Schools known for good merit aid

[Chedva]

A lot of the merit scholarships at University of Rochester also do not have a GPA requirement, other than "satisfactory progress" from year to year. That's a 2.0, and is the same as all other students have to maintain to avoid going on academic probation. That's one of the things I liked about the Wilson Trustee scholarship that my d got!

[northeastmom]

Chedva, That's very nice!

[bethievt]

Yes, northeastmom ,the dear son felt very wanted.

[Shrinkrap]

I did it! I read every post!

[hope4freeride]

I know this is a very unusual question,but you will understand why. My employer offers a 70% tuition only discount to all employees who have 5 yrs or more of uninterrupted employment, for up to 3 children at any college or university! They will not pay for grad school, just undergrad. This is also a nontaxable issue to the employee! Since I will get such a great deal on this benefit, I would love to be able to apply any merit aid my daughter receives towards room and board costs. They first subtract any scholarship money awarded to the student from the total, and then give the 70% benefit on the balance of tuition that is due. I could potentially save more money if I can get the merit aid designated for non tuition expenses. Is this at all possible?

[midmo]

I'm no expert, so apologies if I say something misleading for your particular situation. My son's National Merit Finalist stipend, awarded by his university, is simply applied as a credit to his account and can be used for any bill that shows up on his account. In his case, it is used for room and board. However, his major merit award from the university, unrelated to NMF, explicitly states that it is for "tuition and engineering fees, including laptop and software". I don't believe there would be a way to apply the funds to room and board or other expenses.

That is a very nice perk you have there. I have heard of some universities offering that deal to their faculty members.

[hope4freeride]

Thanks midmo. We call this perk the "platinum handcuffs"! I work at Vanderbilt, and this benefit actually applies to any and all employees of both the regular University as well as the Medical Center. With 20,000 employees and the city's biggest employer, I am amazed that they do this!
Thanks for mentioning about the National Merit funds. I think my daughter will get to be a semifinalist (224 index in TN) so if she gets the money I will see if I can apply this to R&B.

[DunninLA]

A great thread.

I've spent four hours reading this and a related thread in the Financial Aid section of this Forum.

as a resident of California, I can only count my blessings that we have 8 -- now 9 really great universities whose tuition (though they call them Registration Fees) is only $9,000 per year. Plus Cal Poly SLO even cheaper and at at an equal stature, though part of the 23 campus "State College" system, which includes solid universities like San Diego State, Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, etc.

I attended both Stanford and UCLA thirty years ago. The quality was not the same but similar. so when I see that 98% of Merit scholarships awardees will only see the tuition go from $34,000 to $20,000 or $15,000, , I smile and remember the UCs and Cal States! I trust that everyone else has state schools that make this merit scholarship search less crucial.

Harvard was correct to try to publicize and address the "middle class squeeze". Princeton actually took action beginning about three years ago. I hope other selective schools follow their lead.

Having attended S and UCLA, and finding that the practical difference between the two is not significant, I can encourage readers here to NOT MORTGAGE your retirement for prestige! Live within your means. Recall the study quoted in the book "Harvard Schmarvard" which showed that students who were admitted to HYPSM type schools but chose to attend less prestigious schools (or drop out as Bill Gates did) for a variety of reasons earned almost identical amounts in their professions over the ensuing twenty years -- if I recall correctly $2.8M vs. $2.9M. the conclusion is that same qualities that gained the person admittance to HYPSM -- intelligence, curiosity, creativity, persistence, passion -- make a person successful whether they attend these prestigious schools or not. Perhaps these schools have been pass-through stewards of innate talent and not enablers or creators of it.

I wish you all the best in your pursuit of these merit monies. I hope that you, as I do, have great State schools that can be your fallback position.

[Chedva]

I trust that everyone else has state schools that make this merit scholarship search less crucial.

Would that were so! While some other states do, those of us in states outside California have many fewer choices.

