Our daughter is a high school senior currently preparing her applications and we are working on the final list of schools to apply to.
We’d like to get tuition/fees+room/board into the $35K range. We could potentially stretch to $40K.
Through junior year at a very well respected public school that doesn’t rank she’s got a 92.01/100 weighted or appox 3.7 weighted GPA with a 30 ACT (31 superscore). Junior year GPA and standardized tests went way up, even with a more challenging schedule. She’s got 1 varsity sport (kickline) for 3 years and has a lot of community service work in and out of the school.
With UMASS Amherst starting at $48K, is there any reasonable chance it would get within budget?
Figured I should wrap up this thread by answering the question with a Yes.
She did wind up applying and got offered $12K/yr, which does get it into budget. Looking forward to accepted students day visit!
I’m glad it worked out. I was going to say “yes”. So it’s good that the result was a yes!
I should also note that her ACT wound up being a 33 superscore. I think that made a difference as well.
Is it “a sure thing in the spring”? (her top choice?) Is JMU still a player?
@ChillDad is what a sure thing in the spring? JMU is still in the mix. She’ll need to get accepted and a little merit though to keep them in the mix.
@lexluthor5 - congrats on your daughter’s acceptance at UMASS and the merit money! We are instate and still waiting to hear a decision. Given your exuberant comment about attending accepted student day, my “sure thing in the spring” comment was an allusion to questioning if UMASS was her top choice, all things considered. If I can field any questions about JMU, doesn’t hesitate to ask - my daughter is a recent grad.
@chilldad good luck hearing from UMASS is up there for sure and I could definitely see her here. Miami (OH) is going to have a significantly lower COA so that’s going to be a factor here. Assuming she gets in everyone, she’ll have UMASS, UCONN, Delaware, Vermont around the same COA, JMU a bit higher and Miami U much lower. Not a bad choice to make.
Does UMASS accept merit reviews at all?
@lexluthor5 Yes, good choices all around - we are also waiting on UCONN. I am not sure about merit reviews from UMASS. I’m inclined to think that it’s a hard offer - take it or leave it; however, I would defer to any poster who might be able to chime in on chasing additional money from UMASS.
I always feel that it’s worth it to ask about improving a financial aid package, especially if you have another aid offer that’s a bit better, and from a comparable school; or if your daughter is wanted by the school for something specific, such as to play a sport or be in the band or etc. So she might call financial aid at UMass and discuss, or you two could meet with the director of financial aid there in person and see what might be done. Bring copies of your other aid offers.
@RoaringMice never hurts to ask nicely, especially if you put together a good argument. In this case, we will wind up with Miami (OH) at a much lower COA and perhaps another similar school in the northeast at a slightly lower COA. We’ll be up there for accepted students day, but that’s probably not the time to talk with someone. That’s probably a bit early in the process anyhow as we are visiting Miami after UMass. Will have to figure out the timing of when to discuss this with whatever school(s) she wants to attend.