Increasing merit aid/negotiating

<p>Her SATs are right at 75th percentile for Clemson, 40 points above the 75th percentile for SC. So good but not really high.</p>

<p>Clemson offered her $7,500/year, SC about $18,000. That’s a big difference for 40 points.</p>

<p>Guess which one she likes better? Champagne taste… :D</p>

<p>Actually it’s pretty close right now. Could go either way. She wants a more urban campus environment, which Clemson is not, so I am hopeful. :)</p>

<p>Wow…that’s a $10k per year difference. And, isn’t Clemson’s tuition about $2k more? If so, that is a big difference.</p>

<p>Clemson is a lovely campus, but UofSC is also nice.</p>

<p>Did your D get accepted to both schools’ honors colleges? If she got accepted to SC’s but not Clemson’s, does that make a difference to her?</p>

<p>A friend at her high school who scored 10 points (!) higher on her SATs than my D was offered $10,000/year by Clemson. Who knows what their method is.</p>

<p>She is not interested in the honors college at either school, but she was offered Capstone at SC. She seems interested in that.</p>

<p>notrichenough quote:</p>

<p>A friend at her high school who scored 10 points (!) higher on her SATs than my D was offered $10,000/year by Clemson. Who knows what their method is.</p>

<h1>She is not interested in the honors college at either school, but she was offered Capstone at SC. She seems interested in that.</h1>

<p>I know it can seem odd that a 10 point difference can mean a larger/smaller scholarship, but schools do have these benchmarks.</p>

<p>My own kids’ flagship will give full-tuition ($21k) for a 1400 M+CR, but someone who gets a 1390 only gets $14k…a $7k difference. And someone who gets 1330 gets that same $14k scholarship, but the person who gets a 1320 only gets 3500. :/</p>

<p>^ Is that Alabama? If my kid had been interested, she’d have been taking the SAT continuously until she racked up the extra 10 points. :)</p>

<p>Clemson doesn’t publish a grid, plus you apply you have to specify a major, and that could factor in as well.</p>

<p>^^^ Don’t forget that there could have also been GPA differences, or strength of curriculum, or ECs, or who knows what else involved in the decision to offer the 10 pt higher kid a bigger package.</p>

<p>BTW- who do I contact? Admissions? FA Office?</p>

<p>If you are looking for financial aid…contact financial aid. Where my kids went to school…the merit awards were included on those letters as well as the need based awards.</p>

<p>What is the contact info on the aid award letter your kiddo received. Contact THAT office.</p>

<p>I was able to get $3K/semester more from a private D1 school last year. I’d say it depends on the school.</p>

<p>notrichenough quote:</p>

<p>"Is that Alabama? If my kid had been interested, she’d have been taking the SAT continuously until she racked up the extra 10 points. </p>

<h1>Clemson doesn’t publish a grid, plus you apply you have to specify a major, and that could factor in as well."</h1>

<p>Yes…and with the published grid, there are people who get upset that they’ll miss a cut-off by 10 pts. But, schools have to have some benchmarks…even if they’re private about them.</p>

<p>TV4caster…</p>

<p>You contact the people involved with scholarship awards and enrollment mgmt…directors…not just people who answer the phone. some schools have separate scholarship offices, some don’t.</p>

<p>Schools that are known to offer a good number of merit awards are really looking at test scores …mainly…and a good GPA usually needs to be there as well. Since prospective students/parents really look at those middle quartile test score numbers, schools know that and want to bump that as much as they can.</p>