@LoveandHonor thanks for the comparison, very helpful! May I ask if you are in state or OOS?
We are out of state.
OOS son received his merit aid letter today and we are very disappointed in Miami’s offer. He has a 34 and 1540 and is a National Merit Semi-Finalist (Finalist pending). Received $20,000 per year (a little over half tuition) plus the University Academic Scholars Program award of $1-2,000 per year and possibly another $1,000 per year for NMS. Not going to cut it!
Still waiting to hear here. Lowering my hopes. Although the one thing Miami offers that no other school (at least on S’s list) does is the tuition lock. That will count for something as we compare offers. Hope tomorrow is the day the merit letter arrives.
is any merit aid online?
Received merit letter in mail today. In state
32 ACT, 4.3 weighted GPA and strong ECs
Engineering
$9000/year merit
Like the others here, my son received a merit letter today. We are OOS. For comparison, his stats are a UW GPA of 3.5 (3.9+ weighted), 33 ACT and he received $17k/year which is about 1/2 tuition. He applied to the Computer Science program and was accepted into the Honors program (but not scholars).
Another interesting tidbit. When he filled out the common app for Miami, he actually didn’t complete the activities section except for 2 activities (an instrument and robotics). He didn’t include his volunteer work, job, sports, clubs, NHS, etc. We didn’t catch it when he submitted the app… In the end, it looks like Miami looks primarily at test scores and grades.
ACT 34
GPA 3.76 uw
$9,000
In-state
I hate to sound like an ingrate, but this was disappointing. Total in-state cost at MU is about $30k for business majors, so this merit award leaves total COA still higher than our EFC of $19,000. I had hoped for a merit award that would bring COA substantially below EFC. I understand that they might sweeten the pot with additional need-based aid, but that’s just going to get us to EFC, not below. As things stand now, S might as well go to a bigger-name school that meets full need, but not crossing MU off the list yet.
Anybody know if they negotiate?
ACT 34, GPA 93/100 OOS…D got her merit today…18k a year. Seems like all the schools across the board are giving less than in previous years. D’s stats are better than DS’s were 2 years ago, yet she is getting around the same amount of merit. And still no Scholars to sweeten the pot for MU, which we were really hoping for and would be a big draw for her to go there. So the decision still hangs in the balance.
Depressing. Still waiting.
It cracks me up reading parents posts about what they feel is owed to them in the way of free education for their child just because they scored well on a standardized test. My favorites are the ones where families cannot “afford” to contribute anything yet their EFC is well beyond the total cost of attending. Meaning they are so caught up in mega-mansion and BMW payments there is nothing left for their kid’s education. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the importance of scholarships and the pride that goes along in receiving them, but if you can’t afford for your child to attend your favorite school somewhere along the way maybe you as the parent should point the finger at yourself instead of blaming the school.
Wow, @EDHDAD …you’re making a whole boatload of assumptions there. Bravo.
None of these posts are about what our kids “deserve”…it’s about doing the research in past years and comparing to what previous years’ offers were. It’s also not about our kids’ test scores…it’s about the whole picture, of how hard our kids have worked and the big picture.
I haven’t seen one post here expressing sour grapes about awards…just surprise that they are lower this year, which they seem to be across the board, at all institutions, especially the public ones. I would bet that application numbers are up at all of those schools because they are the ones that are remotely affordable as far as 4 year institutions go. So maybe your suggestion is that all students should either attend community colleges, or forgo college altogether?
To assume that we’re all rich families expecting someone else to pay for our kids’ educations while we live our lavish lifestyles is not only insulting, it’s patently false. We have worked hard and saved diligently for our children’s educations. Some of us have high medical bills. Some of us have lost jobs. And many of us have money put away for our kids, but I bet they are few and far between who are able to afford $200k+ PER CHILD for college. Did you know that when I went to college, the average yearly cost was about 5% of my father’s annual income? Now the average cost for most people can be between 30% and 100% of annual income. If you can afford that, then good for you. Most people can’t.
BTW, by way of illustration…we’ve lived in the same 3 bedroom, 1950’s ranch house for the past 23 years, and drive a Hyundai and a minivan.
At least get your facts right before you throw stones. Sheesh.
Right. Everybody’s just looking for the best deal, same as the colleges are trying to maximize revenue. No need for anyone to make moral judgments.
@JMRome Wow, sounds like even though you claim not to be at all the type of person that I was talking about, for some reason I still hit a nerve with you. No place in my post did I assume all families are rich. No place in my post did I suggest kids all go to JC or skip college. No place in my post did I claim to be rich. Talk about a boatload of assumptions and not having your facts right. My post was just commenting on the whiny entitlement mentality that so many people who post on cc have, and that it is especially funny when the parents involved are high income. It sounds to me from your post that the whole college thing really has you down.
Thank you for responding @BasicOhioParent and @JMRome
I agree if you don’t like the financial offerings, go elsewhere. That said, this university intentionally advertises its good merit scholarships, so pretty naturally people are disappointed when they don’t get as much as hoped for. I especially appreciate the posts from parents who have had multiple kids go through the process.
We are still waiting here. In our 2009 minivan.
I’m confused, are the scholarships that people have been receiving not in line with the amounts posted on Miami’s website?
@EDHDAD they post a range. So 1/2-full tuition for top scores. Yet virtually everyone posting is getting the bottom of the range. So technically it is in line, but it isn’t consistent with previous years.
Obviously the school has every right to do this.
It amazing to because if my son gets the 1/2 tuition scholarship that he is supposed to get per the website, then Miami is the same price or cheaper than our own in-state schools(which are overcrowded and underfunded). To me that seems like a bargain, and I am thankful for the option of such a great school. Would it be nice if it came back more? Sure, but we are not counting on it. And no we are not rich. We have three kids in HS right now and fully understand the upcoming college financial burden that families face.
@BasicOhioParent No place is my post did I make assumptions about you, or “all families”. Please don’t be offended unless you should be.
@EDHDAD you hit a nerve because I am offended for each and every person who is trying to navigate this process and is just looking for the best options, educationally and financially, for their child. Nowhere on my post did I assume you were rich…I said “if”. Nowhere did I assume you thought people should go to junior college…that was phrased as a question. Still, to be even more clear…we technically are categorized as high income. We also live in one of the most expensive states in the country. And have multiple kids in college. And have medical bills of which you couldn’t possibly know anything. And have saved diligently for college. So lest you think that all “high income” families should get over it, think again. High income means different things for different people, and there are tons of mitigating circumstances. I second @BasicOhioParent’s statement…we are all just trying to find the best options for our kids…including you, I’m sure. Just don’t cast random aspersions and make generalizations about people you only know through internet forums.
However, I haven’t seen any of the “whiny entitlement” of which you speak.
We will certainly be making our decision based not only on the finances, but on a holistic review of all the offers our D receives.