Merit Aid Awards

GoPack87
Wed, 06 Jan 2016 03:48:53 +0000

Not sure if this information will help anyone, but I thought I’d post. A few weeks ago (I don’t remember the actual date, bu the letter had the date December 11, 2015), I received a letter from UM saying that I had been selected for the Gold Scholar Award ($10,000 each year for four years) as well as the University of Minnesota Study Abroad Freshman Scholarship ($1,000 of a program fee for a study abroad program endorsed by UM). I’m from Wisconsin which has reciprocity with Minnesota, so I pay in-state tuition even though I’m technically OOS. I was admitted the first week of October, and one of my sisters is currently a senior in Carlson.

General Stats: 33 ACT (34 super score), 3.89 uw GPA, 7 AP Classes (most rigorous schedule at my school)

The study abroad scholarship came as kind of a shock because I had never heard of it before. Since we didn’t write essays, my best guess is that it came from my extra-curriculars and teacher recs. I participate in Asian Club and Model UN, and one of my recs was from my International Relations teacher (she also runs my school’s MUN club). I guess my class selection may have also affected it (lots of extra “worldly” courses such as IR and World Literature).

PS: My school does not rank, so if that was a super important factor I have no clue how I got the Gold Scholar Award. Honestly, even if we did rank I’m not sure if I would be in the top 10%, so do with that information as you will.

Hope this helps someone, good luck all!