Hello all! Michigan is one of my top choices right now (was admitted EA) and I have just a few questions regarding financial aid. I was surprised with the grant money they gave me after reading so much about their FA to OOS students being rather low. However, it still is just financially out of reach for my family (50k combined income). Are they still giving out scholarships like the Fairfax scholarship to EA kids? And are you able to appeal the FA/show them what a comparable school has given me? Thanks for any insight and help!
Yes. Appeal the aid decision. Write a letter. Be very thoughtful and gracious, not demanding. Thank them for the aid that they have already offered you. Tell them that Michigan is your number-one choice and you will definitely attend if the aid makes it affordable for you. You can tell them about better offers from comparable schools (which ones are they?) and you can tell them if there are any special circumstances (excessive medical expenses or other emergency spending).
@brantly Thank you for the help! I have a more generous offer from UVa so it would be alright to include that in the letter? Also, will this affect any chance of receiving another scholarship by any chance? Thanks again.
Yes, mention UVA. In fact it’s a great comparable college because it’s another “public Ivy” and Mich is trying to be more like UVA in the level of aid they give to OOS students.
No, it will not affect your chance of a scholarship. If you get a scholarship it does not “stack” on top of your financial aid – it replaces it. So you end up with same amount of financial help. Chances are, if they give you more after your appeal, you’ll get money from a bucket of aid known as the Provost’s Award, which is what they call a “last dollar” award for OOS students. That means they use it in appeals to meet the last dollar. Let’s say your appeal results in a $20k Provost’s Award. Then a month later you find out you got a $25k scholarship. the Provosts Award will go away and you’ll end of with a total of $5k more. If you get a scholarship worth $10k, then your Provost’s Award will be cut in half and you come out the same.
If you do not get a Provost’s Award but then get a scholarship, the F/A office will take away your loans in the same amount as the amount of your scholarship.
@brantly Great, thank you so much for the help!!!
Good luck @seaotter17
Come back and let us know the result of the appeal!
@brantly That is not what “last dollar” means. “Last Dollars” refers to awards that are given after all other sources are used (Gates Scholarships are also “last dollar” scholarships). Most Provost Awards are made during the RD cycle and are intended for OOS student with family incomes below $90K (this according to UM’s website). By the time appeals come around, most of this money has been awarded. But it still worth appealing…so long as you have a change of circumstances or new information to provide.
Does anyone have any experience hearing about being awarded departmental/college (in particular LSA) merit scholarships some time in April? And did you hear before or after you accepted Michigan’s offer to enroll? Just curious as to whether or not my daughter who was accepted EA in December might still receive any merit award. We don’t have our hopes up but wondering.
@exlibris97 That is exactly what I meant when I said Provost Award was a last dollar award.
Someone I helped with F/A got a very large Provost Award after an appeal.
Then an outside scholarship came through, and the Provost’s award went away. When I called to ask why the outside scholarship did not replace loans, the F/A person said that Provost’s Award goes away BEFORE loans because it is a “last dollar” award for OOS students.
@centralNJdad I was wondering the same thing–I was digging through older posts and found a poster that said their student was admitted EA but received a departmental scholarship in mid-April around Easter-ish, so it may still be possible.
@brantly @exlibris97 I have one more quick question–should I include my official financial aid statement from UVA (like the official portal FA information/paperwork) so Mich has actual confirmation of the FA they offered me; or should I just state it in the letter? Thanks again for all of your help.
@seaotter17 Yes, provide documentation.
@brantly great, thanks.
I will keep you all updated on how the appeal goes, thanks for all of your much-appreciated help! 
@brantly Michigan may have changed its policy, but in previous years it did not match aid from other universities.
Well here is an update–the appeal was a no-go. Thanks to everybody for their help though! Does anybody know if U of M is still giving out scholarships?
@seaotter17 most likely no. i think all scholarship offers have already been made.
@seaotter17 Sorry to hear that. What is your current FA offer? It should be pretty good if your household income is $50k.
Except for some special ones (e.g. Music performance), most of the large scholarships should have been announced before mid-March. Sometimes there will be re-distribution of declined offer later on. The one that received one in mid-April could be from that.
@billscho Well that makes sense, thanks for the info!
@brantly Honestly after reading about Michigan OOS financial aid, I was pretty surprised with the package they did offer me. If I remember correctly, I think it is somewhere along the lines of 19k in grant money and a smaller amount in federal loans.
I received 2 separate scholarships which were College of LSA departmental (10000 per year), and the La Verne Noyes Scholarship (4000 per year). I am an instate student and I received both of them a week or two ago.