<p>My D applied and has been accepted to Furman and we are reviewing the aid package that came in the mail today. Of the 7 schools she has been accepted to Furmans package is the least generous....but I want to make sure we are making an accurate comparison.</p>
<p>The award is listed as "Community Service Award"...I am assuming this is a fancy name for a need based grant...can anyone confirm this?</p>
<p>Sounds like a “merit award” to me not a need based grant. I am no expert!! If in doubt call the financial aid office. They really are there to help you and your student.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure this is a merit award so ask if there is a GPA maintenance bottom line that is required to keep it year to year. If this is merit money, then it would be “safe” from the risk that your income would go up and then your expected contribution would go up…at least this amount would be a gift. </p>
<p>Was Furman unable to address your actual need as calculated by FAFSA and the CSS Profile (although all colleges seem to use these figures differently in formulas that are not uniform)?</p>
<p>Furmans award letter only included this (oddly named) “Community Service Award”…taken by itself the package is pretty poor…Furman is in the middle of the pack so to speak of colleges my D has been admitted to but their package (as it stands) is the least generous. To be fair to them I want to verify the package.</p>
<p>You really need to call the fin aid office. I believe I read others on CC that spoke of Furman’s community service award as a merit award. If you have need as stated by FAFSA and CSS profile, you really should call and discuss what your package includes and possible changes that can be made.</p>
<p>Did you get a separate letter concerning the scholarship? S got the financial aid award letter one day and a letter from the music department the next. The second letter explained what he needed to do to maintain the scholarship and the number of years it covered.</p>
<p>With both of my kids and the schools they applied to, any merit scholarship money was detailed in a separate letter from the financial aid letter (though the amount was included in the FA package). AS mommamocha suggests, call them for clarification.</p>