<p>I just received my FAFSA from UMN and there was no notice of getting any merit scholarships. I'm getting worried that I may not receive any at this point. Is there still time? I figured it would've came along with the FAFSA envelope if i received a scholarship. </p>
<p>Did you have to send in your taxes to the U of M after you sent the FAFSA so that the U of M could verify the information you provided on the FAFSA?</p>
<p>@TonyStark1 I believe I did. Does this have anything to do with their scholarship offers though?</p>
<p>I was just wondering if you had done so, because I didn’t know that I have to send in my tax information so that the information I provided on the FAFSA could be verified. I received a scholarship from the U of M a few days ago, and I haven’t recieved my Financial Aid Package yet. Most people recieve scholarships before their financial aid packages. If you
want to check to see if you recieved any scholarships, you can call the U of M. </p>
<p>Hmmm. I’m guessing that there is no scholarship. I look at the financial aid offer (through MyU) and the package covers the complete cost of attendance with no scholarship noted. @TonyStark1 does your Financial Aid Award through MyU include your scholarship?
Crazy, people with way lower stats than my DS were offered scholarships. I guess we were in some group that had plenty of representation!</p>
<p>@Maryjay60 thanks for your reply. Same thing happened with my FAFSA. the entire cost of attendance was covered through loans. I was expecting some academic scholarship too. </p>
<p>I haven’t received my financial aid offer yet, I’m still waiting. All I’ve recieved so far has been the scholarship I received a few days ago. Am I suppose to be able to view my scholarship on MyU or on the online U of M financial aid status checker, because I don’t see it listed there. </p>
<p>I am not sure you would see the scholarship on the MyU. My DS just has not received any notice of scholarship offers and when I look at the financial aid package, it covers (between loans, PLUS loans, work-study) the entire amount of cost of attendance. Other universities took the COA and subtracted the scholarship offers, THEN figured financial aid. Since I don’t see scholarships and the FinAid package is for the entire COA, I am ASSUMING there is no scholarship on the way! But maybe there is hope, since @TonyStark1 knows he has a scholarship and does not see it on the financial aid status checker? Did you click on “Your Financial Aid Awards” off on the side of the status? </p>
<p>Yeah, I checked “Your Financial Aid Awards” and it wasn’t there. </p>
<p>The bulk of my financial aid is an $18, 000 parent loan and my parents can’t afford that, I really want to go here, but the money just isn’t there! Aside from the parent loan they offered me $12,000 in grants and 1 small subsidized loan. I’m currently deciding between here and Augustana, they have me a very good financial aid package. However, after asking a lot of people they told me to choose the better school. I’m pretty sure that if I chose Augustana I’ll probably leave college without debt, but they suggested I go with the better brand name. Any suggestions? This is a really tough decision for me.</p>
<p>@LT2014. How do you feel about Augustana? Are you comfortable? Do they have your major? Did it have a good feel when you visited? (If you haven’t visited - visit! Both of them!)
If you liked Augustana close to as much as you like UMinn and you really can graduate without debt, I’d lean towards that option. For any <em>typical</em> undergraduate degree, how well you distinguish yourself from your classmates is important. Debt the size of a house offers you way fewer options for grad school. Also, you may find yourself accepting (or staying in) jobs that aren’t a great fit because the salary is better. Much more misery than four years at a “lesser” school.
Only you know what is comfortable for you and your family. Listen to your gut and not to “people who tell me…”</p>
<p>Thank you @Maryjay60 ! Do you think I could negotiate with Minnesota on my financial aid offer? Perhaps show them my offer from Augustana to persuade them? </p>
<p>@LT2014. I have no idea if Minnesota would be receptive to bargaining on financial aid, but it does work at some colleges. It couldn’t hurt? It might work best if you actually speak to someone (as opposed to email) and have some information to present. Did you have a great first semester of senior year? Did you get an award in an extracurricular of which admissions was not aware? Can you offer a letter of recommendation from a teacher? Can you at least write down a whole bunch of your strongest assets and present them in a non-confrontational way to a stranger?
If you do get to speak to someone who offers even the tiniest glimmer of hope, get his or her name and title. Follow up IMMEDIATELY with a well-written letter of thanks (not an email) and outlining the points you made on the phone. Good luck!</p>
<p>@TonyStark1 did you get your scholarship in the mail or did the school call you/ you call them?</p>
<p>In the mail</p>
<p>Couple things…FAFSA does not “come from” a university, it is simply an application for Federal Financial Aid (Stafford loans). It simply gives you an estimated EFC for FA purposes, but each school will recomputed your financial aid eligibility based on their own formulas. In most cases, your FAFSA EFC has no bearing whatsoever on your eligibility for merit scholarships, but it MAY be an indication of the likelihood of your receiving need-based FA.</p>
<p>When you submitted your FAFSA, you should have used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) option to pull financial info directly from your submitted tax return. This greatly decreases the chances of you getting selected for verification. If you are selected for verification, the school will advise you of what additional materials they want you to submit.</p>
<p>According to the Financial Aid Status page on My:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Note that this says “estimated”. You will receive an e-mail in your student account when your e-FAAN is available to accept your official offer. Returning students receive that in July, but I believe it’s earlier for incoming freshman.</p>
<p>You can ask if Augustana’s offer will influence UMinn’s offer, but schools will usually only consider this if they other school is considered a peer. Augustana is a great school, but it wouldn’t be considered a peer for a Big 10 school. Couldn’t hurt to ask though.</p>
<p>Re: Scholarships. My son received an Engineering scholarship letter in the mail about 10-14 days ago (not a huge amount). However, nothing in the mail yet. I’m sure our “financial aid packet” will be chock full of loans and work study, and I am not about to take out Parent Plus loans!! But it really doesn’t matter… son committed to The University of Alabama this week!! WONDERFUL MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS!</p>
<p>amy9998, I have a son at UMN and one at Alabama. Both are wonderful schools (and both did give my kids good merit scholarships). S3 will be at Alabama next year in Engineering (he didn’t want the cold weather.) Those who choose to go to Minnesota will have a great education.</p>
<p>I’ll be in touch with you, kjcphmom! (And might already have been… on the UA Class of 2018 FB page?)</p>
<p>Has anyone else received any mail or phone calls about scholarship notification yet?</p>