<p>Financial Aid Question?? I will be an out-of-state student (Texas) from an upper-middle class family, SAT 2020, GPA 4.0, rank 115 out of 750 (although I think this has improved) from a good public high school. I will have taken 6 AP classes by the time I graduate. I have been a varsity cheerleader for two years and I have worked as a gymnastics coach throughout high school, as well as being involved in a couple of clubs. I plan to major in nursing. Any chance at some decent financial aid?</p>
<p>It doesn’t sound like you will qualify for any need-based based on your description of being upper middle class.</p>
<p>So your best bet is merit aid.</p>
<p>The bad news is, UMass doesn’t give a lot of non-need-based merit aid. The good news is that a lot of what they do give out seems to go to out-of-state (OSS) students. The school is trying to increase their OOS population because they pay more, and will use merit scholarships to decrease the extra that OOS students pay. The better your grades and stats, the more desirable you are, and the higher scholarship you might get.</p>
<p>Based on what others have reported here, you will be unlikely to get enough to reduce your cost to what in-state students pay. It seems like a lot of students got in the $5K-7K range. If you find the “accepted student” threads from the last year or two you can see what others got.</p>
<p>If you decide to apply to UMass, make sure you apply Early Action, these students by far get the best scholarships.</p>
<p>Have you discussed with your parents exactly how much they are willing to pay? It is important to know this while you are filling out applications so you can make sure you have some choices that will be financially possible.</p>
<p>As for nursing, I’ve been told this is one of the more competitive admits at UMass. I would encourage you to test again and try to raise your SAT, and/or try the ACT (some kids do better on one than the other). The higher your scores, the more money you will get if they give you any.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>