we are only eligible for loans. We will retire as our youngest is still in college with no time to add back to our savings. Younger parents will still have their highest income years ahead of them and will be able to continue to save for retirement after their college expenses are done. Griping? Not really. Its just the way our system works and I have had to plan and work within it. But again, I have been very grateful for the opportunities available to my kids to compete for merit-based scholarships. And a big thanks to those who make it possible.</p>
<p>I couldn’t have said it better! High achieving students from lower income families often have far more choices available to them via financial aid offers at EVERY University including the IVYs…a huge advantage over kids from middle class families who are required to pay full tuition. There should definitely be an incentive for bright students willing to work hard to receive scholarship based on their abilities & dedication!</p>
<p>It’s not that they are given only to the wealthy; it’s that the wealthy do not need them. When the wealthy get them, it’s taking $ from the lower-middle class, which despite your perception, does need them to have any chance of attending. I hear a lot of complaining about the impossible cost for OOS, so I definitely think the focus should be on need-based grants instead of giving Mike Illitch’s kids scholarships they don’t need in the least. That’s how i define wealthy, dunno about you.</p>
<p>Are you talking about “accomplishments” from high school like this isn’t highly correlated with socioeconomic background and genetics we’re born into? Or that these are predictive of the # of Rhodes Scholars years later, after they are finally subjected to a real education? There are no “superstar” high school students, get real. </p>
<p>You whine about ‘socialism’ while conveniently ignoring that this is a public university. Michigan is not only for the snobs with enormous entitlement complexes. If it were up to you, by the sounds of it, no lower-middle class at all would be able to attend. You seem to have no conception of what poor is and how it makes attending even a $20k/yr college impossible without help. </p>
<p>It’s where you go to a school where 80% of your classmates have a single parent, who goes into fits of rage and finds a new boyfriend every other month, no computers in the classrooms, cow dung smell year round, 4 people living in 2 rooms, ramon noodles for dinner etc. Add to that, bullied relentlessly. I doubt very much you have interacted at all with such applicants who you accuse of demanding endless handouts after life has basically crapped on them for years, and I haven’t even gone into 3rd world Flint or Detroit. Pardon me for not shedding a tear for your kids and your incomparable work ethic.</p>
<p>Just got a 20k (for OOS) “Engineering Scholarship of Honor.” Combined with my financial aid package, Michigan will be free for me. 99% sure I’ll be attending at this point!</p>
<p>I completely agree with your post OlderMom. Accomplishments are not limited only to the “wealthy”. Merit scholarships are completely need blind, and I know plenty of low-income kids that have actually made the effort and earned one.</p>
<p>CONGRATS @attribute… that is amazing and you should be very proud!</p>
<p>Well, steellord, Im not exactly sure how what I said got your blood boiling. I have no problem with need-based scholarships. They are clearly a necessity to even out the playing field. The point I thought I had made was that the playing field is not level for middle class students. I dont expect need-based aid to go away and it shouldnt, but it would be nice for more merit-based aid to be available because many deserving middle class students are closed out of top-end colleges, public or private. Many of these students will not be challenged enough in the schools they can afford and may not be able to reach their potential in college, and hence, in life. Because of this, I am very grateful for those endowments that make it possible for some of these students to attend better schools. I think they deserve it and I would like to see more able to benefit from it. Sorry if you find this point of view so offensive.</p>
