Depends on the situation @collegedad2B
I would never “demand” money from any school, public or private. But if I could lay out a logical case, politely and with respect for the offer already given, sure. The school can either give more or not, based on their own criteria.
I don’t get the sense that Miami is receptive to these kinds of requests, but I have no experience with it personally. They do have set guidelines on the website which make the potential ranges pretty clear. We are in the range and won’t be asking for more. If you are way under the range for your stats, it may be worth a shot.
Pitt has a (great) formal process in place where you submit a form detailing the Pitt offer vs an offer from another comparable school (or schools). The focus is on the difference in COA. A committee reviews and gives you a decision. It worked for us, but I made sure the competing offer we presented was truly a comparable program. The form made it easy; unfortunately none of our others schools (including Miami) have this mechanism in place. We may be trying for more $$ at one other school this year, but only if I can present details that support the request.
Thanks for your reply. MY D has a 34 ACT with a current 4.5 GPA. She is currently in a very competitive private school. With 9 AP classes under her belt, a ton of volunteering, etc. So I would consider her a pretty solid student. Miami’s offer was very generous. However, its not a full tuition. I do understand the online info is a guideline ONLY, the holistic review, as well as against the current pool of students. It is her top school of choice. So I was just curious to see if in fact it would be worth approaching and if anyone had any luck.
@Collegedad2B I think you need to be careful on how you approach them. If this is her TOP school and you need (lets say) $2-3000 to make this financially work, you could ask and see if they will add to the current merit. I looked back to see if you indicated a school she applied to and see she is business/honors. That is the most competitive group of students. I’m not sure what her GPA is since you indicated it was a 3.8w gpa (in your prior post). yet above you stated a 4.5 gpa. If she is a 3.8 UW gpa and a 34 ACT, they probably would not offer full tuition, unfortunately.
I don’t remember seeing anyone that got a full tuition scholarship so far. My in-state son with a superscore 34 ACT did not get a full tuition scholarship.
Thanks for your reply. The 4.5 is her current gpa for this semester, her overall is now a 3.9. Sorry for the confusion. Also, her ACT is not super-scored. I’m not certain if one carries more weight than the other. I’m new to this game and just trying to figure this lovely world of college selection. Although this is her top school, it may not be her destined one. Also, what do you mean by “be careful”. Would they rescind her current offer? I greatly appreciate your input.
We tried this at another school and we had a nice reply that stated their original calculations were correct. It was fair and we know we tried. My son’s letter was one of gratitude and honesty. He just put his info out there with other competitive programs and wanted to see if there were any other options to have more scholarship. They directed us to some other resources.
I can’t imagine they would rescind an offer.
Good luck whatever you decide to do.
@collegedad2B No they will not take away what they offered. I would suggest not going in claiming she “deserves” more money because of her stats. You may not get anything additional. You stated it was a “generous” offer. Reality is, like all schools, there are students with even higher stats and no one knows how many “full tuitions” Miami gives and to who. I’m not sure if you “need” more money to bridge the gap or “want” more money. You said Miami is her top school but may not be her destined school. If you “need” more money to make this possible, I would consider going that route.
@CWAE182025 truly thanks for the reply. @EDHDAD we have two very different definitions of “tacky”. I was curious on how successful people have been. @BreakfastClub1 thanks for your response. No doubt a diplomatic approach is in order. I’m certainly not going in with the my daughter “deserves” more approach. lol I noticed you had made reference earlier in this thread that it doesn’t hurt to ask. It sounds like that person did call and was able to get $5k/yr. from zero.
@college.dad.2B. I would have no issue asking them if it would be possible to increase the Merit. Miami’s yield is very low at 21% which means that 1 out 5 kids who have been admitted to Miami chooses Miami. We get more mailers and emails from Miami than any other school. They want these kids and as competitive as the Business school is, they really want a 34 ACT in their books. This is the kind of score that gives the rankings a boost. Having said that, I highly doubt they will give you full tuition, but they might be able to increase it another $2000. But would that be enough for you to make a difference? If Miami was my number one choice, I would do it in heartbeat.
Their avg ACT is 28, with a mid range of 26-30. They want to attract/admit high stat kids to raise that. They want to protect yield. They want to have and advertise geographic diversity. They have to make sure they have enough males so the gender balance doesn’t get out of whack. I don’t know @EDHDAD, but your 34 ACT high stat boy from CA checks all the boxes. You might get more than a hat if you were interested in talking to them, but you are not. That’s the beauty of this…you can do whatever you want, and decide what is best for your family. So can @collegedad2B. If Miami is not interested in reopening the merit conversation, they will say so. If a family gets a better offer elsewhere, the kid won’t go to Miami. It’s not that complicated. It’s business and if done right (respectfully), it can be a smart financial move.
Hey, but if you would like, I’d be happy to pick up a t-shirt for you when we visit. It’s on me.
@3monkeys All joking aside we are very happy with the generous offer they have extended my son and will be visiting the campus for one of the admitted student events(to see the school, not to demand t-shirts or more money). If you look thru the MU threads on cc, this topic seems to come up every year. Because MU is generous with merit scholarships it seems like some folks see it as being desperate and try to take advantage.
@collegeisago thanks for your input. I sincerely appreciate your it. @3monkeys thanks for your input as well. I have a planned visit set up and will be having this discussion. In the event they do include a “free hat” I will set it aside for @EDHDAD to match the shirt you will get him.
@EDHDAD Not sure about being desperate. It is a big decision and for some the extra money makes the whole difference in the world. . Even with the generous Miami merit scholarship, some of my other options were even more generous. Miami was very high on my list at the beginning of this process but along came a couple of surprises and it made me reconsider all my options. I am extremely thankful for the generous scholarship I received, but Miami still too expensive.
@collegedad2b There is no doubt in my mind that should see if this is possible especially being your number one school. You might even tell them that if they can make the numbers work, you would commit to attend. . Miami is a great school.
@collegeisago It’s very refreshing to hear someone on here say they are thankful for what they received, even if it is not as much as they would have liked or as much as another school offered. I have not seen any examples of folks in prior threads being able to argue their way into better aid at Miami U, but I guess if folks want to try then that’s their business.
Quite honestly, the school we spoke to had a nice response. They reviewed his application and verified it was indeed the correct amount and gave him several resources for external scholarships as well as internal scholarships.
Their response was one of open communication and sincerity. I found the resources helpful.
Thank you for your replies and comments.
BTW, congratulations to anyone in this thread. We all know how difficult and challenging this world has become. I can speak for my daughter, these grades were not handed to her. She worked hard to put herself in a very nice position. I’m certain each and everyone of your kids has worked equally hard or even harder. Congrats on raising some amazing kids. Kudos to you the parents! I sincerely wish each and everyone of your kids nothing but the best with the brightest future. Congrats!
