Please Help with scholarships- Freaking out

Paying for College
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<p>I posted some similar info on another thread, but I thought I’d post about a scholarship your daughter may want to look into.</p>

<p>Stamps Leadership Scholarship
University of Miami (Coral Gables, Florida)
4 years full cost of attendance plus $12,000 stipend
includes everything (tuition, room and board, meal plan, transportation to and from college, study abroad, unpaid internships, even personal expenses!)</p>

<p>The Stamps Scholarship is a wonderful program relatively new to the University of Miami. It can be awarded based on either academic merit or musical performance. If you’re invited based on academic merit, there is a weekend on campus to interview. Finalists later interview with Mr. Stamps. I believe musicians have an audition.</p>

<p>The 2011-2012 school year will be the first year with academic Stamps’ scholars. I received this scholarship and would be happy to answer any questions, as I will be attending UM.</p>

<p>I strongly encourage you to look into UM and apply. It uses the Common App and has no additional essays or anything. Even if she doesn’t get Stamps, they have a full-tuition scholarship (called Singer) and several large scholarships with about $24,000 a year.</p>

<p>Miami has some wonderful programs, such as Foote Fellows. If you are a Foote Fellow, you have no general requirements outside of your major. I cannot even tell you how wonderful this is, as you can truly take what interests you.</p>

<p>Miami accepts significant amounts of AP credit and dual enrollment classes. For instance, a 5 on AP Biology gives you 10 credit hours (2/3 of a semester!). This opens up lots of space in your schedule to pursue what interests you.</p>

<p>Miami is a wonderful, private university in Florida. It is actually located in Coral Gables, which is a wonderful area that is safe and has cute shops, restaurants, and entertainment. Miami is currently ranked 47th in the U.S., and it’s ranking is on the rise! </p>

<p>I wish you luck if you decide to apply! It’s great to be a Cane!</p>

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<p>I will be attending Illinois Wesleyan in the fall and they have been extremely easy to work with and generous in their financial packages. I was only offered one student loan, which we did not take because their package was already too good to be true. Wesleyans’ in general have a great reputation and I’m sure you’ll find this one to be the same.</p>

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<p>We seem to have veered off, assuming that the OP has financial need. We don’t know that. We know that she is prepared to contribute $6k per year.</p>

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<p>*We seem to have veered off, assuming that the OP has financial need. We don’t know that. We know that she is prepared to contribute $6k per year. *</p>

<p>Good point…and she may have financial need, but it may require a family contribution much higher than $6k. If a school expects - say $18k per year for a school that has a COA of $55k - it will still be a problem even if the school “meets determined need” and meets need with a grant, student loan, and work-study.</p>

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<p>I would also highly recommend she apply to the University of Miami! I received almost full tuition in just merit scholarships from the university, and there are no extra scholarship applications, they just use the common app for everything. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer! :)</p>

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<p>A lot of leads here and certainly follow them, OP. However, have you filled out a FAFSA estimator to see what your EFC is likely to be? Also, an institutional estimator would be a good idea especially if you have primary home equity and/or a non custodial spouse in the picture. Get some idea whether any financial aid is likely.</p>

<p>ED is a bad idea when you NEED a certain amount. First of all, even if you fill out the estimators and have some idea what your "need " is, individual schools come up with their own need numbers that can vary widely from school to school. You really don’t know until the school itself comes up with its calculation. In fact, you are at disadvantage over those who have a zero or low EFC since they are likely to need a full package no matter how a school looks at it whereas with you, it can be all over the chart. You also can’t compare whether the package is reasonable or not with ED and you have to take it or leave it. You don’t need that kind of pressure.</p>

<p>Once you have a few schools on your list that are certain to take your D and that you know will be affordable, you can run the gambit with anything you like since your base is covered as long as your D understands that those bases may well be where she goes if enough money can’t be shaken out of other sources. </p>

<p>Good luck with the research.</p>

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<p>I want to add that each year families hit with the unpleasant reality that the financial aid calculators do not mesh with what they think they can afford. It can be a big shock that you are expected to be able to afford some of those amounts when you really should not be spending that kind of money even if you could, for the well being of the rest of the family and future. </p>

<p>What I found difficult this year with my college applicant was whether we should even bother to apply to schools that we knew were unaffordable. He did–to a number of them, and he just took them out of consideration when they accepted him but did not give him any merit money (which he knew was a long shot given his stats and the schools’). But what often happens in these cases is that the parent is put over the barrel emotionally. I don’t know what I would have done if DS truly wanted to go to one of those schools that come in over the $55K level. It would have hurt, I can tell you. We were fortunate that his first choice schools were affordable.</p>

<p>But then one of the school did give him a $14K award even though it did not seem that it was possible he would get that kind of money since he was a Fairtest applicant that did not send any test scores at all to that school. That brought the school to within the barely affordable range, but he still preferred another school.</p>

<p>But say what if he were accepted to say, an ivy or other top school that gives out no merit money and we are definitely above the level to get aid? That kind of quandrey happens each year, and yes, we have set our selves up that way regularly… Something to think about.</p>