Well we got the award letter for Rutgers - Award given in loans - then they subtract that out to give you COA. That’s just funny! :-/
@Fishnlines29 @Testingearly We’ve talked about it and decided your avatars are too similar and it confuses us sometimes. Please work on that 
@Fishnlines29 --yep. Lots of schools seem to do it that way.
I also love how loans fall under the “award” section. How is a LOAN an “Award???”
Holy %^&$…
The Florida legislature is in session, and several education bills have been proposed (in the senate and house) which all increase the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship award (in-state only) from about $3K a year to $6K (full in-state tuition). Some of the details vary, like eligibility requirements, $300 extra for books, etc. We’ll know the final details, later this Spring. Something for us Floridians to consider…
but…oh…my…I found something else in the current Senate proposed bill, that doesn’t impact our 2017 kids, but…
For the last few years, Florida has offered in-state students the Benacquisto Scholarship, which awards any Florida high school graduate, who receives recognition as a National Merit Scholar or National Achievement Scholar, a full cost of attendance scholarship.
The latest proposal from the senate, has them offering the Benacquisto Scholarship to Out of State students…
This all still has to work it’s way through the process, and someone has to crunch the numbers (it can’t be cheap), but wow…
http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/SSFAD/factsheets/FIS_FAQ.pdf
- You have to receive a NM $2,500 scholarship, corporate-sponsored scholarship, or a College-Sponsored scholarship (just list one of the 6 schools above as your first choice), to be eligible for the Benacquisto. *
S was awarded President’s Scholarship at ASU. Yay! $14k a year. This makes ASU roughly the same price as our in-state SUNY.
Still waiting on Barrett, but the more I read and the more I learn from you folks, engineers at ASU don’t need to be in Barrett to have a great “smaller school” learning experience. The new engineering dorm and LLCs would fill that need.
Palm trees and great weather would fill my needs.
Being a first timer here, have a question that hoping you all can answer. For the schools that my D has gotten accepted to and is considering attending, should we be sending college course (not AP) transcripts. For example, my D did part of her JR year abroad and received actual credits from Gratz College for 2 courses. Currently she is in a dual enrollment program from our CC college, which is part of GA State. I know that not all the schools she is looking at will accept these credits, but should we send the transcripts, and when? Do we do this on the common app, for those schools? Her HS transcript showed the semester abroad, but I paid for the actual credits for the two non High school courses. also for those schools that have not made a decision, they know about her semester abroad and taking the courses (she got an A in both) , but not that she received credit. Would having the transcript in their records help while they evaluate her.?
these are the things that worry me late at night. No reason to retake a History class if she has credit that will be accepted. Last night and her comments also threw me for a loop. I like straight lines and she likes to zigzag.
Nice one, @STEM2017 <:-P
Ugh! My D just received an email from Richmond that they didn’t receive her SAT scores. Oopps! They gave her until the 20th but I just sent them in. Hope she didn’t forget anything else.
My S got a surprise scholarship in the mail yesterday for 28k plus 8k (over 4 years) for a school he dropped off his list. Is it normal to be sad of the scholarships not taken?
Congrats to all of the other scholarships and acceptances that have come in recently! Too many to keep track of but what a blessing.
Now that acceptances are in how do get the kids motivated to start narrowing down their choices? They don’t have strong opinions yet of where they want to go, I just want them to pick it so we can move on.
I have been hoping the Senate President would come though on his promise to restore Bright Futures to a full tuition scholarship again. When I first started saving for my D’s college we planned for in-state with BF or the first two years at CC. My’ D out performed my expectations so CC is out but, with BF not keeping pace with tuition increases the budget got a little tight. If it happens it puts us back on track and will mean that my D not will need to work through college to help with extra expenses.
Offering the Benacquisto OOS is a major game changer. I believe UCF still offers a full ride to NMS OOS, but they need that carrot to get high stat kids. UF is a different animal however. Would this make UF the highest ranked flagship to offer a full ride to NMS? Either way, it should create quite a buzz for UF in the NMSF community.
Nice @STEM2017 , that school seems to meet the criteria then! Your son would probably have a great time there, and that would be a fun place to visit as a parent.
@STEM2017 saw your message – “S was awarded President’s Scholarship at ASU. Yay! $14k a year. This makes ASU roughly the same price as our in-state SUNY.” Gotta say – sounds great to me. Would be faraway but much warmer and i hear very good things about ASU!
@sdl0625 – If there’s time I would have the transcripts sent. It is the official documentation and may give a AO a slight reassurance (proof of validity) as they review your D’s file. Just my thought - others may feel it does not matter if self reported on the applications - we were advised to send in official score reports and all official transcripts (my DS took a course this summer and we sent it to all schools he applied to).
Can you guys answer this question for me? Do you have to fill out the CSS even if you have filled out the FAFSA IF you KNOW that you are NOT going to qualify for need-based aid but MIGHT win a merit scholarship?
My daughter applied to Duke in December. Then we had a bunch of family emergencies in January, so all of this college stuff has been off the radar screen. I think some schools will not give you merit aid unless you have filled out all of the need-based aid forms.
Yes, I know it is a LONG shot for her to win any merit there.
@STEM2017 Congrats!!! Sounds like a winner! 
@sdl0625 We sent unofficial transcripts from 2 schools to 15 colleges. Different schools have different reactions to unofficial transcripts - some schools spell it out that they consider unofficial transcripts fine for admission purposes but all require an official transcript if admitted and the student attends in regards to getting any credit. A couple of schools wanted the unofficials to come through the GC to vet them somewhat. In my experience the most selective schools were the ones that were cool with unofficials and the least selective on my D’s list the biggest pains.
@STEM2017 Congrats on the scholly. ASU - big party school - make sure he stays focused.
I’ll need to stay focused, too!
@sdl0625 are the classes on her official high school transcript? My D took 6 college classes during high school and they’re on her high school transcript, so I didn’t send a college transcript to the schools she applied to. I figured they’ll request it if they want it.
@micgeaux it depends on the school, some schools require FAFSA and CSS to award merit, some don’t. I would probably call the admissions and financial aide offices.
@STEM2017 congrats!!!
Congrats on the Presidential at ASU @STEM2017. My S also was offered the presidential there. He is in at Barrett and is excited. Good luck to your S. The big plus about Barrett in my mind (and this goes for many honors programs) is the priority registration for classes. This will definitely help in getting classes needed to graduate in 4 years!
@micgeaux, I was going to say what socalmom007 said. Some schools require the CSS for merit awards, some don’t. It is best to specifically ask.
@STEM2017 and @mtrosemom - priority registration is big! It’s a huge school and staying on track is critical. I’d double check that a presidential scholar doesn’t also get priority as well as Barrett. That campus within a campus is so nice at Barrett. They market it very well, but I’ve heard mixed reviews as far as if it’s worth it. I don’t think it’s a waste though. So, I think you’re good either way. The campus has transformed in the last 10 years with so many new buildings.
They do call the gates into Barrett the “Nerd Gate”. LOL
My DD goes to a small LAC and even priority registration there is great to have. She doesn’t have priority and, as a freshman, was disappointed when many first choice classes weren’t available by the time it was her turn. Athletes first, then scholars, then seniors, junior, sophomore and lastly freshman. Luckily for her, she’s a bit more of a morning person (than the average college student) and picks classes that start at 9am most often.