Say a large public state school (this is not known for giving good need-based financial aid) really wants you to go to their school but they gave away all their merit scholarships and your family has an EFC of zero, is it possible/likely for them to give you a random school grant (either merit or need-based)?
You only suppose they want you to go to their school. If they really want you, they’ll make it affordable. There’s INTENT and then there’s ACTION. All you can do is ask. If it’s MSU, then you need to be finding out ASAP b/c aren’t you supposed to attend this Sept? If you’ve not worked out your financing, then that’s top priority over EVERYTHING. Good luck.
Yeah, that really wanting me part was hypothetical unfortunately… I hope that’s the case. I e-mailed my admissions counselor and he said has contacted the financial aid office and will get back to me ASAP. Thanks!
If they REALLY REALLY wanted you and your stats supported it, the college would have awarded you merit aid with your acceptance.
It’s not like they have random money sitting around…at all.
In your previous posts you say you’re a low income (~$30k) student from NJ with a 34 ACT and 3.56 UW GPA. I’m surprised you didn’t have more affordable options. Weren’t any of the in state schools that accepted you affordable?
I wouldn’t bank on an OOS school making themselves affordable. If they wanted to, they likely would have done so already. You need to be sure you can afford all 4 years before you enroll. If you start but have to drop out, you’ll be considered a transfer and won’t qualify for merit aid. What’s your net cost at this school (tuition + fees + room + board) - (grants + scholarships) and how much more do you need? If the gap (after the student loan is applied) is $3-5k, they may be expecting you to work this summer. If it’s more, the school may just not be affordable.
Your other posts indicate you will be enrolling at Michigan State University. So…do you have sufficient financial aid to attend…or not?
First of all, the school probably doesn’t have “random money” sitting around to award. State schools just don’t have a lot of extra money.
Secondly, it is EXTREMELY hard for most schools to give enough money for a 0 EFC student to attend…even if that student had applied early when money was available.
Think about it…this is an OOS public. The cost is probably about $45k per year. Why would they want you SO badly that they can justify coming up with $200k for your education?? Don’t you think that they have enough instate students with similar stats that they could get for a much lower cost?
You may have high stats, but this is the MSU…a state with a large population. They have many high stats students in that state.
Did they give you any merit? Not enough? How much more would you need? Do you have any affordable options if they don’t?
I applied to MSU very late in the game because I didn’t get into my dream school (Notre Dame, which I guess is similar to MSU, athletics/community-wise). I applied in mid-March and got a reply in mid/late-April. By then, I think most of the merit aid had already been given out so no, I did not receive any merit aid whatsoever.
They are asking me to pay $39k in out of pocket expenses. My parents said that they are willing to help me pay for MSU if the financial aid office is willing to drop the cost to about $10k (I know that is a LOOOOOT so I am working with my counselor to apply to more scholarships even though it is late).
Also, I know that many of you guys are parents and disprove of teenagers picking a more expensive school that they “like” over a cheaper, in-state option that they aren’t crazy about. I don’t know what it is about Michigan State that I am just in love with: there’s something about the people of the Midwest, the balance of academics and social life, the nature and adventure onaround campus, the athletics and school spirit… everything about MSU is what I want in a school. I can’t say exactly what it is that pushes me towards MSU and sure, I might sound like a naive teenager right now, but I honestly think that I could be happier at MSU in comparison to how I would feel going to any other school.
BTW, my more affordable option at this point would be my in-state school (Rutgers). My parents want me to go there because it’s cheaper and closer to home.
You are not going to get the costs of MSU to $10,000 or less. It’s not going to happen. MSU is a public university in CT. Their first and foremost responsibility is to the tax paying residents if their state.
In addition, you clearly didn’t show sufficient early interest in MSU…it was a last minute application. I can’t imagine why they would view your request for additional merit money with enthusiasm. To be honest, if you really had wanted more money from this school, you should have applied very early in the application cycle.
You did NOT have to apply late to MSU. Your application to that school could have been concurrent with your other college applications.
Be aware that local scholarships are almost always ONE year awards and are not renewable. So even IF you got enough money from local scholarships this year, you would be doing the same song and dance next year.
Your parents are right. This school is not affordable for you. It’s not affordable for THEM. You need to pick a college that is financially affordable.
The problem is that, despite your fantasy about MSU, you live in the real world, as we all do. I can’t buy a $70k car or a million dollar home, no matter how much I want them, and no matter how long I’ve dreamed of owning them. And the same is true for you and MSU. The fantasy of a dream school is just that - a fantasy. And if you’re old enough to go away to college, then you’re old enough to understand that.
