@kforty2 and others asking about Benacquisto and stacking. My son was an OOS NMF who applied to Miami last year and they did confirm to me that Benacquisto would stack on top of Presidential and other awards, up to the cost of attendance. In my son’s case, he received $23,000 Presidential, which was then replaced by full tuition Singer. Benacquisto would have stacked on top of the Singer to pay for tuition, room, board and school related costs.
Also, my daughter never received an email from UM at all telling her to check the portal for her admissions decision. Weird?
I tried calling and I emailed my rep before and they both said it was too late and that deferred still means there is a chance just with a new pool of people to be looked at with
that’s what I figured 
I never received an e-mail from admissions to check Cane Portal either! My e-mail address listed in the portal is correct. Seems like they are very disorganized.
@raej3west forgot to mention, also deferred (1510, 3.98) and from NJ. No e-mail from admissions. Maybe it is an issue with the rep for our area?
@UGG2023 that stinks I keep telling my daughter deferred does not mean rejected so keep your head up!
dtr. deferred from NJ also, as I mentioned earlier in thread. We were honestly surprised, not only because of her grades/SATs and many AP/honors classes, many EC etc., but particularly because she has uniquely extensive experience in the field she wants to study (marine biology). It’s still her number 1 choice but finances play a part. So my question to all is – if she gets accepted after being deferred, will there by any possibility of a merit scholarship? Thanks to anyone who can offer advice.
HEY GUYS- if you were accepted with NO MERIT AID, chances are you aren’t receiving it. I spent a good two hours today calling all different departments and I finally was given good direction. Find out who your admissions counselor is and contact them; they give you the general spiel on why not everyone gets merit aid, but I did manage to press hard enough for my info to be sent through to the VP of admissions, and they will be reviewing my inquiry to tell me more specific details, hopefully about my own application… I suggest you do the same if you’re like me and don’t like things being unexplained haha.
@noah2425 - in determining you got no merit, did you get the Financial Aid/COA summary showing no merit aid listed or did you only get the acceptance letter and nothing else?
@mom2teens My daughter and several others on this thread did receive the Financial Aid/COA summary showing only the $3K in federal unsubsidized loans. Thank you, @noah2425 for that feedback. I will have my daughter contact her AO to have them review her application as well. Miami is her top choice (not necessarily mine because of distance), and the only way we can make it work is with some amount of merit aid.
@tmeg01 and @sloan4167 - My DH is a Miami alum, so we really thought one or both of our kids might end up there. There’s still a possibility that my DS will with the Benacquisto option, but we’re not sure what he’s going to decide if that comes through. The Benacquisto was not available for OOS the year my DD was applying, and it was just so expensive with only the Presidential for her that year (remainder of $45k/year for us to pay).
She ended up going to UGA but originally didn’t want to, because it does have a lot of people from GA. She felt like it would be like an extension of high school, but she has not found that to be the case at all. She really wanted to be in a more multicultural big city area, but it just didn’t make financial sense for her to choose some of the high-priced big city schools when UGA is ranked so highly and she got full tuition there. So, she is very happy. While it is a college town set in a more rural area, it is a very nice city with a great artsy feel, not like a Deep South kind of small town, and Atlanta is not that far and is very large and multicultural. So, if your DD decides on UGA, I think she’ll find lots of things to love.
I can’t argue with anything you said about UGA or Miami overall. They’re both great schools and appeal to different people. Regarding Miami, yes, it’s a great school in an amazing city and climate. I will say that there is more diversity of thought than you might think at UGA. The two things I will say are that most of the faculty and student body my daughter has come in contact with are not necessarily conservative, and their dining situation is VERY good. UGA does dining options right for the students! Oh, and one other thing I just remembered . . . most of the dorms are older, but they have just built a brand new really nice one and I think they are renovating others.
Finally, thanks for your thoughts on AZ State. My son has been considering applying there because of the great scholarship they offer for NMFs, but he knows nothing about it. Today is the last day to apply, I think, so I’m passing on your thoughts to him to see if he wants to do it. Sounds like another great option.
There really are some great options out there for all the students and no “perfect” school. I keep telling my son that this decision, as in everything in life, is what you decide to make of it. Good luck to both of your students in finding the best fit for them!
i want to go to UM so bad but I cant afford to spend 60k. My efc is 6 figures but our family does not get a lot of money because it goes straight to the bank to pay for mortages and stuff… and i get no merit aid whatsoever so now im just counting on applying to a billion different scholarships and praying that i can meet that gap
The admissions office is a joke. Worst I’ve seen by far.
Is there a thread for accepted stats
FWIW, my son got in with a 20k scholarship. He has a 1520sat, 4.7wgpa, National Merit Semi-Finalist, 4% HS rank, good ECs, IB program, I think a weak essay.
@gamom2023 Thank you for the UGA info. My D has a good friend who is a freshman there this year and agrees with your observations. She really loves it. I think it would be a fine choice for my D if she doesn’t get into UVA. She doesn’t want to go to the same school as her brother, which I understand. I’m glad to hear it isn’t a totally conservative school with little diversity.
The AZ State application takes about 30 minutes to fill out; the Barrett one is a little longer, but I bet you can recycle some old essays to fit. I was really blown away by it, but maybe because my expectations were so low. It was a beautiful, clean, new looking campus with wonderful dorms/dining halls. My D would go there for the same price as UGA, and she likes UGA better. I believe ASU gives good merit for NMF as well.
@tmeg01 Glad to hear your daughter’s friend loves it! We’re in the same boat with my son wanting to find his own school. It would be nice and convenient for us if both our kids went to the same school, but we want him to find his own way, too. I think he feels like he would always be at “her” school if he ends up at UGA.
Great to know about the AZ State app. I think he’s really thinking about it. But he did have me look up how things melt in Arizona. 
It does look hot! Yes, it seems they give full ride for NMF, so that would be nice. But so does Alabama. So, who knows. We are very thankful he may have some great options to choose from. If your DD ends up at UGA, feel free to message me, and I’ll get her in contact with my daughter. She LOVES to meet and welcome new people to UGA. She may be an RA next year, so they could even be in the same dorm.
Looks like I’ve hijacked the Miami thread to talk about UGA! Ooops! Sorry, everyone! We really are big Canes fans! Wherever my son ends up, he will always bleed orange and green! Go Canes!
Does anyone here know any specific benefits of the Foote Honors program?
@vistajay – Are you sure? And do you have any idea how to get this confirmed? I think my child would attend if this is true as OOS NMSF with lovely scholarship from Miami but not quite enough to attend. If Benacquisto stacked, it would be enough!! Who did you ask who confirmed this? Thanks much.