<p>Son would love to go to U of TX at Austin. All he needs is a $1000 scholarship & he’ll (possibly) qualify for in-state tuition (huge, huge savings–probably only chance he’d have to afford attendance). </p>
<p>Wondered if it would be worthwhile to write a letter (or if son wrote a letter) to the scholarship committee deliniating this & requesting consideration? Award letters go out in the next few weeks, but also continue (smaller ones) through the summer.</p>
<p>I realize this is probably the height of parental over-involvement and they have absolutely no obligation to consider any such letters.</p>
<p>Just hoping it wouldn’t be annoying and counter-productive?</p>
<p>I am not sure I understand the situation… Does he somehow need the $1,000 scholarship in order to qualify for in-state tuition? Or do you think he will qualify, but will need another $1,000 to be able to attend?</p>
<p>My gut feeling would be to wait and see what they offer him on their own, and if it is less than you’d need, tell them that he would love to attend, but will not be able to, unless he gets $X in scholarships…</p>
<p>He can easily earn $1000 over the summer. He can also apply for scholarships offered through his high school and community. Look into the VFW scholarship, Lion’s Club scholarship, other local community scholarships, etc. Every school and community has scholarships but it’s up to the student to go down to the GC and ask about them.</p>
<p>Jolynne – is it the fact that the school gives him a $1,000 scholarship that puts him in a category of students eligible for an OOS tuition wiaver?</p>
<p>Yes, CountingDown, that’s it. Another, helpful mom pointed that out to me – a TX statute states that if an out-of-state student is offered a scholarship of at least $1,000 (if said scholarship is offered to both in & out-of-state students) then that student is then considered for in-state tuition (about $9k), instead of the higher, out-of-state tuition (about $29k). </p>
<p>Just thinking that if they knew (maybe they do?) how ‘far’ that little $1,000 could go w/this student (he’d definitely attend, from NJ) then they might give it a second look. Don’t want to be arrogant (son has a relatively average gpa) but he’s got some high standardized tests, & it just seemed that could be something they’d like, if they were (possibly) light in that area because of the auto-admit of TX top 10% regardless of test scores. </p>
<p>Maybe overthinking this (likely). Just not sure if a blend of begging/highlighting student’s strengths would be seen as 1) annoying & off-putting or 2) useful insight?</p>
<p>^^^^I think that is what JS is saying. I seem to remember reading about similiar situations at other state schools where being awarded any scholarship worth $1000 or more would give an oos student a shot at instate tution.</p>
<p>NMinn–yes, he did. The deadline was Dec 1st, and think he filled out everything. </p>
<p>I just felt like – if they were holding on to some ‘smaller’ scholarships to distribute during the summer (as an individual in the fin aid office told me) then maybe it would be helpful if they knew son would go if he got one before May 1st. </p>
<p>PackMom–I wish I knew which other schools those were! I have a call in to U of Ill to see if they offer anything like that, and I’m calling Penn State tomorrow to check, also.</p>
<p>I would think that the scholarship selection committee would know this detail in regards to OOS students. Have you talked with your contact in admisssions? I think I might start there and ask some questions before going directly to scholarship people. Give a call and see what the options are and have them clarify what the procedure is to get in-state status. I would hope that they would be able to guide you through this.</p>
<p>So, the letter you’re considering writing is to let the scholarship people know that their $1,000 award would transfer to a $20,000 saving since he would go to Texas… right?</p>
<p>I think that any letter that you would send would look better coming from the student as additional information. Anything that you want to do, but can have your son do, looks better to people looking at college students.</p>
<p>interesting question as i can see myself wondering the same thing…son is interested in ut dallas and same rule applies. my thought right now is i probably wouldnt do it. if he has good marks etc i would wait until letter received…if he didnt get it, i would then consider calling and politely stating that even 1000 would make ut austin possible and how much he wants to attend… doing it before might give them the impression that you are just looking for a “cheaper” school??? if they hear from you later, maybe they would reconsider or if someone declines admission they might look at him again?</p>
<p>Yes, I would definitely have my son request the aid! The financial aid office has certainly had this very request before. As long as he asks politely, how can it backfire? And this year is a unique situation. Many students are forced to choose the lowest cost provider -in state public schools. Your son’s choice realizes that they must do something extra to attract qualified students from out-of-state.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input! For better or worse, son sent a letter today to scholarship committee (saying how much he loves UT, how it would make it financially do-able…threw in a few highlights from his record [I encouraged him to–hope that wasn’t annoying; likely, it was]). I guess it could go either way (they’ll think it’s too much, or they won’t).</p>
<p>I guess sort of felt – better to try – it’s demonstrated interest, and he is on the line about attending…</p>