The good news for you, though, is that even though I’ll likely never get that car or that house, you can have Michigan - just not right now. But, after you graduate from college, you can spend the rest of your life there. Choose the reasonable and affordable option now . . . and then spend the rest of your life living your dream.
You need to deal with the reality of your situation. There is no way, at this point, are you going to get awarded $29k in aid for 4 years from MSU or outside resources. That counselor that you’re working with is either not being honest with you or is incredibly naive.
the reality is that you wouldn’t have gotten that much aid if you had applied on time from MSU.
You can take a gap year and apply to UMich. They give great OOS aid. Or if Rutgers will let you go this fall, then go. There.
MSU isn’t happening. It’s best now that you set yourself on a path that deals with what’s real.
BTW…how would an EFC 0 family come up with $40k over the next four years? Payments are over 10 months each year…that’s $1000 a month. I don’t know ANY EFC 0 families that have an extra $500 a month, much less $1000 to put towards college.
Correction above…MSU is a public university in MI. You are not a resident of MI. I’m not sure why you think this school should fund your college costs.
You have a great ACT score and a decent enough GPA. Didn’t you apply to schools where you would have gotten more significant aid?
@mom2collegekids Do you know what some good things for me to do during my gap year are? I was considering City Year but I applied and didn’t get accepted into the program. My mom told me that if I take a gap year, she wants me to take on something that will get be paid but I was thinking that if I just get a job at a supermarket or Starbucks or something, colleges will just see it as a year wasted. 
Having a job is NOT a wasted year. It will provide you with job experience of some kind. This requires responsibility, possibly working with the public, etc. I do not see working as wasteful AT ALL.
A job is NOT a wasted year, but it won’t move the acceptance needle at all.
OP, did you apply to UMich this year? I think I saw a thread by you asking about UMich. If so were you accepted?
To,the OP…
Where DID you apply this round?
A gap year won’t move the acceptance needle BUT it might give the OP,the chance to apply to colleges where she would get sufficient aid to attend. That is what she really needs.
So taking that year…which really means reapplying starting in October or so…could give her the chance to recraft a better application list.
@“Erin’s Dad” no, I didn’t apply to UMich. I originally thought it would be too expensive for me and by the time I found out about their good OOS financial aid, the deadline had already passed… 
@thumper1 I applied to Notre Dame EA and got deferred then rejected. I also applied to USC’s film program which was my second choice (rejected), Bowdoin (rejected), Colby (rejected), Kenyon (wait-listed/not given a spot), Wash U in St. Louis (wait-listed/not given a spot), New School (accepted but realize it’s not for me), Minnesota (applied in mid-March/accepted), Utah (applied in mid-March/accepted), Arizona State (applied in mid-March/accepted), University of Arizona (applied in mid-March/accepted), Rutgers (applied in mid-March/accepted). I also applied to 3 Ivies (all rejected), Rice and Vandy (both rejected).
I’m a first gen college student in the US and my guidance counselor literally didn’t bother to help out in the process AT ALL. I had to figure things out for myself and I feel like I did a terrible job of choosing schools. Also, when I applied, I had no idea what I wanted to major in so I picked either art, business or psychology (I had scattered interests). Now, I am 100% positive that I want to major in computer science.
If I do take a gap year, I hope to apply to more state schools (I finally realized that I love state schools with large enrollment rates, great sports teams, an honors college and tons of school spirit.) such as:
-Ohio State
-UMich
-reapply to MSU (EARLY! this time, before their grants run out)
-Wisconsin
-CU Boulder
-UNC, Chapel Hill
-University of Virgina
-Alabama
-Indiana U
-San Diego State
-reapply to Rutgers (I applied for my own state schools late bc I had no intentions of going there and applied because of all my rejections… this was a HUGE mistake as I did not get that much money and did not have a chance of even being CONSIDERED for honors college)
-reapply to Notre Dame
-reapply to USC
Also, sorry to change the subject of my own thread but parents - do you know how transfers usually adapt to schools? I’m very extroverted but can be extremely shy around people I’m just meeting and I feel like if I transfer after sophomore year of college, I will feel like I’ve missed out on a lot at my new school and won’t be able to adapt as easily especially since there are generally very few transfers… would most people already be developed into their own cliques/friend groups? I know this is the case for high school but is it so for college as well? Or are colleges less cliquey/easier for people to meet new people?