<p>And, yes, there are superstar students in high school. And that does not equate to being selfish, self-serving, or rich. On the contrary, these kids are very hard workers. They are smart, determined, self-motivated, mature, and compassionate. They will make the world a better place. Most already have. And yes, most have had a lot of support in their family structure, but love from a family does not directly equate to wealth. Genetics can be an important factor, but I find it silly to deny someone something simply because you are jealous of a gift they were born with. Ideally, we should all want the best for our kids. Unfortunately, lower class neighborhoods have far more parents and/or schools that fall drastically short. And yet, these circumstances do produce some superstar kids as well - in spite of or because of and students with potential will be able to attend college with need-based scholarships. I cannot solve our social problems, but I would still like to see less middle income kids shut out of the process. Merit scholarships make this possible. </p>
<p>To attribute, case in point. Good luck at Michigan! Their engineering program is a great one.</p>
<p>^I think steellord’s position is that all merit-based aids should be abolished because they reduce the funds that can go to need-based aids. That is a valid argument, but I for one am thankful that Michigan did not choose to go down that path. If it had, it would be one more school off my son’s list right from the get-go. He did not apply to any Ivy-type elite schools for this very reason. Elite schools are for families that either don’t have money or don’t care about money. We are neither. I’m grateful there are a few prestigious schools left that still give out merit-based aids <em>IN ADDITION TO</em> need-based aids. My son did not get enough merit scholarship to make Michigan an affordable option. That is fine. At least he had a chance to compete. He didn’t get that chance with those elite schools. We already knew they would not be affordable.</p>
<p>Congratulations, attribute! It’s great to know both types of aids have made it a full-ride for you. Your family deserved the help and you deserved the recognition. The system worked!</p>
<p>I’m officially losing hope of getting anything other than Regents :(</p>
<p>I’m eagerly waiting for an Engineering scholarship. I got admitted in the first wave of RD (March 1), and although I received my estimated FA award, I haven’t received notice of any scholarships.</p>
<p>Stats:
-OOS ¶
-35 ACT, 2150 SAT
-3.9 UW, 4.4/4.6 W
-3 AP 5s (Stat, Chem, BC Calc - it’s hard to take AP courses early in my school)
-Whole bunch of ECs (Eagle Scout, NHS, Civil Air Patrol, Marching Band)</p>
<p>If Yale and Cornell fall through, Michigan is my next best option (and it could be my best option overall), but only if I have enough in merit-based aid.</p>
<p>@onetimeoneplace… Not to be Debbie Downer, but from what we were told at Admitted Students Day a couple of weeks ago, they are about done giving out merit awards.</p>
<p>I attended the campus day today and they told that they are done with Merit scholarships for engineering and have few left for LSA though which will be given by mid of april. But they also said that not to count on it as they may be very few.</p>
<p>I totally agree with OlderMom and MRS620, the very high achieving kid from a middle class family is the one who pays the price. Upper class families can pay and lower class kids don’t have to. If middle class kids work hard and maximize their natural abilities, their achievements should qualify them to compete for merit scholarships which they need to attend the schools for which they would be best suited. Their choice is to go to a less challenging school with merit-aid or go to a better-fit school and end up with potentially lots of debt. </p>
<p>By the way, we heard the same thing at UofM Campus Day recently, that most LSA scholarships are already awarded and not to count on anything else so I emailed the FA people this week and was sent the response “We are concluding our merit scholarship decisions and will mail scholarship letters to students at the end of this week. If you daughter is selected for a scholarship from the College of LSA she should have her letter in hand by the first week of April.” Not sure what to think but keeping our fingers crossed for something…</p>
<p>I was reading what UM thinks our yearly contribution could be… some $20,000 a year. I said to my husband, “They think we can pay WHAT?! Did you tell them how many children we have??”.</p>
<p>Thankfully my son will be living at home his first year and we have some college savings because there is no WAY we can write a check for $20,000. I stand in the grocery store each week wondering, “Okay, which cereal is on sale this week? Crispex, it is!”.</p>
<p>We’re OOS and our expected yearly contribution for UM is around 45K. We have four kids and two will be in college next year. Meanwhile, my son got a full scholarship at another OOS public school and a half-scholarship at our state flagship. And, yeah, we only eat cereal on sale, don’t eat out, don’t have cable, etc.</p>
<p>Ebh87, you can’t see me, but I’m sitting here with my mouth hanging open at what they think you can contribute each year!</p>