<p>Midwestdad, I’m sorry to hear that your son didn’t win. What grants are you referring to? Are theyneed based or merit? ( what I mean is, are they being used to make up the difference after your Efc? Or do you not qualify for financial aid? )</p>
<p>I think either way, if they offer you a financial aid package with grants( need based) that package should remain essentially the same unless you have a significant change in your financial situation.</p>
<p>Malaml</p>
<p>They offered Coral Grant and Miami Grant. The way education grants are getting gutted, I am afraid these will not be there next year. What do you think?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Coral grant is need based, so I imagine that could vary based on the new FAFSA submitted each year. Miami grant is merit based and as long as the stipulation: <i>Renewable annually based on university standards of academic progress.</i> is met, I don’t know why it would not be renewed. If anything, the financial health of the endowment fund at UM is stable, not declining. I for one am certainly counting on my freshman D continuing to receive the Miami grant she was awarded last year. </p>
<p>We were also in a situation of really really looking forward to getting the Singer (1520 sat, 33 act, top 2.5% of class), but with the reality that 3 of every 4 students attending those weekends do NOT get the prize, we made other financial adjustments to allow her to attend her dream school - then when the Miami grant came in, we did the dance of joy. (Unlike this year, last year finaid was released AFTER we got the singer news).</p>
<p>I think that if he is offered the grants this year, remains in good standing academically,and your financial situation remains essentially the same then you can count on those grants every year. I would call the FA office. I remember calling last year when my daughter was offered a grant at the last minute. I essentially asked what you were asking(I really wanted it in writing), I had the feeling that I was insulting them by even asking if she was guaranteed the grant over the four years. I never did ask for it in writing. I am confident that hers will be renewed yearly. Think about how much ill will would be generated if people were duped with bait and switch? ( and the amt of posts on CC!). I trust UM also. That’s saying something for me!</p>
<p>Point well taken, both of you. I will follow your advice. By the way, Zinc, your stats are very close to my S.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I remember last year at this time too and not fondly! My daughters dream school offered her a small grant so we would have been essentially full pay which was not something we were willing to do. I was pretty discouraged with the whole process. I was also sick of anything that had anything to do with FA! ( probably cause we weren’t getting any! :)) so when the email came telling us that there was a change in our FA, I didn’t bother to look at it right away. It wasn’t a lot in terms of $, it meant a lot to my daughter. She was still bruised abt the Singer and Foote Fellow and it took the sting out a bit.</p>
<p>Malaml</p>
<p>Yes, we are still bruised and very very unhappy. We somehow feel a single number in ACT has made the difference in everything rather than class rank, interest, passion etc. We are going to just sit on it for 3 days and think calmly. I am also concerned about the term “tuition-restricted” over the long-haul. We are trying several other aids and, as you know, we want some aid which is not tuition-restricted. They are making an assumption that it is all easy to handle non-tuition costs. It may be today but things will get messy if the tuition goes up by 4% every year.</p>
<p>Hope they give something small just to ease that pain. And, it does not have to be tuition-restricted…Foote Fellows is not-tuition restricted but obviously I have to accept the fact that my S does not qualify if he was not invited. Maybe, they needed 36 ACT.</p>
<p>I’m thinking that FinAid will be tinkering with the numbers (probably mostly with the grants - like the Miami Grant) right up to the national freshman decision day of May 1st. BTW - Foote Fellows is an academic designation that has no monetary value - but you probably knew that…</p>
<p>Zinc:</p>
<p>If tuition goes up every year by 4% (they all are saying that is the norm), would they tinker with grants to help the student every year? (Fin Aid is saying they cannot say that). Of course, I did not expect them to make a firm commitment like that. They have to allow for a student not doing well, funds shortfall etc. Any history regarding what UMiami does?</p>
<p>I hope I can at least know what I will have to pay every year for 4 years. I am having problem trying to decide if the tuition will go up. In CA, they went up to 20%. I need to do some big planning here.</p>
<p>On another subject, I am surprised the quality of UMiami dorms are nowhere close to other universities. I was surprised…</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>As a freshman parent, I don’t have that multi-year perspective on what might happen to the grants from year to year. I’m hoping some parents of upperclassmen will chime in for some help here. </p>
