<p>Zinc,</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all the info on the timing last year (and the commitment to remain sober to help us sort out all our financial options, also, of course : ) I am so glad to hear that those scholarship decisions, along with the Miami Grant award were made available online and hopefully the timing will work out so that we can figure it all out before we board that ship and are restricted to paying by the minute for slow and unreliable internet access. I don’t think we’ll be able to use our smart phones onboard if things are the same as they were last time. We had to turn off our phones when at sea in fact, to prevent any incoming calls or texts from generating exorbitant international roaming fees. </p>
<p>Re Minnesota’s COA, the $2k departmental scholarship and a $1700 undergraduate research grant are for one year only. The other scholarships, the Gold National, which covers the out of state differential each year and does increase each year to cover that difference in cost, and the $5K Bentson, each continue for four years. </p>
<p>While flights to Miami are more expensive than those to Minnesota, the cost of all that winter apparel alone would likely make that all even out : )</p>