<p>Got a different financial aid packet today, this one with a sheet to accept or reject, which you have to return.</p>
<p>It is a little different from the previous letter son got, in that it does not include the laptop, the study abroad money, but it also offers loan money. It does have a place to accept or reject each category.</p>
<p>The letter we got previously pointed us to a website where we could accept by April 15 or ask for an extension, which we’ll have to do since we’re up for a corporate National Merit award.</p>
<p>Did anyone else who is NMF get this package?</p>
<p>The two packages are different things, and all scholarship recipients get them if they filed FAFSA. The first letter you received is for accepting/rejecting the scholarship. The second details your financial aid based on UA’s cost of attendance. The loans included are for anyone who filed FAFSA regardless of EFC (I’m assuming that they’re unsubsidized). Since the laptop and study abroad money are not part of the calculation for COA, they are not included on a financial aid form, but your son will still get them assuming he accepts the NMF package. Yes, the two letters seem to have the same purpose, but not all scholarship recipients apply for financial aid and vice versa.</p>
<p>So, do I reply to both, then?</p>
<p>SEA_Tide is right…the one you got today is an FA award.</p>
<p>I would reply to both.</p>
<p>Montegut - what is the total UA is using for 2010-11 school year? </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>son got his the other day and it includes a new scholarship we didnt know about
Jerome &Dolly Newmark for 1K. I cant find any info on it re is it renewable, only for one year etc?</p>
<p>*Montegut - what is the total UA is using for 2010-11 school year? *</p>
<p>Please include the breakdown. I’m pretty sure the COA includes the cost of the super suites. It’s odd to me that they include that cost in COA; instead, I think it should show a range.</p>
<p>Parent56 - congrats for the surprise scholarship.</p>
<p>The Jerome and Dolly A. Newmark scholarship is available for students who are, or intend to be, full-time chemistry majors and demonstrate financial need, although not necessarily as defined by federal guidelines. More information can be obtained from the [Prof</a>. Kevin H. Shaughnessy](<a href=“http://www.bama.ua.edu/~chem/people/faculty/shaughnessy/shaughnessy.html]Prof”>http://www.bama.ua.edu/~chem/people/faculty/shaughnessy/shaughnessy.html). Chemistry majors may also compete for other scholarships offered at the college and university level.</p>
<p>Contact person:</p>
<p>KEVIN H. SHAUGHNESSY
Associate Professor and Chair</p>
<p>ORGANIC/ORGANOMETALLIC CHEMISTRY
Metal-catalyzed organic synthetic methodology, Environmentally benign reactions, High-throughput screening of reaction selectivity</p>
<p>BS, 1992, University of Nebraska; Ph.D., 1998, Stanford University; Postdoctoral Associate, 1997-1999, Yale University</p>
<p>office: 2072 Shelby Hall
Telephone: (205) 348-4435
FAX (205) 348-9104
<a href=“mailto:kshaughn@bama.ua.edu”>kshaughn@bama.ua.edu</a></p>
<p>[Shaughnessy</a> Research Group](<a href=“http://bama.ua.edu/~kshaughn]Shaughnessy”>http://bama.ua.edu/~kshaughn)</p>
<p>thanks m2ck! it definitely was a surprise</p>
<p>ok another dumb question, on mybama when i click on anything saying financial aid/awars etc, it says no information available? (he has not enrolled but other schools have it listed online even though not enrolled)</p>
<p>My son got offered $3000 a year in workstudy does anyone know how it works?</p>
<p>Workstudy just means that you son can get a job on campus and can earn $3000 from that job. IIRC, this money does not count against FAFSA and is good for the university because the Federal Government will pay part of his wages. In the beginning of the year, there is a mandatory workstudy career fair for him to attend and find a job. He can also try asking his department for a workstudy position. He does not have to earn the full $3000 and in some cases, he may be allowed to continue after he earns $3000 but not as a workstudy student. He would most likely be paid minimum wage ($7.25/hour), but apparently on-campus jobs are exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes.</p>
<p>so do we have to pay the $3000 up front and then he gets it back as he works or does it come off of our bill and he has to work it off? Sounds great. He wanted a job anyway and would love to stay on after the money is earned</p>
<p>Re: work-study.</p>
<p>Your son should look into possible work-study jobs as soon as he can. I don’t know if that can be done during Bama Bound, but I would look into that.</p>
<p>so do we have to pay the $3000 up front</p>
<p>Well, it depends on what your package all contains. For instance, if your need was small - say $3,000, then no you don’t pay that all up front because it’s really over 2 semesters and (depending on your aid situation) is more likely supposed to cover personal expenses and travel throughout the year. </p>
<p>Here’s the current school year’s COA</p>
<p>In-State … Description … Out-of-State
$7700… Tuition and Fees… $19900
$10400 … Room and Board … $10400
$1100 … Books … $1100
$1165 … Transportation … $1615
$1900 … Miscellaneous … $1800
$22265… TOTAL … $34815</p>
<p>As you can see, the COA includes about $3k in transportation & misc. So, some consider the work-study amount as going for that.</p>
<p>The Room and Board includes the pricier “super suites-style dorms.” To save money, some choose the less expensive housing options.</p>
<p>The book allowance is generous. My kids try to buy used books when they can (and even sometimes use the off-campus textbook store). They also see back books that they know they won’t need again.</p>
<p>Actually our EFC is much lower then what they have offered us in loans and work study.
