OOS Financial Aid. Looking for insights from new admits

Hello,
My S is interested in Michigan. We are OOS. We will qualify for financial aid on most school calculators. I have heard different versions about how Mich. treats OOS aid. I realize that it is a state school for in state kids. But I also know that UVA and UNC treat need with generosity… I am looking for specifics about how current admits were treated in regard to Aid. Any sharing and insights would be appreciated.

I was desperate for more info about this when I was applying so I’m happy to share my own experience with you!

I’m an OOS transfer student from California. My COA was calculated to be $60k and estimated need $40k. My EFC was calculated to be $20k (which was way off base) and my initial offer from Michigan was $13k in grant money, $5k in sub. loans and $2k in unsub. loans. This made my total estimated aid just $20k which as you know is not nearly enough to justify the $46k/year price tag no matter how awesome a school it is- so unfortunately I had to rule out U of M even though it was my number one choice.

Then, just one week ago and two weeks after my initial offer, I got an email saying I had been awarded a departmental scholarship (LSA Transfer Scholarship) worth $20k/year or basically the exact amount of money needed to cover the rest of my estimated need! Down to the dollar. So Michigan actually covered all of my estimated need as an OOS even with a moderately high EFC. And for context, I’m not some excessively impressive student who has a 4.0 GPA or 2400 SAT. I actually didn’t even take the SAT!

So in total, my aid money for this year is around $40k leaving my parents to take a $6k Parent Plus Loan to cover the rest. $33k of that $40k is gift money and $7k is in federal loans under my name, with $5k of that being subsidizied. Needless to say, after some happy crying, I enrolled in U of M immediately and would have never expected they would give me enough to meet my entire estimated need based off of what everyone else has had to say about OOS aid on this site.

So I really think if your son wants to go to U of M, do not let what people say about tuition stop you from at least applying!

Edit: Also, the calculators weren’t super accurate for me. They estimated me getting $23k in grant aid, some money in Pell and work-study- none of which I got in my aid offer!

Transferette, thanks for sharing. Much appreciated… Any other experiences out there?

I don’t think umich is generous with scholarships at all. I am in state and they are not being generous with them to me at all. It is because of my parents that I cannot qualify for anything need based. Merit based scholarships are very rare at umich, as every student at umich had to excel academically in order to be here.

Umich is a state school where they have no obligation to support out of state students. It is a fair assumption that making the decision to go out of state school implies that you are willing to pay that level of tuition, as you were very well aware of the cost that comes with it.

I am OOS and received an extremely generous financial aid package from the get-go. Granted, my EFC is extremely low, but Michigan was still able to cover my full cost of attendance through a combination of institutional grants (31k), a Provost’s scholarship (11k), federal grants (SEO Grant was 3k and Pell was at maximum 5,815), and work study/loans(12,500k). Absolutely amazing offer and if my number 1 had not have given me a comparable offer I would’ve chosen Michigan in a heartbeat.

@umcos16 I disagree. UM now has a very generous need based financial aid program for OOS students, including Provosts Awards that are only for OOS students with high financial need. They are a Profile school, so you will only get grant aid if you have demonstrated need. Merit aid is another story; Michigan has publicly stated that it is directing most of its financial aid resources at students with financial need.

thanks exilbris97, I read about those opportunities. I was looking for specific validation. MandomeLife, thanks for sharing. Any other examples of awards here?

Michigan was very generous with financial aid for me. I recieved 45k in grants and scholarships from the university, the rest is left for me to cover. They gave me more than my EFC.

Wow, well that’s not fair to me at all then. I’m in state (i.e., they should be meeting my need before that of out of state students) and I don’t consider them to be sufficiently meeting my need.

@umcoe16 Need is all relative, isn’t it? They agreed to meet your need, and after that it’s just a matter of how much the school wants the student. Some OOS students do not recieve aid, some do. Others may prefer to not comment on these threads, so you’re pulling from a small sample. Same goes with the amount of aid IS students recieve. Before you start complaining again about what’s fair to you or what isn’t, perhaps you should take a hard look at the attitude you display and your application.

I’m out of state and I received a good amount of aid as well. My family’s EFC is really really low so I was really glad UMich was able to help out.

My fafsa EFC was more than half of my dad’s income (he’s the only one able to contribute) and a little bit higher than OOS tuition (even though I have 3 younger siblings and an older one about to graduate). Originally they gave me no aid, which would have lead to me having to take out a ridiculous amount in loans. This made me basically cross Michigan off. But I sent an email detailing other special circumstances as well as explaining the fact that the fafsa is incorrect in its calculations. After I sent in some extra tax documents they gave me a 28k grant as well as work study, which allowed me to go. I say all of this to say don’t count out the school based on their original aid, because if you appeal they can give you more. They also have established the provost award specifically for OOS students with need, which you could possibly qualify for.

UMich isn’t going to come in with a financial aid package greater than need for OOS students.

Interesting info: state (taxpayer) support accounts for about 4% of Michigan’s overall revenue:

http://vpcomm.umich.edu/budget/fundingsnapshot/index.html