<p>I found out I am a dean's scholar, but I know that I deserve much more. My stats are by no means Harvard worthy, but for a school like UMD I deserve the President's scholarship at the least. There are some family circumstances that I don't think the admissions comittee realized, and these special circumstances make a huge difference. I want to know if I can appeal to try to get the presidents scholarship? If so, how would I go about doing so.</p>
<p>Nope, nor can you negotiate. All scholarship decisions are final. I called.</p>
<p>I appealed after my freshman year for this year and I was awarded a small, other scholarship…it might be different for the Deans/Presidential ones though, and it might be different for incoming freshman. I’m also out-of-state. In my situation my dad lost his job and they originally still kept my aid the exact same as they gave (which was only loans) when he had his job, which was ridiculous…</p>
<p>Haha ok so you clearly think you’re soo much better than UMD (between this and your “is UMD a good school” thread) so why do you even care? You obviously don’t want to go anyway…</p>
<p>oceanicole,</p>
<p>UMD was always a saftey school for me, and yes you are right, I don’t want to go there. However, I need a good financial aid package somewhere don’t I? My biggest fear is not being able to afford college, and I would like to try to go loan free for my undergrad. This is the only reason I want a good deal at UMD; in case the other schools don’t give me a good deal, I will go to UMD in a worst case scenario.</p>
<p>You honestly seem to be against UMD - it is apparent in your somewhat condescending, higher-than-thou tone. Now maybe you don’t mean to come off that way but to me it just seems quite unfair of you to aim to take an additional scholarship away from someone who honestly wants to go to UMD and truly needs the money.</p>
<p>@mrphysics101, I’m sorry if that seemed harsh; it was not my intention. I understand needing a good financial aid package, but looking at your stats it doesn’t seem like UMD is as much of a safety as you believe it to be. Your 32 is in the 75th percentile, and while that is definitely solid, it doesn’t make it an absolute safety. Plus, a true safety (so I’ve been told a million times on this website) is one that you’ll adore and can definitely get into and afford without financial aid. I know that’s rare, but I just don’t think it’s fair to call UMD a safety.</p>
<p>I agree with BriaNicole718.</p>
<p>BriaNicole718,</p>
<p>you shouldn’t make statments like “someone who really needs the money” without knowing someone’s family financial situtation. For me, wanting a higher scholarship has nothing to do with prestige, it has to do with being able to afford some college.</p>
<p>Mrphysics, if you are truly just looking for a way to attend college without going into financial debt, you should explore the military. FYI, there are also military options for med school as well.</p>
<p>As for “family circumstances that I don’t think the admissions comittee realized, and these special circumstances make a huge difference,” you have to understand that in this economy, your family is not the only one to face huge challenges. There are many students who have parents that lost their jobs, or that have lost a parent, or are in the process of fighting life-threatening illness, or are suddenly homeless. The list goes on, so you are not alone in facing unexpected circumstances that are daunting. I wish you well with whatever hardship you are referring to. </p>
<p>You need to understand that as much as the school may want to help everyone, they just can’t.</p>
<p>Just a note, keep in mind that scholarships and “financial aid” are two very different things at UMD. Very rarely do they make ANY changes to scholarship amounts, and I agree completely with what Mary says above. </p>
<p>When the financial aid awards come out, hopefully you will find additional money there, assuming your EFC is low (which is the driving factor–completely)…and being from MD may help with some additional aid that is just for IS students.</p>
<p>OP, when you use phrases like “I know I deserve much more” you do tend to paint a certain picture of yourself…as BriaNicole notes above.</p>
<p>Mrphysics, I’m not stating that you don’t really need the money, as I don’t know your financial situation. What I had been stating previously was that you received a handsome scholarship that some of us can’t even dream to get and the way you came off was that you were above it. My main point was that - attitude or rather presentation of it. There are some people who are in love with UMD and have received nothing, with possibly the same situation as you. Yet still, you don’t even sound appreciative of this fact.</p>
