| Taxguy states "I think she got this aid because art and design students don't normally get very high SATs, and her SATs were in the top 10-20% of the design students."
I agree. My DD got a merit award at RIT from the School of Design and there was a SAT requirement to be eligible. I believe up to 10 kids can get these awards. After freshman year, she was given another merit award, based on GPA, I believe - this one I believe is from her department. So, academics do play a role for design students. My DD was also offered a nice merit scholarship ($12,000/yr I think) from Syracuse University. If I remember correctly, that also was based on portfolio, GPA and SATs.
UMiami does offer some nice merit scholarships. The minimum requirements are posted right on their website, so you have a good idea ahead of time if you are eligible - not sure if they're automatically guaranteed though. My son was offered the Singer Scholarship, which is full tuition. |