<p>Hello,
I got accepted to AU and I received a $10,000 merit scholarship. I would very much like to attend AU, but as I’m sure you all know it is very expensive. I qualified for no financial grants, all they offered me was a $7,500 loan. Do you think if I contact AU, that I stand any chance of them maybe upping my merit scholarship ( I know that they also give ones out for around $18,000 and $22,000). For merit money do I contact the financial aid office or the admissions office? Also would it be better if I call them personally or have my mother talk to them? </p>
<p>Additionally, do you think if I contact the financial aid office that I would stand any chance of getting an AU grant (however small it may be)? </p>
<p>I want to show them that I’m serious about attending, but I need them to give a bit more otherwise I cannot afford to attend the school. My reasoning is that they will obviously offer scholarships to people who won’t attend and do have additional funds. I have also heard some stories of people who got more money from a private school when they called. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Also I don’t know if my stats matter at this point since they already determined what they believe I should receive from my stats, but I don’t really know how they decide to give you more or not.</p>
<p>SAT: M+R 1290
R+M+W 1930</p>
<p>UW GPA 3.8
W GPA 4.5
I have taken 6 AP Courses and 2 dual enrollment courses</p>
<p>I can’t answer whether AU will increase your merit aid, as my daughter had received the Presidential Scholarship last year and that was the highest they were offering. However, we did try to have GW increase her merit scholarship at that school and was successful (she chose AU in the end). She wrote a letter saying how much she wanted to attend and outlining what strengths she would be bringing to GW. It worked - however, she did not receive the answer until April 28 at 4 PM. I am giving the date since all schools require deposits by May 1 and they did wait until the very end. Not sure if you will be successful negotiating with AU but it is worth a try.</p>
<p>If they even consider doing it (rare), they pretty much have to wait til the very end, as they need to know if they have anything left in the kitty (or have overspent already).</p>
<p>redscarlett11, would you mind posting AU’s response when you receive it? I didn’t consider emailing, I was thinking about trying the most direct approach and just calling AU, but maybe I should also email them.</p>
<p>There were a couple of people that got a pretty good amount of aid (including me) and a lot that got barely any. I don’t really understand how the FA process works. </p>
<p>Plus I hear that AU decreases the amount of FA you get every year… :/</p>
<p>I didn’t know that AU does that! That’s terrible. </p>
<p>It just sucks because if your parent makes a certain salary you basically get nothing along the lines of financial aid, but considering the astronomical prices of tuition, housing, etc. that still doesn’t mean that my parents can afford it anymore then someone with a lower income could.</p>
<p>They don’t. It’s not true. What they will do, only if you are receiving a subsidized Stafford Loan, is increase it to the maximum ($5,500) in your last two years. But since cost of attendance will have gone up as well, if your parents’ income/assets don’t change, neither will their costs. </p>
<p>AU is explicitly reducing the amount they give in merit aid, and increasing the amounts they give in need-based aid.</p>
<p>Just to disprove the idea that AU decreases aid every year - my senior year I had more in financial aid (as a percentage of overall cost, not just total dollar amount) than I did my freshman year. Yes, tuition increases every year (at just about every private school), so it may seem like it’s going down as a total percentage of overall cost each year (as mini said, that can be compensated with an increase in Stafford loans). Also, there are times when students lose scholarships due to grades. There are also certain grants that only last for 2 years, but it explicitly tells you that when you accept them. My senior year I ended up receiving an additional, and rather significant, scholarship (not a loan) from AU for having a high GPA - it certainly made my last year quite a bit easier, and flew directly in the face of the pervasive myth that aid always decreases each year. Obviously that’s not a guarantee, and I can’t speak for anyone but myself (and a single data point does not a statistic make), but it does happen. I also did graduate with a bit of debt from federal loans, but was able to find employment in my field (which is not IR or polisci) within 2 months of graduating and am doing fine. Of course, that doesn’t relate directly to the original question of AU increasing merit aid. I certainly hope the OP is able to receive a package that makes attendance at AU possible for them, as it’s a wonderful school.</p>
<p>Hi iamsirjoshua, if you don’t mind me asking what was your GPA? Also does AU tend to give the kind of scholarship money you got to all undergrads with a GPA as high as yours or were you a special case?</p>
<p>DeskPotato, thanks that makes me feel slightly better. </p>
<p>NewJerseyMom, that’s what I meant by too close to the deadline, I wouldn’t want to get stuck in a triple. I saw those dorms on a tour and they are small enough with two people in them, I don’t want to even imagine three in one room</p>