New DiscussionGetting Accepted does NOT mean that a Merit Scholarship will be forthcoming....

menloparkmom

Since she applied EA, not ED, there is NO reason to put down the deposit receipt unless she knows for certain that she wants to go there. Nor is putting down the enrollment deposit expected. She might want to ask her HS college counselor to reach out to the ad min at the college to see if he/ she knows if she is on the short list for merit/ honors OR if there is anything that she should do to increase her "chances".

However, she may want to make the Housing deposit, as soon as she can ,IF rooms are delegated on a first come first serve basis. If she ends up going elsewhere you probably wont get that back, but normally its less than 1K. Doing so will not have an impact on her chances of getting merit $$/ honors status.

"Specifically - does confirming enrollment help or harm either her pending application to the school’s Honor College or potential merit award?"
neither.

eager2019

I hear colleges are businesses. Can you take quote from one business and show it to other business and ask to match? Given one business is a in-state public institution and other is OOS (Both highly selective). Did anyone have success with this?

twoinanddone

You can ask for more aid, either merit or need based, but most schools do not consider offers from other schools as a reason to grant more aid. The Ivies do with other Ivies, and some schools may give another $2000 if you show interest, but comparing an instate school to an OOS school is apples and oranges. Why would Missouri care what it would cost you to go to school in Illinois? How would they compare their costs and scholarships available?

got2laugh

Would anyone know if some schools would super score the ACT for Merit? I see a lot of schools will take the highest scores from each section in order to "create a new composite score" So does that mean that they will take the new composite score for the merit baseline as well?

CTScoutmom

Roth IRA in the parents' name is a good option, a 529 owned by the grandparents is also another legal option. However, remember that the account would then be the grandparent's asset. If the grandparents are getting close to an age where they would be entering nursing care, it would be considered theirs when calculating what they must spend down before Title 19 would kick in.

LucieTheLakie

@got2laugh, I think that really varies by school.

aamcgss

Okay I’m new to financial aid,grant scholarship... and little too late . But I got in UCLA oos,my efc 0 . So I was little surprised about financial offer I got from them ...25k grant scholarship( 17k non resident grant, federal pell grant 6k , UCLA non resident grant uship 2k ) than Loan options sub and non sub 6800k up to this point all good and manageable:) the rest 31k direct parent loan ??? My single mom makes 20k a year . It’s out of question , so why they even accepted me?? Knowing I can’t go?

TomSrOfBoston

@aamcgss Why did you even apply to UCLA given their policy of limited financial aid to OOS applicants and a 0 EFC?

MYOS1634

@aamcgss
You're VERY lucky UCLA gave you any sort of financial aid - they typically don't. They typically only admit OOS students who can pay in full and help subsidize California students. They have enough full pay OOS students that they really don't need to offer scholarships, so even though what they offered was little compared to what you needed, it was extraordinary by their standards.
I hope you have affordable options.

twoinanddone

My single mom makes 20k a year . It’s out of question , so why they even accepted me?? Knowing I can’t go?

Because you asked them to consider you by applying. UCLA is need blind for admissions, so the admissions office has no idea if you need FA or not. Admissions is considering your application, not your ability to pay. It has no idea if you have a rich uncle willing to pay, just won the lottery, or have a full ride scholarships from a big foundations.

adamint

I had success showing interest in IU Bloomington (in-state student). They had awarded me $12.5k in automatic scholarships, but we emailed the Office of Financial Aid asking whether additional money is available, and adding that the school was my top choice and that I had received enough scholarship and financial aid at University of Arizona to equal the cost of IU.
Another $8k appeared in my financial aid award just two days later.

I’m sure it depends on the school, but I personally believe I had success with asking a school for more money.

aamcgss

I was hopping for more sub non sub loans not direct parent loan .... I don’t think she can even qualify for that much loan love UCLA and planning on staying in California for rest of my life

TomSrOfBoston

@aamcgss Federal direct loans are limited to $5500 freshman year by law. Did you apply to USC where you would be eligible for more aid?

aamcgss

That’s what I was wondering if it is typical evarage amount for UCLA to give for oos or atypical??? I guess they gave me even more than usual??? I got “spoiled” by getting full ride from instate umich .... understand California cares more about own residents , just like umich does , but I was hoping for more affordable loans

twoinanddone

Go to Michigan.