D20 just texted me a pic of her certificate - the GC pulled her out of class this morning to give it to her. She will likely not be going to one of the full-pay scholarship options as she didn’t want to go so far away, but one of her current top choices gives some money - they were vague on their website and in their messaging to her, so she’ll be reaching out to them with proof of NMF status to inquire. Hopefully it will stack on top of the scholarship they’ve already offered her.
My daughter’s letter just arrived in the mail today. We are in the Chicago suburbs. I’ll let her open it when she gets home.
My D is likely heading to ASU/Barrett for the full tuition (not full ride) offer. Checks a lot of boxes for her in addition to (comparatively) incredibly affordable.
My son’s letter is coming today (also in the Chicago suburbs), but he was told at school by the principal the other day. He wasn’t given a certificate, but I’m guessing either at the awards ceremony or when the school board recognizes them in a couple weeks.
He was deferred from Northeastern which gives a good chunk to NMFs, but that’s the only sizeable one. Another gives a little, but that’s it out of the handful he has yet to hear from.
Has anyone tried to use the full ride/ close to full ride offers for NMF in order to ask another college for more grants/scholarships?
My daughter is likely a finalist. She applied to University of Idaho and UTD- however, really the best fit is Oregon State (one of our in state options). This is due to a variety of reasons, including a rare medical condition and physical disability.
She’s applied for a number of scholarships, and OSU does offer 2000 a year for NMF. We’re hoping she will get a good offer once everything is mailed out in the spring. I was just wondering if any of you have experience asking for more scholarships with schools and how to do it? That was part of why she went ahead and applied to a couple of the full ride schools- so that we could possibly use that as a bargaining chip with her in state school.
As an aside- we visited University of Idaho last spring and it’s a great option (just not for her- the town is too small to have the types of medical services she needs).
@twinmommy my kid is looking for an inexpensive undergraduate degree as a result of the NMF status. For her chosen field she will need a doctorate to get where she wants to be and recognizes that coming out of the undergraduate level debt free is extremely important. That being said, the school has to be a good fit and offer a good education also, so she didn’t apply to all the free schools. But yes, the NMF is a big deal financially and I am extremely grateful that she understands starting adult life deeply in debt is generally not a good plan.
No letter today. Did anyone got it in PA? School principal doesn’t want to tell them yet. I called NM Corp and they said rejection letters were sent ’ a little’ earlier.
Many NMF level kids are strong candidates for “full-need” schools that can be very inexpensive or completely free for middle class families.
Conversely, schools that offer automatic full rides to NMF are not an academic match for many of those kids.
Yes, yes, I know college is what you make of it, but still, full ride at Alabama is not automatically the best choice in every circumstance.
Respectfully, schools that purport to meet “full need” are not inexpensive and definitely not completely free for middle class families. Maybe for lower income families, but not middle class. At least that is not what I have been seeing. Thus, the term “donut hole” families has become popular.
That’s maddening. Why would a principal hold this information back?
@maril555 We are in PA and have not heard anything yet. My D may reach out to her GC tomorrow if we still haven’t heard. Her GC told her the day they received the semifinalist letter so I am hopeful they’d tell us quickly once they do!
Much here depends on how one defines middle class, and I am intimately familiar with the plight of the “doughnut hole” family as we ourselves are looking at MIT/Caltech financial award letters that are not dramatically different from full pay (esp. in the case of Caltech).
But US Census Bureau defines middle class as incomes between 45K and 140K.
https://www.thebalance.com/definition-of-middle-class-income-4126870
For those families Stanford, for example, is tuition free with incomes below 150K and completely free with incomes below 65K.
https://financialaid.stanford.edu/undergrad/how/parent.html
MIT is tuition free for families making less than 90K and cheaper than out of state publics up to approx. 200K.
https://sfs.mit.edu/undergraduate-students
(all numbers assume “typical assets” outside retirement accounts)
Tuition free does not mean completely free. Fees, room and board at these institutions runs at least 15k. And those are just the direct expenses – not including books, travel and personal expenses. And yes, for a middle class family, these are not an insignificant expenses, particularly for families living in a HCL area. Also, there are precious few institutions that award free tuition to families at the income levels you cite. Further, as even you point out, Stanford is “completely free” for lower income families, not middle income. (*I do not consider family income 65k and below to be truly middle income.)
eta: Wow, I just checked what Stanford charges for fees, room and board. More than $19K?!?
Yes, it is true that there aren’t very many such schools, but there aren’t very many NMFs either, relatively speaking (less than 0.5% of all high school graduates).
And without further arguing semantics, these schools can be quite a bargain for families making five or low six digits.
I am not saying they are the right choice for everyone, and, obviously, getting in is not a given even for NMFs, but those that do get in may find that their choice is not quite as stark as one between a free top 200 degree and a 300K top 20 degree.
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DD received the certificate from school yesterday. We are from Houston, Texas. She is waiting for the University of Florida’s decision, coming out 2/28.
No one is saying the choice is that stark. NMFs can get a free top 40 degree from UF.
I honestly don’t know what DD will decide to do and I am a bit worried about the March 31 deadline. I don’t know if we will hear back from all the schools at that point. She has been admitted to UCF and Univ of Idaho, which would both be free. But she also has some good offers from some other schools (and a few that I know didn’t give enough to make the cut). I feel like we will know for sure once we see Univ of Washington’s acceptance. Free is amazing though and I know it’s weighing on her. She would really like to go to Med school so she knows how much it means to get undergrad paid for. She’s just not in love with either place yet. (Idaho is a bit small town, and she feels like she’s been stuck in a small town and wants out. And Florida is really, really far from Washington). So we will see.
Should have said University of Washington’s hopeful acceptance!! Fingers crossed.
What is the March 31 deadline you are referring to?
The deadline for NM for first choice. I believe it’s March 31 for the first round.