Money will have a very big role in my college decision and I’m wondering if I’m a good candidate for larger scholarships at University of Miami.
UW GPA: 3.86
W GPA: 4.43 (but I know they don’t consider this)
SAT: 1450
ACT: 30
Mixed-Race/African-American (Euro-American mother, African father)
Service Hours: 260+ hours
Enrolled in the selective advanced magnet program at my school.
I’ll appreciate any form of estimate! I still have the opportunity to retake my SAT and ACT this August, so if you suggest doing so, please let me know!
Take the ACT again. Your close to being considered for some of Miami’s more prestigious scholarships worth up to full tuition. Right now, you might be looking at ~$10000 +/- $2000 from Miami, but that’s not much considering the price.
The Presidential Scholarships (with annual money up to $26k) are relatively easy for admitted students to get. I have read that up to 40% of admitted students receive merit money. They are awarded on a discretionary basis. My son got the top award and did not submit SAT scores when he applied.
I believe their website states they do not use weighted GPA- however I don’t see how that can give an accurate picture of an applicant. One applicant could take all regular/no honors/ no AP/ no IB/ no dual enrollment classes and have a higher unweighted GPA than an applicant who did well in honors/ AP/ IB classes but did not have all As. To me not using weighted GPA does not do justice to those applicants who have taken harder classes.
@Mom2NND “To me not using weighted GPA does not do justice to those applicants who have taken harder classes.”
I agree with the above statement. However, given what I know about UM (as a parent of a sophomore) I can guess their reason. I really, really think the school wants to be able to give out more need-based financial aid (as well as merit-based) to people from underprivileged backgrounds (particularly those from South Florida). They currently have plenty of smart middle-class urban and suburban kids with strong AP and IB credentials. Maybe they are looking to identify top students at schools who don’t have access to advanced courses?
Colleges don’t want to see a weighted GPA They want to see your unweighted GPA and look at the courses you took
They assign their own weight HS all weight differently