Hi CC community. Thanks to the support of this community we have finished all applications and have started hearing back from Universities. So far we have received 2 rejects and 3 accepts with some financial aid. Once most decisions are there I will create a separate thread with all details.
One of the positive decisions received is from UVM where my son has been admitted with presidential merit of 20k USD/year. University says in offer letter that this is the maximum merit scholarship available. However, when I checked the latest common data it has indicated average merit scholarship money for nonresident aliens is 28K USD. With @77% students getting the merit scholarship.
Am I missing something? Or does this mean there would be some scope for negotiation when all the chips are down and if UVM is the top choice.
There may be other scholarships included in the āmaximumā scholarship like athletic, a department scholarship, a talent scholarship (acting, art, music).
Thanks. Yes difference seems quite large to be explained by small number of athletic scholarships. May be more scholarships are available for later years. That could explain it.
I have no advice but want to say congratulations and thank you in advance for letting us know how it all goes. I like it when we get to find out how things turned out.
Of course! With all the learnings that have happened with the help of all senior members here, I feel like I can certainly help someone else (nonresident aliens) to do this much better! Thank you for your support.
Congratulations! I am so glad that you are getting good news. And thank you for sharing! Itās helpful (and satisfying!)
I canāt answer your question with certainty but am guessing that it is saying that the max a student could be given in a combination of merit scholarships is the higher number.
I recall that years ago at another school, my kid got the highest of the ānormalā merit scholarships. He was then told he was eligible for another smaller one - in addition - if he became part of a certain campus cohort that had a religion affiliation(which is ours - not as creepyas it sounds)ā¦ Sometimes these merit scholarships are for students studying a certain subject or from a specific place and are also limited by donors. Remember that merit means ānot need basedā but not necessarily academic.
I am guessing this is the same and UVM, a state school, is stating its āruleā on the ceiling for stacking. If this is a front runner, you can certainly ask if there are other merit awards available.
Wonderful news about the acceptance and scholarship at UVM! Congratulations.
You can always ask in terms of the amount. If 77% got more than you did, it also means 23% got the sameā¦or lessā¹ļø. But do inquire with admissions. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And I do agree with others that there could be other additional scholarships that contribute to that maximum number.
Iām hoping that $20,000 a year award makes the school affordable for your family!
Congrats. That brings down to low 40s but still above others you have if this comes down to being a purely financial decision.
Agreed to share your data with them and ask. According to their website, $20k is max but they likely have other non automatic. They have a second link but it doesnāt seem to show anymore.
Thanks will do so. There are a few colleges in waiting. In case any of those come positive and within same or lower range than current ones then no point in trying to negotiate with UVM. Otherwise will use advice on this post to request additional aid if possible.
University billable come to @37. So with additional personal expense it will be 42-45K. That is doable but definitely not preferred. Overall expense at @35K would be good to have. Letās see.
CDS section H6 should not include athletic scholarships to internationals (that should be in section H1 regardless of residency). Of course some schools make mistakes on the CDSs, so OP can seek clarity with institutional reporting.
Also look at the UVM website under scholarships. Looks like maybe you mistakenly looked at all scholarship data rather than foreign/out of state? They have a full ride scholarship for in state students which would skew the numbers.
Thanks so much for keeping us updated, and congrats on the acceptances already in hand!
With respect to this issue, there are the possibilities that others have mentioned that Canadian hockey players or scholarships that arenāt available to all might be able to be stacked. One possibility that I did not see mentioned, however, is that Vermont may have decreased its maximum award this past year. I know that some other colleges, including some of the most aggressive merit-recruiters, have been decreasing the merit aid packages, and Vermont might be one.
UVM only has 192 degree seeking undergraduates. If the 40 hockey players are excluded from the 149 international students receiving merit, that would mean only 3 international students donāt get merit. A few hockey players could not be on scholarship, but that is unlikely for internationals.
Yes will do it at the right time. Average international GPA is 3.9/4.0 and 75% tile SAT is 1480. So it is quite possible that my son has not qualified for higher awards or it could be that continuing students become eligible for larger awards.
Thanks. Yes that might be the case. All our acceptances after merit scholarships are in 35-38K range. Hope to get some less than 30K which will be useful.
Their average GPA for international people is quite high. I was surprised to see that! So it is possible that most get some form of merit. Either presidential or Dean. Larger scholarships could be related to sports, for continuing students or for specific country folks as folks here are suggesting. Will confirm and let people here know at the right time
for your family.