When do merit scholarships come out in February?
Also, how difficult is it be to get Dean’s or President’s Scholarship?
No one can answer how difficult it is to get deans or presidents scholarship. You can peruse threads from last year on this topic to see stats of students who did and did not receive scholarships and the various amounts they were awarded. My daughter is in the Honors college and received a Presidential scholarship of $12k per year. She had a 1550 SAT, 4.0 UW GPA/4.97 W GPA, all honors and 6 AP classes at a top public high school.
Last year Presidential Scholarship recipients got notified on 2/28.
Last year almost all IN-state students who received Presidential scholarships had a 34 ACT or higher score (or equivalent SAT score). Almost all IN state students who received a Dean’s scholarship received a 33 ACT score (or equivalent SAT score). There seemed to be a little more variability in the test score to merit scholarship received for out of state students. However it’s important to note that many accepted students who had test scores in this range did not receive either merit scholarship (even some who had 35 ACT and/or upper 1500’s SAT). Most In state Presidential scholarships were $5,000/year for four years although some were less. In past years there were also $8,000 in state Presidential scholarships (for four years) but no indication of this dollar award last year. Most in state Dean’s scholarships were $4,500/year for the first two years although some were less. Most out of state Presidential scholarships were either $5,000, $8,000, $12,000 or $12,500 per year for four years although a few were less. Dean’s scholarship is in state only. It is also important to note that there isn’t necessarily a strict correlation from one year to the next. This information may be different for the Class of 2023. Lastly there are also a very limited number of individual school scholarships offered to incoming freshman. These are typically merit based with a financial need component whereas the University freshman scholarships are supposedly primarily merit based. The individual school scholarships typically are received a couple weeks after the University scholarships. In some cases the school scholarships can be much larger than the University scholarships but as noted there are very few of these. Lastly, you cannot apply for or request any of these scholarships- the school will send you an email/letter if you receive or are eligible for the scholarships.
Some time after being admitted and being informed of her Presidential Scholarship, my daughter was also informed that she was awarded a $1000 one-time departmental scholarship from her college (Agriculture and Natural Resources). So in addition to the higher value awards, there are other smaller awards that a student may receive.
Great info above CU1986. Very helpful. So for an out of state student who is in the lower range of those ACT scores with a 30, admitted for Fall 2019, I get the sense we shouldn’t expect any merit reward at all, is that correct?
@ndstreet at least one OOS with a 31/ 33 superscored ACT last year said they received a $12500/year presidential scholarship-so there is hope. I’m not sure if the individual or superscored test score is used in evaluating merit aid. However, there were many OOS students with higher scores who received much small scholarships or none at all.
You should know in several weeks. Best of luck!
Does anyone know if there is an advantage or disadvantage to delay your decision until after these scholarship notifications are out? Is the school more likely to throw money at you if you haven’t committed yet? Thanks.
@LoyolaMD91 - From what I have seen on here, I do not think they will throw more money at prospective students.
@LoyolaMD91 - I agree with @SoofDad . However, there may be something to what you said and I don’t see any advantage in committing early - at least until the orientation dates are announced.
@reads2222 and @SoofDad Thanks for the replies. Sorry, this will be a hijack of the thread as I tangent now: don’t you get better priority for housing by committing early?
@LoyolaMD91 -I am not familiar with the Coalition App, but when my D got her decision in Jan 2014, there was a Housing form for admitted students to fill out. It was actually a Housing/Dining Plan form. If there is a Housing form to be filled out now, I recommend doing so, if there is a good chance that you will attend UMD. Back then, the form served 2 purposes. First, to let UMD know that you planned to live on Campus, as opposed to commuting or living off campus. Second, to put you in line for a form room. Those who waited till the last minute, often ended up in quads
Here is some more info
Thanks @SoofDad. We don’t see the form but maybe if he clicks on accept it will be there. He’s been accepted to Honors so the dorm will be decided if he chooses to do that I guess.
@LoyolaMD91 - True, the form does have limited usefulness, since dorm assignments are determined by LLCs
S19 received Presidential today - notified via email.
Thank you for posting. I received the scholarship as well but didn’t think to check spam mail until I saw your post.
Daughter just got her email with a Dean’s Scholarship! Yay!
Got my president’s scholarship notified today!