[DunninLA]

Chedva,

Anyone can move to the State of California, reside for one year, and then be considered a state resident for tuition purposes at the 9 UC and 23 State colleges. I assume this is also true of UCLA's feeder community college -- Santa Monica College.

By "moving to the State of California", I mean getting a driver's license or ID card, and showing proof of residency through utility bills, etc. It's been 30 years since my wife transferred from Cornell to UCLA (for financial reasons). She worked for a year, then started junior year at UCLA with in-state status.

So in a sense, anybody in the US willing to reside in CA for a year can take advantage of these 9 + 23 colleges whose "registration fees" are less than $9,000 per year.

Perhaps this is a great reason for a gap year in CA, or alternatively taking UC acceptable classes at a JC (i.e. Santa Monica College, El Camino College, Long Beach City College, etc.).

[Chedva]

Believe it or not, there are some people who actually don't want to live in California! And living on one's own in a strange state across the country has its own economic costs. It's not quite so cut and dried. I simply meant that it would be nice if other states had a public university system as good as California's.

Oh, and by the way, taking JC classes while you're in California for that year eliminates the possibility of becoming a California resident. It's not quite as easy as you assume. In addition to residing and working in California, the student must show financial independence:

A student is considered financially independent when one or more of the following applies:

1. the student is at least 24 years of age by December 31 of the calendar year for which resident classification is requested
2. the student is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces
3. the student is a ward of the court or both parents are deceased
4. the student has legal dependents other than a spouse
5. the student is married or has a registered domestic partner or is a graduate or professional student, and was not claimed as an income tax deduction by parents or any other individual for the tax year immediately preceding the term for which resident classification is requested
6. undergraduate students: the student is an unmarried undergraduate student and was not claimed as an income tax deduction by parents or any other individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which resident classification is requested, and can demonstrate self-sufficiency for those two years and the current year

To verify financial independence (self-support) per item 6 above, the student must document his or her income and verify that he or she was not claimed as an exemption by parents or anyone else for the two years prior to the request for residence. The student is also required to present a budget showing how he or she is able to be supported by the funds claimed. Self-support is defined as money the student has earned through his or her own employment or loans obtained with the student's own credit, without a cosigner. A gift or loan to the student from a parent, grandparent, or other family member does not constitute self-support regardless of the terms.

Parent PLUS loans cannot be considered self-support.

Residing in California with an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or friend who provides the student with room and board cannot be considered self-support, even if that person meets the UC residence requirement.

If the student's income is a trust account, the student must verify that the trust was not set up for the purpose of meeting the financial independence requirement. The student must also verify that he or she has complete control of the trust and that the trust has been in use to support the student. Copies of yearly beginning balances, withdrawals, deposits, and ending balances of the trust account(s) will be required.

Nonverifiable income cannot be considered.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS NOTE: The financial independence requirement makes it extremely difficult for most undergraduates whose parents are not California residents, including students from community colleges and other port-secondary institutions within California, to qualify for classification as a resident at a University of California campus.

(emphasis in original)

What was true 30 years ago is no longer true today.

[Shrinkrap]

I didn't THINK it was that easy. I know this thread is about merit aid, so I'll put it this way. Even though we live in Calironia, we are still persuing merit aid because my D is still unsure about her fit on a campus of 40K+. I will love it if she can "fit".

[DunninLA]

Chedva, I went over to Santa Monica College's website to check their requirements for residency. It is currently as UCLA's was 30 years ago -- one year of proof of residency.

I see the UC's have clamped down on th residency requirements a lot since 1979! Rightly so I suppose as every out of state who becomes in-state is saving over $19,000 per year.

[Ragsypagsy]

unfortunately, NONE of the schools to which my son has applied give merit aid, but they all offer 100% need based aid. 12 of one a dozen of the other.
Middle class is being phased out ugh!!

[lkf725]

I'm sort of sad to see how the middle class is being phased out too, although I agree with you that it is. If my immigrant grandparents knew that they worked their butts off to offer education to their children, who in turn worked their butts off to claw their way up to the middle class, only to become obsolete, they would be very disappointed.