<p>I agree with you, BriaNicole, as I am one of those people. UMD is practically my dream school, with the location and two programs that combine to make an opportunity that I cannot really find anywhere else in the country (one of which is a language Flagship which is only offered at five schools nationwide). </p>
<p>I received a scholarship for $8,000 total over four years (2k a year), and my family is in dire need of financial assistance for me to go to college. For UMD’s cost per year, 2k a year is like pennies. It kills me that I probably will not be able to attend UMD next year (from OOS) even though it seems to be the perfect school. </p>
<p>And no offense to ANYONE, but it also kind of kills me to see people who get pretty nice scholarships and call a school a safety say they want to appeal for more money, just so they can graduate without loans. I’ll be lucky if I can pay for a pretty good state school closer to my home (even with loans), and that’s not even my #1 choice in the end.</p>
<p>just to let you know, I don’t mind taking loans for graduate school, but in my mind, it is not worth taking loans at the undergraduate level no matter what the school is</p>
<p>Yes, but you also explicitly said above that “I don’t want to go there [to UMD]” (Post #5). So I guess what I am trying to understand (along with the others here) is why you would petition for more scholarship money from a school that you don’t want to attend, especially when that takes the money away from someone who truly loves UMD but cannot afford it without said money (for instance, kids in my situation).</p>
<p>(Again, not trying to offend anyone or start an argument, but I’m confused here.)</p>
<p>32 on the ACT and “but for a school like UMD I deserve the President’s scholarship at the least.”</p>
<p>lol. I don’t know your other stats, but get real. UMD is a state school. Tons of the brightest in-state students of higher caliber apply. Every Banneker Key student I know has near perfect grades, ~2350, multitude of awards. A friend of mine with a perfect SAT score “only” received a presidential scholarship. </p>
<p>It’s laughable that you thought you were entitled to to Banneker Key.</p>
<p>@ismarie620,</p>
<p>i know its been long since I’ve looked at this thread, but anyway, the reason I want more money from UMD is because the following are the other schools I applied to:</p>
<p>Hopkins
Duke
Cornell
U Penn
Northwestern
Georgia Tech (accepted)
Purdue (accepted)</p>
<p>so two of my schools are out of state, and the rest are private, so they are really expensive and they are all really competitive. I might get in to some of those schools, but considering how random college admissions are, who knows what will happen. I just think that I should get a good deal from UMD because in case I can’t afford any other school, or if I don’t get accepted anywhere else, I can go to UMD in a worse case scenario.</p>
<p>@GoodNightNell,</p>
<p>a 32 is not a bad score, it is equivalent to a 2160 on the SAT. the reason I thought I deserved the BK scholarship is because I know kids from my school last year who got scores lower than 2100 and got the scholarship. their other stats were similar to mine.</p>
<p>I call BS on any “kids from your school” that got SAT scores lower than 2100 and and can spell BK much less got one.</p>
<p>mrphysics101,</p>
<p>The median CR+M SAT for the Banneker/Key is 1500. Which would be 2250 on all three subtests (I don’t think Maryland is interested in the W score). A 32 on the ACT is about equal to a 1420 or so on the CR+M. So, although a 32 is a good score, it’s on the low side for a Banneker/Key scholarship.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything else about your grades or extracurriculars, but just based on your ACT, it’s not surprising that you weren’t offered one.</p>
<p>That said, if you believe that the school doesn’t completely understand your family’s financial circumstances, and this is resulting in a lower award of financial aid, you should talk to the financial aid folks and tell them why things are worse than perhaps they appear on paper. As we’ve moved through this process, we’ve been advised by nearly every school in which my son showed interest - talk to us, the financial aid people, and tell us your particular circumstances. We’ll at least listen.</p>
<p>The worst they can do is say “no.”</p>
<p>“a 32 is not a bad score, it is equivalent to a 2160 on the SAT.”</p>
<p>By the way, a 32 is equivalent to an SAT range of about 2110 - 2160, or a median score of about 2135.</p>
<p>As for someone scoring under a 2100 and getting a Banneker/Key, that is a bit of a stretch. The median CR+M SAT just for the Honors College is something like 1410 or 1420. I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, but it would be rare, indeed.</p>