<p>I received notification of being awarded a scholarship a while ago when I was accepted EA, but I'm curious if anyone else has heard anything beyond this.</p>
<p>EDIT: Nvm, I found a link with information. It says the packages will be mailed the end of March. Here's the link for others who are interested:</p>
<p>Actually if you check your SPIRE account and click “view financial aid,” click your aid year, and then click “financial aid summary” you can get an estimate on what they have awarded you.</p>
<p>Well that page doesn’t include my scholarship (2k) and it says my need is 0, which definitely can’t be right.</p>
<p>Same here. My daughters two scholarships (dean and Adams) not included and financial aid = 0.</p>
<p>Scholarships are not included with the financial aid summary. I have the Adams scholarship and it is not there. My need is about 5k as indicated by the site. As I said before, it’s an estimate and not everyone does qualify for financial aid. If it says 0 then it’s very possible they have not gotten to you. As of now, that is the most reliable and only source for financial aid information for students who are interested. Take it or leave it.</p>
<p>The Adams scholarship is not a UMass Amherst scholarship, it is a statewide scholarship. I don’t know if UMass even knows you have it until you mail in the award letter from the state.</p>
<p>In order to receive the full benefits of the Adams scholarship you are required to mail it in with your application. UMass is aware of an applicant being in possession the Adams scholarship before they even decide to award additional scholarships after they decide on admittance to the university.</p>
<p>^ As far as I know, it doesn’t have to be mailed with your application. It can be submitted at any time before you start school, and as long as you have also filled out the FAFSA, you will get it. I’m 99% sure my S didn’t send his in with his application, since IIRC he didn’t even mail in an application, he applied on-line.</p>
<p>From the UMass web site ([UMass</a> Amherst: Undergraduate Admissions - Scholarships for Entering Students](<a href=“http://www.umass.edu/admissions/scholarships/]UMass”>http://www.umass.edu/admissions/scholarships/) ):</p>
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<p>It says nothing about submitting it when you apply.</p>
<p>In the letter itself I believed that it said to mail it in with your application, though it is possible I may have misread. At my high school we were required to do “college cover sheets” in order to alert the counselors to what schools we were applying to. They would then mail in or fax the transcripts and other supporting documents, such as the Adams letter. I’m not aware of how they do it at other schools, but if they do it differently at your son’s school then perhaps the reception of the tuition waiver is not contingent with sending in the letter at the time my high school had stressed, and I apologize.</p>
<p>I however had submitted the tuition waiver early and it was not included in my financial aid summary. This is my personal experience with SPIRE and I hold onto my contention that for now, SPIRE is the most reliable source to get financial aid information. Regardless of whether they have reviewed your package yet or in the near future, it will most likely be up there before letters are mailed out.</p>
<p>^^^ No worries, I just don’t want anyone to think they missed out on the Adams because they didn’t send it with the application.</p>
<p>My S also got a small Dean’s Scholarship, which we were notified of by a letter. I can’t recall now if it came with the big acceptance packet or if it came later. And I don’t remember when or if it showed up on Spire, it was credited in the Bursar’s bill when I went to pay it, which was the important part as far as I was concerned. </p>
<p>We didn’t get any need-based aid, so I don’t know how or when you get notified of that.</p>
<p>we got ours online to day and we’re pretty disappointed. DS received only the Stafford loans…that’s it…no grants, no work study(we think) …nothing else. After freaking out a bit we have reached the reluctant conclusion that he will have to look at an alternative loan for the first year and we will take it a year at a time…any advice? We both work two jobs already and will struggle to pay our share of the college debt but will work that out. I hate the idea that he will have so much debt…I thought UMASS was supposed to be affordable for all Massachusetts students…apparently not.</p>
<p>
Unfortunately, UMass, like many other states’ university systems, is under severe budget pressure as the state cuts its budget over and over. It affects their ability to give out FA. </p>
<p>What is your EFC? Are any of your S’s other possibilities cheaper?</p>
<p>Your S has some options if you stay in-state though, although after focusing on a residential experience you won’t like them:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Go to community college for 2 years, then transfer. UMass Amherst is now guaranteeing admission to community college students who have a 2.5 or higher GPA, and waived tution ($1714/year) if your GPA is higher than 3.0 .</p></li>
<li><p>If one of the other UMass campuses is close to your home, switch to there and have your son live at home.</p></li>
<li><p>Your son can get a job while at school, either at school of in the surrounding towns, they don’t seem to be that hard to get.</p></li>
<li><p>Look into some of the other state colleges, they are cheaper than UMass Amherst. FSU for example is around $14K vs. $22K for UMass.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Also, by keeping a tight leash on personal expenses and being smart about books, you can lower your costs quite a bit.</p>
<p>Our EFC was 12000…so 5500 is a hit. Community College is not an option. I want him to live at school and he has earned that. He’s a good student, has worked since he is 14 and will definitely work in college. We are just so disappointed. None of the schools that we got into have given him decent aid. Apparently we make too much money which is incredibly ironic as I am a teacher and my husband works in a Residential Treatment Center. I guess he will graduate with more debt than we would have liked, but we will help him out on that end until our younger son goes to school.
So disappointing.</p>
<p>Rakenjake, I feel that I could have written what you just posted. Our EFC is 11K (with another child in college) and so far the FA we have received from colleges has been disappointing. We had high hopes or FA (including merit) since my daughter is valedictorian of her class. It is very difficult to see how hard she has worked and then the disappointing FA. It seems that my son (who was not as strong a student) did as well with FA when he applied to schools last year. All I can think of is that the colleges must be in a tougher financial situation now than they were last year. We are keeping our fingers crossed - we have still to hear from several schools, but it is too painful to get our hopes up too high.</p>
<p>It’s so hard for the kids. WE are waiting for two more schools, but honestly he wants to go to UMASS. I don’t feel so bad if you got the same news we did as DS isn’t anywhere near Valedictorian…I’d be heated!!! We are going to wait to hear from the other schools and then make some hard choices…it’s going to be a lean year…thats for sure…</p>
<p>Rakenjake, can you afford your EFC?</p>
<p>Can your S qualify for a Koplik award? That would save $1700/year: [Massachusetts</a> Office of Student Financial Assistance](<a href=“Office of Student Financial Assistance / Massachusetts Department of Higher Education”>Office of Student Financial Assistance / Massachusetts Department of Higher Education)</p>
<p>UMass room and board is pretty reasonably priced as far as most schools go, but I still think you can live more cheaply off-campus, so you can factor that in for down the road.</p>
<p>Will he be able to get a job? It can be hard as freshman, you have to be really good with time management, but that could add up to $3-4K over a year.</p>
<p>One thing about UMass to know: there are a bunch of separate fees for many things, which don’t get added into the COA but you will have to pay, especially as a freshman: one-time Undergraduate Entering Fee ($185), one-time Freshman Counseling Fee ($175), if your S is an engineering major ($320/year), if your S is in the honors college ($300/year).</p>
<p>This is probably true of every school.</p>
<p>No he does not. His MCAS were not great so no Adams either…ah well.we are adjusting and will be appealing as I think they might not have taken a home equity loan against out home into consideration…might be worth a little more money…we will see. He will definitely be working…we’re looking at him contributing about 2000.00 through the year and 1000.00 from his summer job…I don’t want him to over extend and flunk out. That would be counter productive. The fees kill you…they are quite something.</p>
<p>Adams Scholarship does not have to be mailed with the application. I faxed a copy to the financial aid office.</p>