<p>ROFL!!! Curmudgeon, you are too much. :D</p>
<p>We haven't got phone calls, but have letters from 3 large state universities promising T,R,+B for 4 years. And a letter from 1st choice school congratulating S on NMSF and mentioning merit aid.</p>
<p>It may be a new strategy to woo kids, but it sure sounds effectve. The school making such an offer becomes a true safety and a standard for comparison. I'm sure many kids will narrow their list of other schools to apply to, and very well end up going to the school who made such an offer.
I'm pleased for those who got such a call, but now I expect the anxious CC parents to be waiting for their child's own phone call.</p>
<p>My D rcdvd 3 scholarship offers so far - 1 this summer sitting in the adcom's office, 2 via phone this week. $7K, $11k, and $10K. First was guaranteed upon admission which they said was guaranteed after seeing her GPA & scores. Second was followed up by a letter stating the amount, third just happened this morning, so we don't know if they'll follow up on it or not. Sadly, the first wasn't a fit, and she wasn't really interested in the other 2. But it's nice to know she should be getting some sort of merit aid. And a great confidence builder for her.</p>
<p>Goodness, we've not had phone calls, but plenty of letters based on NMSF status with offers of $2K to $6K for just applying, with more possible. And she got a letter yesterday from University of Oklahoma that stated they guaranteed (in bold letters) a full $74,500 scholarship package (I assume this is combination grants/loans/ etc since they did call it a package) to any NMF who lists OU as their first choice for the NMF by April 19, 2006.</p>
<p>Congrats Backhand! Yes there are many hidden gems out there. My son spent many hours of research to find those he applied to. And yes he endend up receiving a grand total of $376k+/- in merit scholarship offers and $25k/year to one college(Rensselaer).</p>
<p>It does take a lot of work but the results are usually worth it.</p>