When does UMN start processing applications for admittance to CSE? My twins applied about 3 weeks ago.
They are also going to visit/apply to Purdue, University of Iowa, Alabama. The reason I am asking is because if they do not get in we will probably have to expend our search.
Here are their stats:
DS
32 ACT
4.0 UW GPA, 5.6 W GPA
Top 3% (class of 500+)
Varsity Wrestler last 2 years - 4 years HS Wrestling - Team Captian
DD
30 ACT
4.0 UW GPA. 5.5 W GPA
Top 4%
Varsity Tennis last 2 years - 4 years HS Tennis
NHS - Officer Senior year
@CyclonesGrad the Tracker says October. Last year CSE acceptances began in early October so I’d expect the same thing this year, unless someone has heard differently from the office of admissions.
@Mamelot Thanks. DD2 is going to Purdue in mid-October for a Women in Engineering invite she was invited to. I heard from someone that they tell you if you are admitted while you are there and about two weeks later they send you their merit aid package. Obviously actively recruiting women engineers.
Do you have a feel when UM-TC will send out merit aid packages? Already know what Alabama will give because it is on the website. Iowa will depend on which merit scholarship they give her.
@CyclonesGrad I don’t have any direct experience with merit aid packages - interestingly, D1 was offered a department-specific award and we didn’t find out till the financial aid letter came out in the spring. However, I do understand from previous posts that students are notified of their university-wide awards via regular mail usually within a few weeks of acceptance. It’s important to keep an eye on the Tracker because that will be the earliest notification of acceptance. Honors College admittance will also be placed on the Tracker although I think that might be something that comes at a later date so keep checking the Tracker even after getting an acceptance if expecting an invitation to the honors program. I don’t believe that merit aid is notified by Tracker or e-mail so just regular mail there.
@mamelot Thanks a lot. It will come down to money in the end. I know my kids can go to Alabama for about $10K/year each in engineering. The issue is I have great respect for UM-TC engineering and am willing to pay more for my kids to go there. The question is how much?
I do not think I can afford twice as much but maybe about 50%. The stats compare favorably to UM-TC for 2014 Freshman:
UMN-TC: 29-33 99.8% (% in top 25% of class)
Purdue 28-32 93%
Alabama 27-32 79%
Iowa 25-30 71%
Obviously, UM-TC is very good and why I am willing to have us (me/kids) spend more. In fact, UM-TC is not far behind UIUC or Michigan, who are very highly rated.
Over the years, I have noticed that acceptance response seem to be linked to specifics such as which college, out of state/in state, first to attend college, etc. It seemed that within CSE, out of state heard first for merit monies and most applicants started to hear acceptances October/November. There were many kids who did not hear anything about scholarships until February.
As a wise man once said: “it ain’t over till it’s over.” Best not to have impatient expectations in this process because if you do you are sure to be disappointed by something - either a drawn-out admissions decision or a delay in knowing your merit aid . . .
@CyclonesGrad I agree with your analysis. Spending more might translate into better opportunities so it’s money well spent. Also, CSE’s location is great for job ops and it’s a HELL of a lot less expensive than Michigan!
@mamelot Also less expensive than UIUC if we get Gold scholarship for IS tuition and a little merit aid. It is a wash between UIUC IS and UM-TC OOS Tuition/R&B. Unbelievable
The absolute bottom cheapest is not always best. Everything is always a cost/benefit analysis unless a commodity such as gasoline. I do not think higher education fits into the commodity category.
My real goal is for my kids to have Tuition/R&B be no more than $15K/year (my contribution) so they do not need to take out loans. We will see what happens in this process.
Well good luck to them @cyclonesGrad I’m rooting for them. Hopefully they blew away the ACT last week. With a parent such as yourself they are 100% guaranteed to do well regardless of where they end up.
Thanks @Mamelot- holy cow, I didn’t realize it was so soon! I was thinking they’d come in Halloween weekend at earliest- of course, my GPA is lower than that poster’s, so I’m not an obvious admit- but still! Wow! I’ll actually be visiting the U from October 8-10th. That’d really be something if I was accepted while on campus.
I actually got to meet the (awesome) individual who’ll be reading my application. He remembered me (by name!!) & is helping me organize my visit. I know interest doesn’t count ultimately, but I’m still very hopeful. Aahhh!! Good luck everyone!
How many people are checking app tracker every day even though we KNOW nothing will change for weeks? I’m thinking I’ll be a lot more blase about the whole thing when waiting for colleges #3, 4, 5…9 to decide…but probably not. My son thinks I’m nuts but I just love that since early September I could log in and see “your application is complete.”
@freezycool So the fun of logging in just to see “your application is complete” is totally gone down here. I wish I knew how often they update the tracker so I would know not to bother looking again for some specified period of time. I am SO impatient, and I know it could be months. :-w
@s16s18s21s25 if you check once a day (say 8 am or 6 pm Central) that should be sufficient. D2 now has several colleges that she needs to check on daily - I think we need to schedule a set time for this each day!
