@jpc763 My D received that email in early Dec. She had just received her acceptance a couple weeks prior. I recall the specific smaller private scholarships listed were mostly too narrow for her. Good luck!
@AnineC she still had college courses, correct? The lower ranking should be more OK given the tougher courses. Very confusing. I think this year must be tougher than historically.
Can’t remember - did your D apply to College of Biological Sciences (CBS) or Carlson School of Management (CSOM)?
@jpc763 my D15 didn’t get a university-wide scholarship; however, we found in her FA letter that they included a small scholarship nonetheless. She applied for CLA scholarships but this one wasn’t included in that list. We don’t know where it came from - she was definitely not eligible for FA at the time. You never know where the money is going to come from.
@Banker1 - Yes, the list was really narrow so we are in the same boat.
@JBStillFlying - Right now U of M is not affordable so if there is no merit, S17 will choose a different school.
@jpc763 it’s always good to look at the financial picture as it clarifies; however, it ain’t over till the FA letter is in hand and the Admissions office says “sorry - well is dry.” Barring things like needing to secure housing early-on via a non-refundable deposit and so forth, it’s ok to wait till spring to make a final decision.
Two guys from my school applied right before the December deadline, but another girl and I applied earlier than they did, but we both haven’t heard back yet. However, the two guys both got accepted already. Is there a specific order they release the decisions in? Is it likely that I didn’t get in because I turned in my application earlier, but I still haven’t heard back yet?
@aimlesswriter did you apply before the November 1 early action deadline? And did these other two apply after that deadline but before the regular mid December deadline? Is that what you’re saying?
@JBStillFlying I applied early November and the other girl applied in September. The two boys applied right before the December 15th deadline, but they already got their responses. We thought it was rolling notifications, which meant that the sooner you turned yours in, the earlier they look at it. We were just confused on why we haven’t received our decisions yet, but those two who applied later than us did.
Also, is there a difference between the Golden Gopher Application and the regular Freshman Application?
Historically speaking, there has not been a difference between GG and regular application. The GG application used to waive your application fee if you were OOS but anyone calling from OOS and requesting a waiver could get one.
Your posts are revealing. As long as you got your materials in by 11/1 you met the Priority Deadline (sorry - I mistyped earlier. It’s NOT Early Action, even though the deadline is the same as many other EA deadlines). Looks like they are continuing to accept people quickly who applied after that date as long as their applications were “strong enough” to merit a quick notification. Kinda begs the question of why have an early deadline. :-? Perhaps for merit aid consideration? Did your friends get merit aid?
@JBStillFlying No, they both did not receive any scholarships of any sort. It’s just confusing as to why they would get to the people who applied later than those who applied earlier.
What college did your friends apply to? Perhaps certain colleges look at applications sooner. My DD applied to the College of Design before the priority deadline and hasn’t heard anything yet.
@aimlesswriter usually they go by strength of the application. In the past the Priority Deadline was 12/15 and Regular sometime after that (2/1? Can’t remember); my kids’ guidance counselors urged everyone to get their applications in before 12/15 because you chances of being admitted were supposed to decline significantly after that date. However, I’ve noticed from CC that there were always a few really strong applications after that date who got admitted immediately and well before others who applied much earlier. This year the Priority Deadline changed to 11/1 but it looks like the admission methodology is about the same - they are just bumping the decisions forward so that people don’t have to wait as much as they did in prior years.
My guess is that for every application the admissions counselor has an initial recommendation: Accept, Decline, Hold - and the majority are Holds till they know they have room and then they start admitting those based on strength of primary factors (GPA, Rank if available, test scores, course load) and then secondary factors (EC’s, special considerations such as diversity or first generation, etc.). In the past the Declines weren’t even told till February but this year Declines have been sent out already. That’s why if you haven’t heard yet that doesn’t necessarily mean bad news.
So many things have been tweaked for this year that it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen. Everyone who is frustrated with UMN should go over and check out the UW-Madison thread because this year practically all the EA applicants - even in-staters - are on hold till 1/31. If if it’s like last year, that decision won’t come out till evening.
@JBStillFlying Wow, that’s really handy information! Thanks for sharing! 
One of the guys had a very strong application, but the other one had a 28 ACT, an average GPA, and no sports/activities/clubs. Oh well. I guess all we can do is wait.
I wonder if there are many others who has still not heard that applied before the priority deadline. I hope that my decision not coming out yet isn’t a sign of a rejection :(.
@January2017 for some reason there is very little word on CDes this year.
Where you apply definitely impacts your chances and timing. CLA, CEHD, CFANS, and CDes are easier admissions than CBS, CSOM and CSE. So it’s definitely possible to know applicants with the same or weaker stats getting into one of the less selective programs while you are on hold for a more selective one.
Here’s a question: For those still waiting on a decision, which college did you apply to? CDes, and CBS seem to be the main culprits right now.
She applied to Carlson and CLA was second. She did try to call to find out why she was not accepted to Carlson but they have not called back… Really makes no sense unless there was a lot of competition. She has not gotten anything more on honors or scholarships. Mankato State is last on her list and she takes her university classes there…that may end up being her choice if the money becomes a factor. I see no sense in being buried under a mound of debt because that school name on your degree only is impressive for the first job…then it’s all about job performance.
My daughter applied to CBS in August and we have heard nothing.
I’m still waiting on CBS, applied 10/31
I applied to Carlson as first choice liberal arts as second. I applied July 5th and still haven’t heard back. More than impaitent at this point 
especially now with the hold on UW Madison as well. Really just want to know what my decision is.
I applied to CSE but CLA for a second choice, maybe they’re still considering me for CSE hopefully, but I honestly don’t even care what specific college I get into, I just want to get into UMN