Financial Aid

<p>Hi everyone :) So I recently got admitted to the UO and I'm excited because it's one of my top choices! But being from California, I'm an out of state student, meaning considerably higher tuition. My cumulative GPA is about a 3.6 ish and I got a 1750 on the SATs, (1110 combined CR+M) but I'm just really worried about how to afford the school. So how is financial aid? I know there's a considerable amount of scholarships, but I'm not sure how many I completely qualify for, so just in general, is the Financial Aid decent? thanks! :)</p>

<p>Abbylouise, I am not a financial aid officer at UO, but I would advise you to not be over optimistic about getting enough aid from the college to meet your costs. Most of the scholarships to incoming freshman are based on merit (grades, test scores, or special talents such as sports, music, etc.) Your grades and test scores are fine, but not really in big scholarship range. There are some financial assists like Pathways Oregon and OSAC for low income in-state students, but these are not available to out-of-state students.</p>

<p>Similar programs in CA will not be available to you if you attend a college out of state.</p>

<p>Of course, while you will find out what aid is available to you through UO at some point in the future, you should absolutely keep an open mind about your in-state options in California. My guess is there won’t be much for an out-of-state student with your stats.</p>

<p>Hi Abbylouise, congratulations on being admitted! It’s true that some of our scholarship programs are reserved for Oregon residents, but there are options for out-of-state students. You can read about our scholarships here: [Scholarships</a> for Incoming Freshmen | Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships](<a href=“http://financialaid.uoregon.edu/scholarships_freshmen]Scholarships”>Scholarships for Incoming Freshmen | Financial Aid & Scholarships). We have two new scholarships this year, the Summit and the Apex, that are automatically awarded based on GPA and test scores. Based on what you mean by “3.6 ish,” you might be eligible for the Apex, which awards nonresidents $4,000 per year.</p>

<p>Financial aid can be a pretty personal subject, so if you’d like to talk or e-mail with an admissions counselor about your specific circumstances, here is the contact info for our CA counselors: [Admissions</a> Counselors in California | Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.uoregon.edu/uocounselors/counselor-ca]Admissions”>http://admissions.uoregon.edu/uocounselors/counselor-ca). Good luck with your college search!</p>

<p>I am helping a young lady from Southern California with her applications. She’s Hispanic, had a difficult situation two years ago (family lost their home in a fire), and just got back in during the summer. Because of this, the family wasn’t focusing on SATs, college, or anything. </p>

<p>The student has an outstanding GPA, 3.9, but her SAT of 1130 (with a 600 on writing) falls just short of the APEX. Is there no wiggle room for these scholarships?</p>

<p>Hi sbjdorlo, thanks so much for your question. It sounds like you are working with a great student, and we look forward to seeing her application. Unfortunately, we face a hard decision when we create scholarship benchmarks. While we know there are many deserving students who fall just outside of the requirements, we cannot in fairness consider some of them. However, it sounds like your student could improve her score if she took the SAT once more. We will accept scores from the January test date for scholarship consideration. I’d also suggest that she apply for the Diversity Excellence Scholarship, which is available to out-of-state students: [Diversity</a> Excellence Scholarship | Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships](<a href=“http://financialaid.uoregon.edu/diversity_excellence_scholarship]Diversity”>Diversity Excellence Scholarship | Financial Aid & Scholarships).</p>

<p>Thank-you so much! This was very helpful.</p>