And also…I am offering our situation as just one example of what families may be dealing with…not because I am taking anything you said personally. I honestly don’t care…I don’t know you.
@JMRome Here is a perfect example of whiny entitlement: Saying that you are technically high income, but that I can’t begin to understand because of the high cost of living in your state, paying medical bills, trying to do your best having multiple kids, etc. You think you are the only one? I got all that stuff but I just don’t view life with a victim mentality.
Again, I didn’t say anything about you not beginning understand. Where did I say that? Also not whining and playing the victim. Just stating facts by way of an example of what MANY of us are facing, maybe even you. Did you miss that part of my post? Not sure how that becomes about me. But whatever.
@JMRome Reread your own post about “my not possibly understanding your bills” for clarity to my post above.
As far as the rest of what has been discussed @JMRome all I can offer you is that in the end everything is going to be OK. You seem very anxious about the cost of college. But it’s going to be OK.
Just got my merit package. 27k a year. OOS, 32 ACT, 4.0 UW, 4.6 W. Letter says it’s a combination of academic performance, participation in the Bridges Program, as well as my selection for Academic Scholars.
Son just received letter today. OOS. 3.6 UW, 32 ACT. Received $17;000/year.
EDHDAD
You are judging folks for trying to work out a way to put their kids through college, without debt, and without ending up with no money left for retirement. People are just trying to move forward and help their kids move forward in a world where housing, healthcare, and education cost have skyrocketed beyond anything I could have imagined as a young adult.
Got an informed delivery notification in CA that a letter from Miami will arrive today
Also, has anyone seen their merit aid online?
My son has had some good offers, a little less than half tuition with Miami. It wasn’t as much as anticipated and so it is making some other schools look more attractive. I am trusting the process that he will end up at he school which he belongs. With that said, I get a lot out of reading the cc forum. It helps to hear the ups and downs, the stats, and the ultimate choices being made. So for everyone sharing… thank you!!!
My son received his merit today and we are thrilled. 3.6w gpa and a 1460 SAT - his essay was great, lots of EC’s and leadership. OOS for $17k.
@MommyCoqui I wrote a post about it being funny that some folks are not able to help their kids with college as a result of being too financially stretched because of large home and luxury car payments. We have all seen the posts by parents with very high EFC whining that their kids can’t go to college unless they get a full ride. I know this doesn’t apply to most people. I also commented that a lot folks seem to be very upset that the good tax paying citizens of Ohio are not providing their child with full tuition scholarship as a prize for good grades and a 34 on the ACT. I know this does also not apply to most people. If it applies to you in some form or another then I’m sorry.
Merit letter came in today.
3.92 UW, 36 ACT, and got 27k/yr OOS. Also invited to pre-med cohort of UASP.
I’m sort of disappointed because I would much rather have been invited to UHP; I’m not dead set on pre-med, and only having that option is constricting. Also got significantly better money at Pitt plus their honors college eligibility, so any way I look at it, Miami just isn’t a smart nor viable option. What a shame. I quite liked Miami, too.
@EDHDAD I kinda get what you’re saying…but come on, you can’t start poking people you don’t know. 70% of Americans have significant consumer debt, and you’re right, lots of people who are high income are more concerned with the car they drive and having facebook-worthy vacation photos than saving for college. Lots of people who appear “rich” are actually living paycheck to paycheck and have no savings. But geez- you know nothing about the ACTUAL people on this thread, so you need to slow your roll, boo!
Also: the taxpayers of ohio are not funding these scholarships as you suggest. The actual cost of education at Miami is far below the OOS sticker price. Kids who receive merit scholarships to put them on par with in-state tuition aren’t costing the university anything. And they certainly aren’t costing the taxpayers anything.
In fact I would argue that the great state of Ohio NEEDS OOS students…who else is eating at your restaurants, buying overpriced bottled water and magazines at your airports, and renting your hotel rooms? Oh yeah…those of us who can’t zip in and out of there in one day with a brown bag lunch to pick up/drop off/visit our kids.
