<p>Thanks, berurah, for the kind words. I hope Northwestern sees "it" in me, too, but the closer we get to the end of March, the more nervous I get since I know that they had a large applicant pool this year, and few even get accepted there in the first place. Plus, the decision is now in the immediate future instead of the distant one. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high.</p>
<p>On Michigan...
I've heard that they're better with finaid for in-staters than out-of-staters on meeting need so that might have helped me in getting that grant from them. However, I don't know for sure.</p>
<p>Good luck to your son with the rest of the decisions from his other schools!</p>
<p>Just remember, no matter WHAT happens in a couple of weeks, NO ONE can take from you the supreme accomplishment of graduating to CC MEMBER status. <em>lol</em> I feel so very honored that your 300th post happened to occur in this thread! :)</p>
<p>Seriously, though, I so understand how you feel about the waiting. My S is in the same position, and it is so tough mentally and emotionally. We've managed to keep it pretty low key so far, so I guess we're doing O.K. My thoughts will be with you as April approaches! </p>
<p>Berurah, this is an anxious time for us all, and I feel your pain too. I know that we are not about to shell out $37,000 for a State (although great) school, and be one of 24000 undergrads. Everywhere I turn, people are saying UM is not known for their out-of-state merit aid. So, I am pouring myself some Pinot Bismol, and sitting back.
Your son has an amazing resume, and I really hope he gets the $$ he deserves. So, UM is going to tell you in 6 weeks from Feb.17, which is Mar.31, lol, by which time you have hopefully gotten lots more lovely news.</p>
<p>interesting that the aid office said we would hear something 6 weeks after admittance. I read somewhere in the aid info (the link on the website) that merit aid would be awarded in mid-April. Happy to hear it should be sooner. My S got in 5 weeks ago....</p>
<p>We're in state so I know absolutely nothing about merit aid to out of state students except forhat I hear from my son's friends. I know a couple who got significant aid and they received their award long before their need based aid. Both my sons got a merit award. One of them received full tuition and the other one a very small grant. Both of them received the letter with the award a couple of weeks after their acceptance. I know my second son knew before thanksgiving. We had not even filled out the FAFSA yet since that can't be done until January. So I believe they are two entirely separate processes. It might take longer at this time of the year though. Most students from our high school apply to Umich sometime in September or October.</p>
<p>I can't seem to grasp what it takes to get merit aid though because my nephew is a NMS with a very good GPA and all he got was the same small award as my other son. My son's girlfriend got the same small award and she had a perfect 4.0.</p>
<p>Just to give you some experience of out-of-state merit aid: D applied as a '00 grad, high 1400's SAT, fifth in class. Double legacy. No merit aid.</p>
<p>S applied as '04 grad, low 1500's SAT, seventh in class. Also, of course, double legacy. Offered Dean's Scholarship--15,000/yr. had not applied for fin aid, since D hadn't been offered any. </p>
<p>So for us, the liine seemed to exist somewhere between the two, but they were so close, it surprised us that she was offered nothing and he was offered so much.</p>
<p>The only light I can shed is I was offered acceptance to U of M and two weeks later I received a letter telling me I was awarded the Michigan Scholar Award for $20K (I'm out of state) I didn't apply for this.</p>
<p>I know that this is mostly a parent forum, but i figured i might be of some assistance. My family had a demostrated need of a number between 13 and 14 thousand. I was accepted to Michigan out of state, and i received gift aid of about 8,000.(3000 of was work-study). there was another 6,000 in loan opportunities, but i am not sure i will be able to afford to go at all. My question is, on the web site, it displays my awarded aid for fall and winter terms, but no mention of spring. What does that mean? should i call?</p>
<p>Jarell: at Michigan, they call "winter term" the one that most other schools call "spring". So FAll and winter terms would be your whole freshman yr, unless you do extra work in the Spring/summer terms which are optional (would just be called summer classes at most schools).</p>
<p>To address the topic of whether U of M gives a lot of aid to out-of-staters, get this. My friend, who was accepted to UofM in February just got his fin. aid back, and to his (and my!) suprise, they gave him $30,000 in grants, and $6000 in loans per year. To give u a little of his background, he's an out-of-state male, and granted, his efc was pretty low, around $5000, but still, that's a great offer...and I'm still wondering why they gave him so much-any thoughts?</p>
<p>Yes...he's a white male from LA with a 1250, 24, and 3.6...so he wasn't any superstar, but he is the first in his family to go to college, so maybe they took that into account. Who knows???</p>
<p>just like allrightie I too received the Michigan Scholar Award of $20,000 over four years ($5,000 each year). I didn't even apply for this award. I submitted my app in late January (around the 20th) and I heard back in late February (I was admitted). I haven't yet received my financial aid package report yet. Stats wise I have a 1390 SAT1, 740/740/720 SAT II scores, am a URM, out of state, have really strong (local, state, regional) ecs, academic awards (many 5s on many AP tests), high GPA, and top 1%. </p>
<p>I googled the Michigan Scholar Award and found that it's awarded to really strong students who are URMs or come from under represented states. As good as the money is I think I may not end up going to University of Michigan. At least someone else who really needs that money can have it.</p>
<p>Here's the information about it:
* Merit-based
* Non-Michigan resident
* Recipient contributes to the overall excellence and diversity of the University community (with a particular focus on students from underrepresented minority groups or underrepresented geographic areas)</p>