Is there any benefit to waiting to send in your confirmation of enrollment? My daughter has been accepted to Bloomsburg and it is her first choice. Does responding now help housing choices, chances of scholarship, anything?
Thanks
I’d ask the relevant offices at Bloomsburg. It works differently at different colleges. But I will say that typically scholarships are awarded before the students have committed—the scholarship money is one of the pieces of information that enters into the student’s decision about where to attend.
Some schools accept a housing deposit without having to give an admissions decision.
Scholarships are sometimes used to attract students colleges want. Accepting makes them sure she is coming… but you should ask the college about scholarship timing.
Congratulations! How exciting to know so early and not have to endure the agony of waiting for the decision.
Will you be needing financial aid to make this school affordable? If so, delay sending the enrollment confirmation until the financial aid package is available and you know you have all expenses covered.
If money is not an issue, then go ahead and send the deposit, and then sit back and enjoy the rest of your daughter’s senior year without the college application process hanging over your heads!
Check the website about housing. Housing is in short supply at some colleges, and deposits are often taken many months in advance.
Also check the website about scholarships. Make sure to submit necessary paperwork on time. Read carefully, as scholarships sometimes require a separate application form in addition to the FAFSA or Profile.
Thanks is financial aid and scholarship connected?
Yes, they are connected in that they will be combined into your daughter’s financial aid package.
Eligibility for federal need based aid is determined when you fill out FAFSA. Schools which have institutional need based aid to distribute will also require the Profile or maybe their own form. If your state has any aid programs, make sure you meet their requirements, too.
Merit scholarships are based on the student’s academic achievements or talents (music, dance, art, etc). Some schools award these based on information in the application for admission. Some require a separate scholarship application. Check the financial aid pages for the specifics at your school.
Some awards are a kind of hybrid between the two. A student earns them based on merit, but the quantity of money given is based on the student’s financial need.
Read the info on the financial aid pages carefully and make sure you meet all the priority deadlines.
Scholarships come from the Admissions office.
FA comes from the FA office.
Are your DD’s stats high for that univ?
Do you need FA?
What does the NPC indicate what you’d pay? Does it look ok?
Aid that is based on financial need is not related to grants that are given for academic merit. But you really need to look at the financial aid section of the college’s site to get an idea of what they do. Every college is different.
Check with ResLife. At some schools an early response does help with housing. And if it is affordable and her top choice, why not just deposit, buy a hoodie, and be done? And CONGRATS to all!!!
This is a PASSHE school, meaning the nonflagship PA public system. Instate costs are relatively low but financial aid is poor. There are a few scholarships for things like a 3.0 GPA and being top 20% of class.
The Bridenstine, Jacques Accounting, and Hippenstiel scholarships are awarded based on an application that must be requested to the Financial Aid office. The Carver scholarship is based on the strength of the materials submitted (especially essay) to the Honors College, so if she’s eligible she should apply.
Finally apparently the best scholarship is the Mitrani:
Mitrani Scholarships are awarded to new freshmen and are renewable for three additional years provided students maintain the required academic achievement level (3.2 for the freshman year and 3.5 each subsequent year). Freshmen applicants must rank in the top 20 percent of their high school class and score 1250 or above on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) with a minimum of 600 on each portion, or rank in the top 10 percent with an SAT score of 1150 or above with a minimum of 550 on each portion. Students who may be eligible for the Mitrani Scholarships will be notified by the Office of Admissions regarding application procedures.
http://departments.bloomu.edu/finaid/Scholarships/BU-Scholarships-Freshmen.pdf
Is Bloomsburg affordable as is, without counting on grants/scholarships? If not, it may be worth it for her to send a couple applications to other universities, including some in the PASSHE system. What are her stats?
,Tuition and fees $9,326
Room and board $8,480
Books and supplies $1,200
Estimated personal expenses $2,530
Transportation expenses $1,790
Estimated Total $23,326
The above is the COA. Transportation estimates may be high if you live within a distance that you can easily drive and drop her off during dorm Move In.
Have you run the NPC to see what aid she’d get, if any? PA schools aren’t known for their FA. I think that there is some modest state aid for low income students. Fed grants are also for low income students.
How much will you be contributing each year?
https://www.bloomu.edu/aid/deadlines
some info about aid and deadlines.
Also in the winter/early spring have your D check with HS guidance to see about applying for local scholarships. Most of them are $500 -$1,000 and usually only for one year, but it helps.
When you fill out the FAFSA (after Jan 1 2016) and submit there should be a link on the confirmation page for the state aid application. Don’t miss it. Most of it is done online, but we had to print and mail in a signature page to PHEAA in Harrisburg.
Congrats on the good news!
https://www.bloomu.edu/honors
http://departments.bloomu.edu/honors/pages/apply.html
they also have a honors program, seems like you need to apply for it. They also award some honors scholarships.
Other than acceptance notification did your daughter’s letter contain any other information?
We did a tour at Bloomsburg recently. The tour guide mentioned that 1st year housing may be affected by when you submit the deposit. If you get it in early, you will have a better chance at a “double” room instead of a triple as a freshman.
I believe most (if not all) freshmen were put into triples this year at Bloomsburg. Hopefully, they resolve that problem for the class of 2020. Putting down a deposit early may help.
This is very exciting for you and your daughter! I love the rolling admission at PA schools. My son only applied to Pennsylvania state schools and he is done (as soon as he decides between his two top choices).
They also have honors housing. If she qualifies I would definitely look into the honors college further. Lots of opportunities, trips and other advantages. They also get to move in early I think.
Congratulations!