Full Ride to Wayne State?

Samiak · 04-01-2012, 12:54 AM

I am a Michigan resident that is completely broke and is hoping to get a full ride to Wayne. From what I have heard, Wayne state isn't a very hard school to get a full ride to. I just wanted to know what the requirements are. By the way, I am a minority, my parents earn less than $40000, and have excellent academics (trust me).

ucbalumnus · 04-01-2012, 01:48 AM

Well, here are some of their scholarships:
Scholarships - Freshman Students

mom2collegekids · 04-01-2012, 03:58 AM

I would not say that Wayne isn't a hard school to get a full ride to. That wouldn't make sense. The school has several thousand frosh and probably only a tiny number were given full rides. The school isn't giving them to 25% of the frosh.

What are your stats?

kelsmom · 04-01-2012, 05:15 PM

I can tell you that it is extremely difficult to get a "full ride" to WSU. Currently, WSU attempts to provide incoming freshmen a combination of grants and scholarships that, when added to their EFC, equals the average amount of tuition for 12 credits. So ... if you have a 0 EFC, you would get a full Pell grant plus grants that together equals what it costs to pay for 12 credits. If you get a scholarship (merit scholarships range from $2000-$4000 per year), your grants would be reduced accordingly. If you live at home, you could borrow Stafford loans and be able to cover your costs. If you want to live on campus, you would not have enough money to cover costs.

There ARE good scholarships available. Full tuition, room, and board scholarships are available for NM finalists. Full tuition only scholarships are more plentiful than full rides, but the competition is tough ... if you were to get one, and if you get a Pell grant & loans, you should be able to afford to live on campus.

What are your stats?

three4three · 04-01-2012, 06:17 PM

Are you looking at Wayne because you really like the school, or just because you think they have good scholarships?

3bm103 · 04-01-2012, 08:15 PM

My nephew got a full ride to WSU because he was a NMF. It also included a computer, books and a semester abroad. Definitely no financial need. Are you a NMF? I actually know quite a few kids who received very, very generous merit aid there.

three4three · 04-01-2012, 09:12 PM

It looks as though Wayne has a few different "full tuition" scholarships. I was looking through their website, and I cannot determine for sure if a Pell Grant can be added to these scholarships to help pay for room-and-board and other costs up to the cost of attendance. It has been my experience at some other Michigan schools that the merit scholarships are NOT reduced if the student is Pell eligible, as long as nothing exceeds the total cost of attendence, but every school and every different scholarship is different, so you need to talk to someone in their financial aid department. You should think about making an appointment to visit the campus and talk to someone directly, if it is possible. Their website has a lot of information, too.

romanigypsyeyes · 04-01-2012, 09:16 PM

WSU is difficult to get a full ride from.

However, if your academics are THAT good- why not try to go to U of M? They meet full need with financial aid rather than hoping for a merit scholarship.

three4three · 04-01-2012, 09:41 PM

I think romanigypsyeyes might be talking about the UofM "M-Pact" grant. There is information on their website about it.

kelsmom · 04-03-2012, 12:58 PM

Pell is added to the merit at WSU (I know this for a fact). However, COA can never be exceeded, so merit would have to be reduced due to Pell if necessary. It does happen.

I am interested in finding out more from the OP. If you would like to PM me with more info - scores, gpa, high school, etc - I can provide better advice.

kmcmom13 · 04-03-2012, 02:35 PM

Samiak, Romani is correct that UMich attempts to meet full need for in-state students, so please apply there as well if you are competitive and if you have a zero efc, etc.

Best wishes.

3bm103 · 04-03-2012, 06:35 PM

romani: my nephew got only $1,500 from UMich but a full ride at Wayne State. Many others I know recieved much more from WSU than they did from UMich.

romanigypsyeyes · 04-03-2012, 06:46 PM

^ Then they had little need. U of M meets need for in-state students. The OP has need (assuming normal assets for a <40k income).

Yes, many people WILL receive more from WSU if they are U of M quality students and have little financial need.

kelsmom · 04-04-2012, 11:03 AM

UM does not give much in the way of merit, but it gives great need based aid to those in the lower EFC range. WSU gives solid need based aid for those who can live at home. WSU also gives a lot of merit aid, but it is not automatic unless you are a NMF. Many students who were invited to Scholars Day are disappointed when they don't receive the Presidential or similar tuition scholarships. The problem is that people think WSU has trouble recruiting top students ... they do not. So it is not "easy" to get a big merit scholarship at WSU.

three4three · 04-04-2012, 11:24 AM

Is there some particular reason that you are looking at WAYNE? If your school search is based on costs alone, you might try Oakland University. They meet full tuition need, and they have housing grants to help kids live on-campus, too. They aren't a bad school, and they are building a new medical school there if you're interested in that. Here is a flyer with some of their freshman scholarships and grants. The problem is, most of the deadlines have passed for fall 2012. I think you might find that to be the case at a lot of the Michigan Universities. https://www.oakland.edu/upload/docs/...pFlyer3(1).pdf