I was accepted to my state flagship back in October and finally got my merit scholarship offer today. It is my safety (both academically and financially), but my offer was less than half of what we expected, based on offers to friends with similar stats. For example, my cousin had slightly higher GPA, slightly lower ACT, similar activities and awards, and less initiative/leadership, yet he got twice as much as I did. As a dual enrollment student at this college for 5 years now, I was expecting as much or more. I think this might be due to technical issues with my application (had to submit addendum in paper, which might not have reached scholarship committee). So, while I’m usually against trying to change college decisions and such, my parents and I have decided to appeal.
We will be calling the admissions office in the morning to set up a meeting later this week. The following (as well as stuff mentioned above) are some things we will be discussing:
-other colleges I’ve been accepted to (or am expecting an acceptance) and expected merit packages.
-“investment” in the college, shown by participation in dual enrollment and possibly research this spring/summer.
-that my dad is an alumnus and has always wanted me to go there, but this steers us elsewhere.
Anyone have experience with this process? Any tips? Yes, I know that a substantial increase to the offer is unlikely, but there is no harm at trying at this point.
I think the things you plan to discuss are good to cover. The one thing I’d add is to make sure that the people considering your application have the correct information; that is, ask them to show you the GPA, ACT score, etc., that they have on record for you. Several years ago, the assessment for our house went up quite a bit and for no reason that we could determine (we hadn’t made improvements; neighbors’ assessments hadn’t increased). When we went to meet with the assessor, the problem was resolved almost immediately: an extra zero had been added to the square footage of our garage. The assessment was immediately corrected. Good luck with your appeal!
You would be a lot better off if you had offers from other colleges already in hand and they were comparable colleges. That would be by far your best tool in this discussion.
Also… is it possible your dual enrollment is working against you? You likely won’t be there a full four years, right, since you probably have a lot of credits already? So maybe they don’t want to give a big scholarship to someone who may only be there for two years. It is possible that not all of the other colleges you have applied to will take all of your credits, so it still may be a better deal for you to attend this college.
You should verify that the information they have on had is accurate, and confirm that your paper materials did reach the scholarship committee. I would recommend that you and your parents work VERY hard to not act entitled in this conversation (cousin got more, dad is an alum, etc.) They are under no obligation to give you any more at all, and if you (or your parents) rub them the wrong way, nothing good will come of it. I actually personally would write a letter instead of meeting with them (just me, I think it is too easy to lose your temper or say something that doesn’t come off well in that kind of meeting).
And to be blunt… I don’t see how “your investment in the college” and “dad is an alum” makes a whit of difference in the merit process. They give the money to the students they most want to attract. Maybe there is something that seems minor to you about your cousin that made a difference (gender?). Or maybe they have less money to give this year (wondering if this is a public university, most are struggling financially with less support from the state legistatures than they used to get)
@intparent
Sadly, it is way too early to have official offers from other colleges. I don’t want to wait to appeal in case they have less money to award later.
The majority of their scholarships are awarded yearly, so only being there for 3 or less years won’t make a difference.
Personally, I agree that legacy and investment are less important, but it could be the difference of thousands of dollars.
The awards I am comparing my own to were awarded this year. This college has rolling awards.
For example, my cousin had slightly higher GPA, slightly lower ACT, similar activities and awards, and less initiative/leadership, yet he got twice as much as I did.
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When did your cousin get that award? This application season? If not, when?
Is your cousin instate?
What was your cousin’s ACT non-super-scored?
Also…is it possible that your cousin/family talked a little fast-and-loose with the amount?
Or maybe they were talking total FA? total FA may have included more than one merit award.
Or maybe they also got a dept award for their major?
or may have included a need-based grant. or may have included work-study or loan.
People often exaggerate their awards…or they’ll include grants or loans and say “I got X much.”
That’s not quite how it works. Once you are admitted, you are considered for scholarships. A couple of the awards are one time, but the rest are awarded yearly for up to 4 years. So, for example, one of the awards I got was $2k yearly, so it would be worth up to $8k (if I went all four years).
And the others who were offered more is that THIS year or previous years. If previous remember colleges get different total monies every year so perhaps they were able to give out more merit money to individuals previously. Just a thought. Good luck.
Your best shot is “If you award me X I will attend”. But you can only say that if it’s true and you are prepared to enroll if they give you what you are asking for.
These are busy professionals who don’t have time to go back and forth with every single family looking to negotiate. So your ace in the hole is “I am prepared to make a commitment”. Short of that- see what happens. If the information they had about you is in fact accurate- be prepared not to get anywhere. But if they are working off old numbers- making sure their data reflects reality might work for you.
I am very leery of the whole “My cousin got more money” business. Sometimes it’s need packaged as merit, sometimes people like to say “full ride” whether it’s accurate or not, sometimes people say “half tuition” when they got 8K off a 30K tuition bill (note- not half) etc.
What matters is whether or not you can afford this school, not what your cousin got, right???
Absolutely say, “we will commit if you give me X to attend.”
No way to admissions people want to jump thru hoops and get more signatures just to have you go elsewhere…or worse…use the add’l award to get more money ELSEWHERE!!!
But, again, take your cousin’s word with a grain of salt. Some may have been “need”…some may have been a dept award for a certain major or talent (band? music? art?)…some may have been a diversity award (if applicable)…and some of his award may have been a LOAN!!!
Also…perhaps your cousin applied early??? If so, there may have been more merit available to be awarded. Some merit awards may have required apps by a certain date.
I know that your family was “expecting” a certain amount, but unless a school’s website says, “you get X if you have Y stats and you apply by _______”, then anything is possible.
another possibility is this… You may be super-scoring your test scores. If so, many schools do NOT superscore for merit.
Look at the merit award information on line. Are there thresholds for the levels of scholarship? My daughter’s school had set dollar amounts for set test score/GPA combinations. Even a “slight” difference could mean several thousand dollars worth of difference in the merit awards.