Merit scholarships change for incoming freshmen
In an effort to combat declining enrollment, Central Michigan University is rearranging its scholarship awards.
Enrollment at CMU dropped by approximately seven percent last year. In an attempt to reverse the trend, while staying on budget, merit scholarships for incoming freshmen are changing.
“We want bright students who would qualify for these awards to enroll at CMU, and we want to acknowledge the good work they did before they got here,” said Executive Director of Admissions Lee Furbeck.
In previous years, the highest non-competitive merit scholarship covered approximately $24,000 over four years. Now merit scholarships for incoming freshmen are percentage-based, with the highest award covering 75 percent of tuition (30 credit hours a year) over the course of four years.
The scholarships are awarded based on SAT/ACT scores and high school GPA. However, in contrast to past years, the formula is weighted more heavily on GPA, which serves as a better predictor of success than standardized test scores.
Furbeck and the scholarship committees analyzed the merit scholarships of other Michigan universities while forming the new scholarship structures.
“[These changes are] going to allow us to take more of the financial aid dollars that are available and use them for need-based funding,” Furbeck said. “The students will get a merit award and if they fill out the FAFSA and are in high need, then they can potentially [receive] more need-based funding.”
In addition to the automatic merit awards, some of the competitive scholarships have also changed.
Every year the Honors Program accepts 150 students under a Centralis Scholarship award, previously splitting the award between 20 Scholar (full room, board, fees and tuition) and 130 Gold (full tuition) awards. The new structure maintains the 20 Scholars, but reduces the Gold awards to 80 students and adds 50 Maroon students, who will receive a $5,000 study abroad stipend, which all new Honors students earn. Maroon students will still qualify for automatic merit awards.
The Honors program is set up to accept approximately 5 percent of the incoming class, which was set at 150 students. Now, that percentage more closely resembles 100 students, meaning the 50 Maroon awards are “extras.”
According to Furbeck, the rearranging of the merit awards “breaks even” in terms of funding.
“Scholarships help offset the cost [of college],” Furbeck said. “For a lot of these students, [scholarships are] the difference between taking out a loan or going to a community college first and then coming here. We want them here, and in the case of Centralis, in our Honors program.”
