<p>We just got the most recent letter today from Don Witt. It looks like there is no longer a 1,000 a yr. stipend. Maybe he forgot to mention that? Does anyone know?</p>
<p>We have not gotten the Don Witt letter. D did get her rejection letter from the Honors Program, though. Now the housing part gets more complicated. She indicated Central as first choice. Will she still want to live there now that she is not in Honors? I guess she has a little time to think about it before she would need to contact housing about a possible change to the new dorms. Plus, now that we know that it is more expensive, maybe we just leave things as they are. </p>
<p>For any of you who have toured the UKy campus, what were your impressions of the tour? Do they include any housing walkthroughs? D2 is a junior and likely NMSF, and we’ll be visiting the campus in April. Based on some of the confusion/questions regarding the NM package, I’m wondering if we should try to schedule an appointment with someone in the Financial Aid Office just to get some clarification?</p>
<p>Did any of you get a chance to explore the areas around campus much? We’ll actually have several hours available to us, so if any of you have suggestions for areas to visit or places to eat, etc. we’d love to hear them.</p>
<p>We toured last summer, so things could have changed by now. We really liked our tour. It covered all of the typical things that school tours cover. We saw an old dorm, as Central was not yet open. The tour guide answered every single one of my questions, which were many, including questions about bike theft, what he liked/would change,what his mother thinks, the weather, etc. The school did not look as pristine as some others, but left a positive impression on us. D felt comfortable there and that it felt right, which was the first time that had happened.</p>
<p>I would not bother scheduling an appointment about scholarhips, as the specifics will most likely change. If you are reading through this thread, you see that we are just getting specifics now, some from each other, versus something UK is putting out. One of the things that attracted us to UK is that the school is upfront about their guaranteed scholarships. My D’s boyfriend will also be attending. His non-competitive scholarship is bringing the cost down to what he would be paying if he stayed in-state and attended one of our state schools that are not as highly regarded/ranked.</p>
<p>We did not explore off campus, but stepped just off for the bookstore and lunch. Some of us who have been posting recently will be going to Merit Weekends, and might have more information after that. When you arrive at the visitors center, they have available maps of the local restaurants, etc. Had we known that we would like it as much as we did, we would have planned to spend more time there. The thing that has impressed me the most is how responsive everyone is that we have contacted about things. Customer service is surely an A++.</p>
<p>Thanks NaperMom!! Great to hear it left such a positive impression on you and your D. We’re also firm believers in going with whichever school feel right for our kids (price permitting of course $-) ) and UKy is definitely an early favorite for our D. She loves to get t-shirts from the schools she’s considering, so I’m sure we’ll be hitting the bookstore for some Wildcat gear as well. I’d certainly be interested in hearing any additional info you might pick up during the Merit Weekend if you get a chance to pass it along. Thanks again!!</p>
<p>Regarding the Patterson Scholarship, the only confusion that remains for me is the housing. Here is what I’ve compiled for Kentucky as a National Merit Finalist with “my assumptions” regarding housing:</p>
<p>MUST MAKE UK 1ST CHOICE BY “MID APRIL” – includes tuition (does not say fees), room and board (double room and $2,600/yr for meals) for 8 semesters; $1,000/yr stipend; $500/yr NM scholarship; one-time $2,000 for study abroad; iPad.<br>
Estimated costs per semester (living on campus; books, personal and travel expenses not included)
Tuition: nothing
Fees: $549
Room: covered up to $3,325 last year; pay excess
Dining: covers $1,300 (7/wk + $200 flex); pay excess - Add $477 (10/wk + $300) - Add $1,010 - (14/wk + $300)
{one can upgrade meal plans even further, but I would not do so going in}</p>
<p>So, factoring in NMS & stipend could have residual annual (2 semester) costs of ~ ($500) to perhaps $4K+ with upgrades to R&B? So, live on campus all four years in private bedroom premium housing with 14 meals/week and your tab based on '13-14 rates still would project to well below $20K.</p>
