My son, High School senior, is pursuing Pharmacy. He narrowed it down to two of the Top 10 Pharmacy Schools. It simply came down to, and was decided on, an email message. We are OOS and, as everyone is aware, tuition is higher at Michigan. My son has great academics thus receiving Guaranteed Admission (GAP) into the Pitt PharmD program along with an Academic Scholarship. My son was admitted into Michigan and as we awaited any chance of Academic scholarship (excellent credentials), I submitted a brief letter to the school stating how excited he was in attending Michigan. The email included a comparison showing how the current tuition at Michigan was almost triple than Pitt (based on scholarship). A direct quote from the response by the University of Michigan Office of Financial Aid - “If your family decides to commit your son to attending UM, you should be prepared to pay a large amount out of pocket or borrow loans to cover the cost”. Unprofessional indeed. It sounds like all the University of Michigan wants is my money? Conclusion - Pitt
Chances are they were a bit put off by a parent emailing them to try to convince them to give their child a scholarship. First, the financial aid office does not give academic scholarships. They are in charge of need-based aid. If you were appealing an already-given financial aid package, then parent communication is appropriate to explain specific family financial circumstances.
As for academic scholarships, 1) they are not based on beating/meeting the price of another college; 2) unless there is a required scholarship application, there’s nothing a student – and especially not a parent – can do to boost their case.
University of Michigan is a state school supported by the taxpayers of that state. The tuition is what it is for out of state students. It’s not personal. Pitt is a great school, by the way.
Not really sure how that’s an “unprofessional” response? Unprofessional would be emailing a school on behalf of another adult and demanding money. Michigan is certainly the better school, but you should consider whether the prestige is worth the heftier price.
In your son’s case, Pitt makes better sense. Pharmacy is not a liberal arts discipline (where Michigan has a distinct advantage over Pitt with the notable exception of Philosophy, where Pitt is a world-beater), or an industry that relies on institutional prestige (like consulting or finance), where Michigan would have given your son an advantage. Pitt and Michigan are peers in Pharmacy. As such, I see no benefit in attending Michigan at a much higher cost.
Congratulations on your son’s acceptance to Pitt. It is not worth going into debt if your son has another great choice. I am also out of state and we feel what we got from Michigan was more then fair (will always accept more though). Looking at the quote from a different lens, I just think they are being more then honest. If you can’t afford the tuition then this is what you have to do. They are in the position of going through thousands of acceptances /denials etc now. They will have thousands of out state kids on their wait list. Not every letter is going to be personalized. All I can say is they do support the students once they are there. You should be happy with your choice of school.
Michigan’s response was accurate & honest.
What would be a professional response then? Just tell you they will consider it while they have no intentional to fulfill your request? Each school have their way to give merit scholarships and asking the FA for merit aid is barking at the wrong tree. If there is any change to your financial situation, then you may ask them for more help. Most schools do not negociate for financial aid, particularly for an OOS public college.
My son received this response from Pitt (what I would have expected from UM at 250% the cost) - “Working together with your family, we will find a way to make a Pitt education a reality for you”
-FOR THEM, the cost compared to another school is irrelevant.
-Financial aid office has nothing to do with academic scholarships.
-The student herself, not a parent, should be the point-person for academic scholarships.
-If it’s not their intention to work “together with your family” then it is honest of them not to say that.
Obviously, they know there is no way to give you additional need based aid to fill that 250% difference. A straight answer telling you the reality is indeed very professional.
All things are not equal between these two schools.
Pitt is considered a state-related private university.
http://www.pitt.edu/chancellor-search/state-related
As with any public university, your son is selected - not solicited - to attend Michigan.
Best of luck at Pitt.
My OOS daughter has also been accepted to Michigan and LOVES it but the financial wasn’t even close to being what we need to make it a reality. For perspective University of Virginia, which has a slightly lower cost of attendance, awarded her $11,000 more in grant money than Michigan. The private institutions that she’s been accepted to (ex. Boston College) have a higher sticker price but a net cost that is $20,000 less than Michigan. We were surprised, to be honest, that Michigan was not close to the UVA package. We were equally unsuccessful with Michigan financial aid and so sadly she needs to move on.
It is clear that OOS public would hardly meet the need if they provide any aid at all. For undergraduates, UMich has started this year to meet the need of OOS students with less than $90k income which would be more than $40k in grant per year. It is one of the most generous public University for OOS students. It is not a private school and it has no obligation to provide any aid to OOS students. One should check the cost before submitting application.
"“Working together with your family, we will find a way to make a Pitt education a reality for you”
That’s just nicer wording lol.
Did your son get a scholarship from Pitt? I never saw your update.
@CRVKids I would give Michigan credit for being honest. As a publicly assisted university, OOS students pay substantially higher tuition. They are just forewarning you. It’s even worse at University of California…they don’t give any FA to OOS students any more.
of course Pitt gave you more money…it’s a way worse school
I respect U of Michigan in every way. Just wish the OOS tuition was lower. BTW, my daughter is a First Year Engineer at The Ohio State University. They happened to provide in-state tuition (being OOS) plus a generous merit scholarship.
My friend’s son also get that offer from OSU while he was rejected by UMich CoE with 3.85/33 from in state. If one aim lower, it would be easier to get merit aids.
CRVKids, Michigan is Michigan. It is one of the top 20 universities on Earth. The cost of running a university that hires the best faculty, keeps classes small, provides high-level research opportunities to the vast majority of those who seek them is high, and the cost of attendance is therefore justified. Along with that comes a greater, more intellectual academic experience and vibe, and ultimately, more opportunities for students when they graduate. Michigan’s peers are not OSU and Pitt…they are Cornell and Northwestern. I do not see parents complaining about the cost of Cornell or Northwestern, and yet, they cost roughly $7k/year to attend than Michigan.
That being said, in the case of your son, Pitt makes better sense because your son is intent on majoring in Pharmacy, and there is no real benefit in attending Michigan in his case.
Universal sentiment.