For what it’s worth…my kiddo with a 1400 SAT and 3.75 GPA got $12K in merit…we are happy with that for now, but will attempt to negotiate for more money if Miami is the final choice. 
I have to agree. Both Miami University and The Ohio State University are excellent deals if you are an OOS student and are able to qualify for one of the merit scholarships.
Miami University OOS Cost is $34,200 Minus a scholarship of $17K equals $17,200
Ohio State University OOS Cost is $29,695 Minus a Scolarship of $14K equals $15,695
In State Tuition for Miami $14,958
In State Tuition for Ohio State $10,591
Financially speaking both Universities come out far ahead. In addition they are able to increase geographical diversity and national recognition. You can make a point that some of these students are taking admissions from the instate kids, but I would think that it creates a much more competitive admissions process by trying to admit the best of the best both instate and out of state. In addition, by tapping into the out of state market, they are able to be even more selective boosting their national rankings and prestige level.
I read somewhere else that many of the Midwest states are seeing somewhat of decrease in High School graduates. This could explain why some schools are using Merit to attract OOS students…After these Universities are big Business. They are able to offer close to In state tuition for these OOS students. Brilliant Marketing!!!
@STF4717 We are anticipating negotiating with an OOS School; any suggestions how to do this?? It is my son’s first choice but just a little outside our price range. We are trying to make it work, any tips appreciated.
@CWAE182025 Some schools have forms for negotiating. Pitt is one of them. They ask you to fill out the information for 2 or more other schools who have given your student offers.
For schools who don’t have forms…this is how we did it with my son, who is now at Marist. (Miami U gave him a better offer, but he ultimately decided to stay closer to home. He absolutely loved Miami U, and would have chosen it if is wasn’t so far away.)
We worked together on a spreadsheet of all his colleges, what they cost, and how much aid he got from each. There was a column for each year…Freshman, Soph, Jr, Sr. For all of the schools except Miami, which locks in tuition, we entered the first year cost per the school website, then increased each subsequent year’s cost by 4% (a somewhat random number, but looking at schools over several years, that seemed like a reasonable amount). We then totaled up the cost for all four years. (This included tuition and room and board, by the way.) We then entered the total aid over 4 years, subtracted it from the total of tuition, room and board for 4 years, and got our overall cost. From that, we subtracted the amount we had saved for him for college, and we got his projected overall debt after 4 years.
With these numbers, my son then wrote a letter to the financial aid office detailing how the programs at both Miami (his cheapest option) and Marist were comparable, but how he would graduate from Miami with much less debt than from Marist. He stressed how Marist had always been his first choice from the moment he stepped foot on campus (which was true, until he saw Miami. Then they were neck-and-neck), but that financially, he couldn’t ignore the value at Miami. Finally, he asked if there was anything they could do to bring the numbers closer together.
Note, he did not ask Marist to give him enough aid to make his debt equal to that from Miami…that would have been a lot more than we suspected Marist would come up with. Also note it is important to use similar types of schools with similar programs for negotiating purposes. For instance, you probably wouldn’t use a public university’s offer to negotiate with an elite private university.
Ultimately, Marist offered him the same amount of money per year that Miami did, and he gratefully accepted it.
Hope that helps.
Oh, also…in his letter, he gave hard numbers…not just a vague, “I’ll graduate with so much less debt if I go to Miami.”
@CWAE182025 look at @JMRome 's post- he gives great advice.
I think the people who are in the best position to negotiate are those who have solid numbers from other schools. @JMRome 's example of Marist is perfect. (Off topic side note: @JMRome , Marist was high on my kiddo’s list but we ultimately crossed it off because the sticker price was so high, and they don’t stack their military discount with other merit awards…although I really do love that school).
In our case, Ohio University came up with a hefty scholarship for my kiddo, so I will likely use those numbers as leverage and simply ask Miami if they can close the gap a little (at this point I believe there is about an $8K difference between the two).
Hope that helps!
@STF4717 My son loves Marist. It’s the right school for him, for sure. Ohio U has been after my D to apply but I don’t think she is going to at this point. Good luck to you and your kiddo…I’m sure you’ll find the right fit, just like most kids ultimately do.