<p>Here are the numbers between 2011 and 2012 to give you some perspective on the cost of attendance:
Tuition: increased from 38440 to 39980 = 4%
Fees: increased from 1214 to 1240 = 2%
Room & Board: increased from 11528 to 11882 = 3%</p>
<p>Regarding the dorms - I have no basis for comparison since we only toured one other campus last year (UNC-Wilmington) and never saw their dorms. The UM freshman dorms do seem a bit “utilitarian” - concrete block cubes - but the university needed something to act as the hurricane (storm) shelters, and they probably do a good job of that at the cost of some design elements. My D and her friends don’t seem to mind what the dorms look like.</p>
<p>Zinc:</p>
<p>Thanks. Let us see if someone chimes in, as you said.</p>
<p>midwestdad - just my 2 cents on the dorm concern. I have a freshman S, and before he chose Miami we toured many schools. Of the freshman dorms that we saw, Miami was certainly average. If you’ve ever seen the freshman dorms at Vanderbilt, well, those are amazing. However, those are just the freshman. Have you seen University Village at Miami (if not, you can look them up online)? While Vandy’s upper class housing is just average at best, UV is as nice as any university housing that I’ve seen. The other thing to keep in mind as a fellow Midwesterner, the difference in weather makes a difference too. If you’re in a dorm room in Iowa in January, you’re going to spend more time in your room that in Miami at the same time.<br>
Now, I would look for rankir or other upperclassmen to agree or disagree with me, but that’s my opinion.</p>
<p>VHF:</p>
<p>Thanks. I know that ultimately dorm would not be the deciding factor since they are all manageable as a freshman. I will see what upper classmen say about the Grants and tuition increases. Do they keep up? That is the main question.</p>
<p>We will be now be looking at Univ of SC, Columbia as well. Well, it would be foolhardy not to look. They don’t have any grants but they have what you call in-state tuition as the scholarship reward. It would be a tough pill to swallow for anyone thinking Miami but USC is a great school.</p>
<p>Good point about winter in midwest and Miami :)</p>
<p>Dug up some old files…
2009-2010 Cost of Attendance:
Tuition 35,540
Fees 648
Housing/Meals 10,800</p>
<p>2010-2011
Tuition 36,962
Can’t find fees
DS is an RA, so no housing costs or meals in my paperwork, sorry</p>
<p>I can only tell you that when the “current awards” are posted, there is somehow a random grant or award that changes each year, always in our favor.
I think that they really try to maintain happy families and do the best with the awards that they can. My DS is not a Singer/Foote…just a regular student. He did get a University and Gables scholarship.
Last year he did apply for a scholarship within his school and did win one which was really helpful. He did come in to UM with some private scholarship money and that also has helped tremendously.
Also, there are great opportunities for work on campus for extra spending money. There are many many kids on scholarship who need to work and then those that just want extra spending cash. Either way, lots of kids work to supplement their spending and enjoy their campus jobs.
Best of luck in your decision making.</p>
<p>I am in the same boat as some of you in that S did not get the Singer either. So far he has 33 in funds but the difference is still more than the 3 state schools. We are at leasting hoping that he can get more grants or scholarship offers to UM to make it at least equal. He has already been accepted to the Honor’s Program at UM so I’m hping that is in our favor. Are there any suggestions on how we should proceed? Whom we should call? thanks</p>
<p>Hello:</p>
<p>UMiami is telling us that if we get an outside scholarship, that may reduce our Coral Grant. Now, that is something I did not know. Does that mean, my S cannot try to get other scholarships to help room and board?</p>
<p>Anyone know how that works?</p>
<p>Well, I can answer my own question. Yes, it does reduce Coral Grant if my S gets outside aid. That is a killer. I find that he has a sizable scholarship from outside that would be of no benefit and will not go into helping his costs at UM. UM for Masters!!! Univ of S Carolina, here we come!</p>
<p>MidwestDad. I’m sorry to hear about the outcome of your decision. Have you spoken to the college and told them what your $ concerns were? I’m thinking your son is a minority( I have it in my head from one of your old posts I think) and if also from the Midwest. Those two factors ( and of course his academic achievements) would make him a very desirable student in my opinion. I know it’s down to the wire, but at this point they have a better idea of who’s going to attend and how much $ is back in the pool. I would tell them what you need to make it work, and if they can’t accommodate those needs than you will make other plans. Maybe contacting Christie Busto. I’m not sure exactly what all her job entails but she helped my daughter with some academic things over the summer even though she wasn’t a singer scholar or foot fellow.</p>