The NMF scholarship program at FIU is competitive and is only awarded to students who receive certain other scholarships that require applying by November 1. http://admissions.fiu.edu/costs-and-aid/scholarships/index.html Either way, it would still have the same problems for me as UH: very far away, never been there, never was my top choice. I guess it would’ve been better for campus life but like I said, I think realistically that shouldn’t be much of a concern. 50% of freshmen do dorm at UH, so the commuter atmosphere can’t be that bad (i.e. at QC, where a whopping 1% of freshmen dorm). Originally, the contest was between MHCQC and tOSU for me, and I had decided on tOSU, since I wanted the experience of going away, there being a myriad of student activities, and the scholarship I got from them (Morrill Prominence) meant a lot to me as a passionate person about racial diversity and equity. Then when I compare tOSU and UH, UH has the financial savings, tons of racial diversity, and is in a very urban setting, but lacks my exact preferred major (TESOL) and is far away. whereas tOSU has every major I could ask for and a beautiful campus. I’ve realized that it being a party school/sports school really shouldn’t matter to me, and neither should it not being as diverse as UH, since it is huge and still has more diversity than my hometown. The only real con is the price. However, I keep thinking back to Macaulay because it was my top choice for so long and I’m very proud to have gotten in, and I’ve been told not to underestimate the importance of advising and priority registration. Then again, I will also have those things if I get into UH Honors College. There is also specialized tutoring/mentoring for ODI scholars at tOSU.