We have to figure out how to make up this amount, so work study would be important. Also, do you know if they negotiate at all? They didn’t offer any grants and the scholarship we got was the UA scholar my son was 20 points away from making Presidential. So, unless we can figure a way to get more aid he will probably have to stay in-state. Sad, he has his heart set on UA but the in-state schools are offering to meet out EFC.</p>
<p>Actually our EFC is much lower then what they have offered us in loans and work study.</p>
<p>Do you mean that COA minus your aid/scholarships is a number that is higher than your EFC?</p>
<p>COA for Bama is higher than it may need to be. Is your son planning on being in the super suites? If not, that can reduce COA by about $2500. If he wants to be in the super suites, then perhaps that $2500 additional cost can by earned by him over the summer.</p>
<p>The UA Scholar covers 2/3 tuition…which is about $13,400…leaving you with about $6,600 in tuition, plus room, board, books. </p>
<p>*Also, do you know if they negotiate at all? They didn’t offer any grants and the scholarship we got was the UA scholar my son was 20 points away from making Presidential. *</p>
<p>What state do you live in? What is his major?</p>
<p>okay it isn’t as bad as I though at first…If I take out books transportation and if he lives in the regular dorms. I panicked at first but now that I recalculated it seems doable. I live in CA and he is majoring in Biology</p>
<p>OK…Bio major…</p>
<p>I was just checking to see if he might be majoring in some area of engineering or computer science, because if he was, then the COE would have increased his scholarship to full tuition PLUS $2500 per year.</p>
<p>Many schools do not provide enough aid to meet one’s EFC; they “gap”. Other schools “meet” your EFC through Parent PLUS loans, which you can be able to get even if they are not awarded by the school and you can borrow up to the COA minus any aid IIRC. Along with unsubsidized Stafford loans which are given to anybody who files a FAFSA, these loans are used to increase “aid” but still must be paid back or be forgiven (check the financial aid board for more info on this). </p>
<p>I myself would look at each line item of the financial aid statements and calculate which is free money (scholarships and grants), which you have to work for (workstudy), and which is a loan (Stafford, Plus, and/or Perkins). The loans vary in interest and payment options, but they are still loans. School B may “meet” your EFC, but that could include $15,500 a year in loans while school A gaps you $5,000, but only gives you $5,500 in loans. You should be able to qualify for $5,000 in PLUS loans or borrow through other channels so school A would actually cost less even though they did not meet your EFC.</p>
<p>Also, there are channels for financial aid negotiation, but unless you have a drastic change in economic situation for 2010, it’s unlikely the financial aid package would change that much, if at all.</p>
<p>if you were awarded a Presidential Housing Scholarship and notice in your award letter or financial aid award section of Mybama that the dollar figure awarded doesn’t come close to covering the cost of a room in the 4-person honors super suites. That’s what happened to us and I just clarified with Carolyn Rogers (Director of Scholarships) that we needn’t worry. Here’s what she wrote:</p>
<p>“[Your son’s] four-person suite in Ridgecrest will be covered. The reasoning behind putting the lesser amount is that if a student were to receive a letter that indicates they will receive $3,750/semester and then moved into a dorm where the room rate is $1,100/semester the parent/student would expect a refund of $2,650/semester in housing scholarship. This appears as a scholarship on the student account, but in actuality, it is a shifting of funding from one department to another in the behind the scenes work.”</p>
<p>Ms. Rogers also clarified that course fees are NOT covered by the Presidential Scholarship (these are approximately $700/year).</p>
<p>Last, FWIW, the estimated 2010-11 COA listed on my son’s Mybama account is<br>
$36,257.00.</p>