<p>I posted on another thread that I’ve been e-mailing someone in scholarship office there and I was told that the $549/semester mandatory fees are covered by the scholarship even though their description does not mention that. And for rooms, whatever is the cost of Central Hall 1 and 2 honors plus the basic meal plan that is currently $1300/semester.</p>
<p>My son, wife and I really like the campus, Lexington, and the general area. We are only 2 hours away in SW ohio and get that way several times a year as it is. My wife owns a Saddlebred and rides, so Lexington is almost heaven in that regard. Although the campus is classified as “city” and is just south of downtown, I would not suggest it is “urban” (more concrete and hardscapes) which would better describe U of Cincinnati or U of Pittsburgh. There are plenty of green spaces.</p>
<p>On our first tour we were shown old dorms in the towers area which weren’t great, but by Fall '14 the housing landscape will have changed in major ways. That detailed well in this post but go to
<a href=“Home | Wildcat Living”>Home | Wildcat Living;
and explore.</p>
<p>Also, we went to an engineering focus event for lunch and afternoon tours which was handled very nicely. I would definitely arrange for a campus tour of a morning followed by something college and/or department focused for the afternoon. If others do it like engineering did, you will not be disappointed.</p>
<p>celesteroberts, Thank you for posting regarding the fees. That much better! And I’m in agreement regarding the room. Just need to pay attention when UK updates the rate structure for the newest dorms in Champions Court to see what the difference is over $3,325.</p>
<p>Based on celestroberts’ post then Patterson most likely results in costs per semester as follows::</p>
<p>(again, assumes living on campus; books, personal and travel expenses not included)</p>
<p>Tuition: nothing
Fees: nothing
Room: only amount over the cost of Central Honors ($3,325 last year)
Dining: only amount over $1,300 (the included “minimum” plan of 7 meals/wk + $200 flex)
but … add back $750/semester ($1K/yr stipend and NMF college sponsored award of $2K paid out $500/yr)</p>
<p>Semester residual is then any R&B “overage” minus $750.</p>
<p>And of course, still get the $2K study abroad allowance and an iPad.</p>
<p>@OhDad3, below is the Patterson Scholarship information from the [other</a> thread](<a href=“What full/almost full ride colleges attract NM students? - #123 by ILfather - National Merit Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>What full/almost full ride colleges attract NM students? - #123 by ILfather - National Merit Scholarships - College Confidential Forums) mentioned by @celesteroberts. I was trying to calculate the value of this scholarship (as well as trying to figure out costs for my daughter to attend)</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2>4-year costs in-state out-of-state</h2>
<p>Tuition $40,440 $84,812<br>
UK NMF scholarship $ 2,000 $ 2,000
$1,000/yr stipend $ 4,000 $ 4,000 </p>
<h2>Housing/Board $37,200 $37,200 </h2>
<p>TOTAL $83,636 $128,012 [+ $2,000 study abroad]
PER YEAR VALUE $20,909 $32,003
</p>
<p>This assumes $9300 / year room and board ($3325<em>2 + $50 deposit + $1300</em>2 meal plan). The out of state tuition number is from [Kentucky’s</a> tuition and fees page](<a href=“Home | Office of the University Registrar”>Home | Office of the University Registrar). ($10526<em>4 + $10677</em>4) Thanks to @celesteroberts for pointing out that fees are included in the Patterson Scholarship as well as this calculation. Note the iPad value is not included in this number.</p>
<p>Here’s my guess on costs you’ll have to cover: </p>
<p>Additional dorm costs above the $9300 / year estimate
Additional meal plans (although check out [this</a> conversation](<a href=“National Merit, Honors at UK? - #5 by mommaof5 - University of Kentucky - College Confidential Forums”>National Merit, Honors at UK? - #5 by mommaof5 - University of Kentucky - College Confidential Forums) from last year about meal plans)
Engineering classes fees (I averaged about $850 / year in my estimates)
Regular class fees (lab classes, computer fees, etc. I estimated about $200 / year)
Registered student organizations in which your child participates (obviously optional)
Books (I probably underestimated at $1000 / year)
Travel & miscellaneous (Again, I probably underestimated at $2500 / year)</p>
<p>I’m estimating we spend about $4,000 / year for my daughter’s meals / spending money now, while she’s at home, which we’ll plan on continue to pay once she goes to college. Between that and any job that she gets, she should be able to graduate debt-free if she can keep up the grades. </p>
