@InigoMontoya https://www.umb.edu/admissions/scholarships/new_students - The scholarship I want is the Chancellor’s scholarship, and it covers all tuition and fees. Without the full ride the college is probably not worth considering.
You need to understand what most people mean on CC when they say ‘full ride’: tuition, fees (at most schools much less than at UMass, usually under $1000), room and board. Sometimes it also includes books and some costs like transportation. ‘Full tuition’ usually means the tuition and fees that are billed from the school, but not the other costs of room and board, transportation, expenses and often books.
Lots of people say ‘full ride’ and mean a lot less than that. It’s still hard to come up with the $15,000+ needed to actually attend the school even if one gets the full tuition scholarship.
@twoinanddone That’s what I mean. The UMass scholarship I want is an actual full ride, including fees.
Unless I misunderstood what you meant?
I’m just suggesting you pay attention to the terminology carefully. Others were pointing out that at UMass, the tuition is nothing and the fees hefty. Offers of 100% tuition aren’t really going to get you through school as you’ll still have fees, room and board, misc., books, etc. Full ride v full tuition are two very different things.
Delete, wrong thread
Here is an example from Stanford (which has good financial aid but essentially no merit scholarships of its own) on how it treats outside scholarships:
http://financialaid.stanford.edu/aid/outside/
Stanford expects the student to contribute $5,000 per year in work earnings, but allows the outside scholarship to be first applied to that expected student contribution before reducing financial aid grants.
Here is a generalized listing of what order various line items in the financial aid offer are replaced by scholarships (from the school or outside) at UCSD:
https://students.ucsd.edu/finances/financial-aid/types/scholarships/
Many other schools are similar, but some may differ, so check each school carefully on its policies.
I think it is important to apply to colleges that you also know you can afford without merit aid. I think it is good to try for any scholarships you qualify for and may attain. Keep in mind though that many of them are very competitive and meeting the requirements does not necessarily mean you will get them. For those that are automatic, given to as many applicants who qualify as possible ( as funds permit) attaining one is more likely.
@Hamotron - A “Full ride” implies they also cover room & board, books, etc. UMASS Boston is not offering a full ride, just tuition, fees and Honors college. This is similar to scholarships my daughter was offered by Arizona and Arizona State. After the scholarships we still were looking at $16-17K a year out of pocket. Kentucky offered her a true full ride that also included a stipend, but she turned it down because the school was not the right fit (much to the chagrin of my wallet)…
@CollegeDadofTwo UMass Boston doesn’t have residential housing.
Those which have sufficient automatic merit scholarships for stats that you have can also be safeties from a cost standpoint (though if the renewal GPA is high, that can be risky).
@Hamotron - Unless you are living at home, you will still have housing costs. If living at home, you will still have commuting costs. And you will still have to buy books.
@CollegeDadofTwo I would be living at home. I’d have to pay train fare and buy books, but that’s a pretty small expense compared to dorming fees.
Looks like the assumption is that your parents will continue to subsidize your food, utilities, and other home life costs? These are typically much less than living in a dorm or on your own off-campus, but are non-zero.
@ucbalumnus Yes. We’re counting them as zero because we’d have to pay them even if I didn’t go to college, but yeah, that’s going to be something. I know some parents charge rent while their kids are in college, but my parents aren’t planning to.
Living at home can be a great savings.
I agree with @ucbalumnus 's point about applying to colleges with automatic scholarships- and still, many of them cover tuition only, some room and board. The cost of travel, room/board may still outweigh living at home and attending college nearby. These costs are variable according to each students.
In general, I think it is important to take a close look at the colleges that offer automatic merit aid. In the OP’s case, she will need to consider the cultural/religious resources at them. For students who do not require amenities like Kosher food, they can be a great option and so it is important to mention them.