Hi
I recently got accepted to UCONN, and I was wondering how they are with financial aid/ merit aid.
Here are some of my stats.
-Out of state
-3.7 Weighed GPA
-1170 SAT
-Lots of volunteer hours, and leadership positions
-Family income ranges from $30,000 to $35,000 (single mother with no financial support from my father)
Thanks!
Merit scholarships were included in acceptance letters. UConn is notorious for not giving out that much money. I believe the only OOS applicants who are offered merit scholarships are also invited to the Honors Program
@alexa379 Just out of curiousity (my dad is a single parent also with similar income) did UConn “meet” 100% of your aid? They offered me a total of 54,400 but 25,000 of it was in a direct parent loan…my dad makes 30k a year and there is no way he can afford a 25k loan. I am wondering if this is a mistake. Should I contact them?
@ciara2021 They offered me $25,000 in grants, and didn’t include any loan options (not even the federal ones I know I will be receiving) So a part of me thinks they made a mistake with my FA, seeing that the things I know I am receiving were’t listed, but then again, UConn is known for not giving good financial aid.
I think I’m going to contact them…I feel like they may have made a mistake. The worst thing that can happen is that they say no.
I just called a financial aid representative and he told me that there was no mistake made but since I’m from Massachusetts and my coa is a lot higher, that is why they needed to make up the difference in parent loans. UConn is out!
@ciara2021 Wow that’s crazy. I was warned before about their bad financial aid, but I never thought it would be this bad. UConn is out for me as well!!
@ciara2021 Now looking back at my award letter I realize that I totally read it wrong…I’m an idiot! I got pretty much the same as you, with $26,000 in parent loans.
@alexa379 Yeah, it’s the worst offer I’ve gotten and I applied to some private schools as well. UConn has a stereotype of being a predominantly white and middle-class/wealthy college too so you would think they would try to get away from that? I guess not.
It bothers me because they technically offered me 100% of my need and they can use that in their stats and for ranking criteria and stuff but they didn’t actually…like offering a 25k loan to a parent that makes 30k a year is not “meeting 100% of my need”
What was you un-weighted GPA just for reference and also were it core class you did well in? Also for OOS students they tend not to give scholarships endless you have a 3.8 + AND A 1400+ I think from what I heard idk tho …
@Kingly71 I think my unweighed GPA was like a 3.3 or 3.4: I’m not too sure. And yeah all of my core classes were the classes where I got the best grades.
UConn doesn’t meet need. Our if the 3,700 college’s in the US, only about 80 do. 
100% need covering full COA CANNOT include parent plus loans, only grants, scholarships, work-study, and the basic federal loans which is 5.5k for freshmen.
Net cost is (tuition, fees, room, board) - (grants, scholarships). Net cost mustn’t include loans.
That 'financial aid ’ offer is insulting and dangerous. Good for you not to take the bait, and see it for what it is!
A 25k/year loan for someone making less than 60k is insane. 100k in debt for an undergraduate degree is insane no matter how much money you make.
Where else have you applied and been admitted?
@MYOS1634 Other than UConn, I’ve gotten into
Quinnipiac -which also has me paying the same amount as UConn, so I won’t be going there!
Suffolk University
Stonehill College
UMass Dartmouth
Lasell College
I literally just got denied from Northeastern
And I’m waiting to hear from
Boston University
UMass Amherst
Bentley University
Bentley is my top school and their net price calculator says I’d only be paying about $12k a year, which is pretty good seeing that it is about $63k
I’ve gotten into
Miami (OH) (Farmer)
URI
UMass Amherst (Isenberg)
Hofstra
SUNY Geneseo
SUNY Albany
Stony Brook
UVM
Penn State (Smeal)
And UConn
It’s looking like UMass Amherst because it’s instate and I would only be paying about $6,500 per year in loans (plus Isenberg is a rising business school)
I forgot Smith too (their offer wasn’t good but nowhere as bad as UConn) But yeah @MYOS1634 my dad wouldn’t take the loan even if I asked him.
@Kingly71 My gpa was a 3.85 in a top ranked MA public hs, 1370 SAT, 6 APs.
How were you able to find out about Smith? Decisions don’t come out until next week.
Smith meets need and for a 30K income you should get a full ride or near. There must be a mistake.
Bentley and UMass would be your best bets beside Smith, financially speaking.