<p>At a total value of $130K+ for out of state students, I think is very generous opportunity. Congratulations to your son!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the work you all have done. Fees are a tricky thing. I just found out that fees for U of Oklahoma are about 5,000 a year. So it’s good to pay attention to all the details. Now Kentucky looks like the best deal financially (except Oklahoma offers some other extras).</p>
<p>nwmom - Alabama is very similar to Oklahoma as well. Both offer their scholarship for 10 semesters. Also at Alabama, engineering adds dollars. My son very much wants to do a semester abroad and when we were at Alabama recently, a faculty member pointed out to him that being OOS with the NMF scholarship is like hitting the jackpot in that one also gets the value of the OOS tuition applied to costs while away in addition to the study abroad dollars for travel, etc. But I agree, UK seems to be best as far as cost inclusiveness.</p>
<p>OhDad-- When Oklahoma says the tuition scholarship can be used for five years, are they dividing the total scholarship amount for tuition by five years? Does that make sense?-- You’re lucky you live so close to Kentucky. It’s so far from Washington. I grew up in Indiana, though, so I’m familiar with the area.</p>
<p>nwmom - We’ve received lots of mail from Ok, as well as ASU, but since S didn’t apply there haven’t paid good attention. I believe it is 10 discrete semesters and can be used for Ok grad school or transferred to Ok professional school if semesters remain “unused”. Ok’s mailings seemed to be the most complete in clarifying different things about their offers and the NM process in particular. Of course the info here at CC is the best in one place to at least be made aware and know to further research.</p>
<p>ILfather - thanks for the info. I had been to the NM threads much in the past but not so much recently since we have dialed in on schools. Looks like I should pay better attention there.</p>
<p>I did not see this online brochure which does indeed list the new rate structure consistent with WVparent’s post on page 1.</p>
<p><a href=“Home | Wildcat Living”>Home | Wildcat Living;
<p>traditional (read “old”) double $2323
4 person suite (not private BR) $3425
2BR suite $3904 … i.e., the $479 difference
4BR suite $4216 … i.e., the $791 difference</p>
<p>This is all somewhat different from the current HTML housing table I referenced earlier.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing the link to that PDF, @OhDad3. That was very helpful. </p>
<p>S just got the Patterson OOS Offer. Scholarship value is listed as $33,178/year on the contract. Spells out limits on Meal Plan ($2,600/year) and Housing (cost of honors in Central) all as expected. Can’t say I can account for every dollar and/or whether there is some allowance for Fall '14 increases, but clearly covers all that has been discussed here.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting that, @OhDad3. My daughter’s portal is still not updated with the Patterson Scholarship yet. Looking at the value you posted, $33,178 for the first year, (tuition goes up as you’re a upper division student, so I’m assuming this is the first year value), we can create a guesstimate on Fall '14 increases for tuition/fees.</p>
<p>
TOTAL: $33,178
NMF Scholarship - $500 $32,678
Stipend - $1,000 $31,678
Board - $2,600 $29,078
Room + $50 deposit - $6,900 $22,178
Tuition for year: $22,178
Tuition per semester: $11,089
This of course, does not count the iPad value. Tuition and fees per semester have been:
Year OOS Tuition Increase
2011-2012 $9,370
2012-2013 $9,932 +$562
2013-2104 $10,526 +$594
2014-2015 $11,089 +$563 [Projected]
</p>
<p>My apologies for obsessing. I am anxious to see the expected costs after the scholarship is applied.</p>
<p>@ILfather - no apologies! I’m trying to stay as informed as possible and have gleaned so much more info off this site to close the knowledge gaps than anywhere else. I appreciate all the info sharing.</p>
<p>I think that in order to get the award offer early from UK, the student had to go on their NM site and make a number 1 choice as of 1 Mar. NM says that beginning with that date they would send out initial notices to schools. That was last Saturday, so I assume schools had info at the beginning of the week. My son is still undecided but is leaning UK, then Bama closely, and U of Cinci a distant 3rd. He listed UK #1 on 28 Feb.</p>
<p>Another tab on the myUK site (didn’t see earlier) lists a “Student Budget 2014 to 2015”, and has “Tuition/Fees Undergrad Out-State” stated as $11,442 per semester and “Room and Board Allowance” as $5,532, among a myriad of other indirect costs of attendance (books, travel, personal, etc) all of which total $38,600/year. Then back in the scholarship award offer says what I posted previously regarding total amount and R&B limits.</p>