My son was accepted at UVM in the class of 2023. It’s his first choice, but the merit aid is not as much as other schools he’s been accepted to. He got $8k/year total of $32k over four years – its the Trustees Scholarship. We’d like to appeal to see if UVM could match the $15k he got from the other two schools. Does anyone have any advice or sample letters that could be helpful in his appeal? This is not need-based, purely scholarship money. Any suggestions for resources that would give us the best chance to be successful in matching the scholarships would be so appreciated.
We are going to try to send the letter this week via email to the financial aid office at UVM, then follow up with a call.
You don’t ask if they can “match.” If the other schools are peers you can ask them to review your financial information because other schools gave you more aid based on the same information. What are the other schools?
The other schools are Ithaca College and Roger Williams University. We won’t get any “financial” aid, it would really be scholarship money. Ithaca costs much more overall, but with their merit aid, it will bring the cost to exactly what UVM would be with his current merit aid of $8k/year.
UVM isn’t a peer so they are unlikely to reconsider. If he’d gotten into UMass Amherst, or UConn they might, but because they don’t meet need they may not care either way
We won’t hear from UConn (we’re in state) till March 15. Unfortunately, as an in state student it’s much more competitive than UVM. If he gets into UConn, he’ll go there, since it’s so much cheaper than UVM. In the meantime, we’re going to try to see if UVM will reconsider their merit, just in case he doesn’t get into UConn.
@MamasitaSuz Congratulations to you and your son! UVM bases their merit scholarships on the information provided at the time of application- the SATs/ACTs, GPA, and class rank. They will not match what another school is offering as the policy is for them to offer the best available scholarship upfront. I still think it is important to reach out and ask them to reconsider the scholarship amount if you feel that they did not have the accurate information the first time they reviewed for scholarships. If there has been a significant change in the GPA or SATs, UVM will reconsider at that point.Call the office 802-656-3370 to chat with a rep. Wishing you luck.
Probably best idea to have your son call and thank them for the scholarship and then tell them that while you as parent(s) will be helping him out financially he will be on the hook for the additional amount over what other schools have given him. It really needs to come from the applicant for the best appeal. If he is planning another visit to look one last time at the school I would try to make an appointment to make the appeal in person. Or writing a letter with details about his desire to go to the school as well as mentioning that the additional fin burden would be on him would help. My niece was able to get additional money from RIT writing a letter but face to face is always a plus. Just my opinion…
Love UVM it’s my alma mater!!
Accepted into UVM OOS too! but she got no merit ‘at this time’? No financial aid likely. Even though we plugged in GPA SAT & estimate looked good for good merit. ‘0’ ?
UVM is a very expensive school. A few years ago it was always on the list of the top 10 schools with the highest cost to OOS student until the UC schools stopped providing any aid to OOS students so now all the UCs fill up the Top 10 most expensive! Doesn’t make UVM any less expensive just because they aren’t in the Top 10 anymore.
I think @BreezeEaze is right, that you have to show them why your son should be considered for the $15k level scholarship because of gpa or score increase, or because of some other academic honors or awards.
It’s really bad form to ask for extra money, get it, and then still not attend. If UConn is your first choice, I’d wait for the decision from it, then approach UVM for a consideration of additional aid if it turns out your child is still interested in attending.
UVM will consider a merit increase but you have to show a compelling reason for them to do so, and it is unlikely. We appealed last year and were denied but did not have a compelling reason. UVM needs to be the clear first choice and if asking for more $ you should be firm that your child intends to commit.
I will say however UVM did offer an additional merit based grant for sophomore year that came closer to meeting our need that was an unexpected surprise. I am not counting on it for future years but it was an OOS award in addition to his Presidential award (which was on the low end of that $ range at the time it was given).
@spacebunsweetie- if you have such a significant jump in your overall high school GPA, then yes, UVM will reconsider your merit scholarships. Merit scholarships are based on the combination of your GPA and test scores. Having a significant change in either section can impact your merit award overall. Call admissions to chat with them about it.
