Secret: All out of state publics give merit to students they want in order to fill institutional needs (grades, sports, music, whatever) and provide regional diversity. The merit give to out of state students almost always get them to in-state prices or close to it (depending on how much they want you). Very few out of state students get merit to bring them under in state sticker.
In other words, if you are an out of state student, UCONN and other state uni’s need you to pay what in-state students pay. If you are in state, they can’t afford to discount much because the in state sticker reflects the cost of running the school. The difference between in state sticker prices between one state U and another almost always reflects how much the state government is allocating to support their in state universities.
Unless you are on the women’s basketball team, the chances of getting large merit as an instate student is slim. I do think UCONN has a very competitive full tuition merit scholarship, but I could be wrong.
@Scrambled88 my OOS son has gotten merit at both private and UCONN (I think CU Boulder, but CU’s not really in the running) and no other financial aid. Excuse my ignorance, but does a college need to award you eligibility for Parent Plus loans, because UCONN was the only one to put it in the Financial Aid award? It’s the first public school we’ve gotten so far, so maybe that’s why.
@overbearingmom I’m not familiar with how the financial aid docs work. My son applied to one ED school 4 years ago and they finished out his college fund with a scholarship so that there was no need to get a loan. His acceptance letter showed all the math and spelled out where everything was coming from, which was helpful for us newbies. My D has applied to some top schools where they feel that “everyone merits being here” so they only award need based aid if you qualify. It’s going to be interesting with my D since this year is so crazy competitive… Her degree is likely to cost more than my son’s despite being the better student just due to the competition. Our goal is to have them both graduate without any loans. Her most expensive acceptance so far is Bard with a Freshman price tag of $78k! Insane.
@Scrambled88 no financial aid for Bard? I don’t know much about Bard, but my impression is that they have a bunch of rich white people Probably not the case, but I guess you can’t be middle class and afford $78k! Yeah, we also aren’t seeking any student loans, and we can probably swing son’s tuition, it’s just a) the additional $6k for ASD support (seriously considering a go fund me for that piece) b) that we have D coming right behind in two years and we can’t support two tuitions! Guessing we will qualify for more need based aid then. We are applying for scholarships, but it’s hard to think we’ll be chosen rather than someone less comfortable. But we don’t have much retirement and laying out $35k -$50k will not help. We encouraged a less elite school based on the stress and lack of services to help our son, and didn’t think of the price tag, but that’s kind of a side benefit. D will likely go to a decent LAC, but I am betting it will be in the same $50k range. Already mapping out the scholarships she will apply for.
@overbearingmom Bard certainly gives out merit aid but they didn’t offer any to my D. It might have been because she didn’t put a lot of effort into her app and skipped the “Why Bard” essay question! She said it was optional and she was exhausted from the other 25 essays she was writing for other schools. That omission will cost us if she decides to go there. It was a safety school and so likely she’ll go elsewhere and maybe UConn considering the nice scholarship they gave her, but UConn was also a safety school (we thought - probably wrong to think that). We thought it was smart having our kids 4 years apart - but apparently the best way to qualify for aid is to have lots of kids in school at the same time. So it will undoubtedly help you when your D is admitted. We have 12 schools left to hear from! A lot different then when I applied to 3 schools with a typewriter! My OOS tuition at NCSU was also $6k!! Ah the good old days… Good luck with everything! I’m sure it will all work out for the best.
We got our ‘financial aid’ statement yesterday and are are eligible for $50,000+ in Parent Plus loans (we are OOS). That takes U Conn out of the running. I feel bad for my daughter because it was one of her top choices.
@Jenny27 we are instate also and D received honors and 7500. We will see in a couple weeks if any of the private schools she applied to will give us a deal that is close. Did your S apply to any private schools?
Hey guys, just got my acceptance letter yesterday which I am happy about but a little confused. I am wondering if I got into the honors program because I received the Academic Excellence Scholarship (74k total), but I have no idea if I need a specific note saying I got into honors. Congratulations to everyone else that got in as well!
@Kova34 it said in my D’s letter & there was an enclosed honors pamphlet. A couple of my D’s peers received the same award but did not get into honors. Congratulations
Most likely my D will be doing a Husky for the day- heard it was good/useful- to help make a final choice. I’m thinking it may be more helpful than the admitted student day as she already visited/toured. Best wishes.
We are signed up for Husky For A Day on March 22nd and the Admitted Students Day on April 14th.
Does anyone have experience with the UConn Theater program as a non-theater major? My D got into the DMD program but is still hoping to participate in the music program and do theater as well. She is going to set up a meeting with reps from the music and theater departments on 3/22 or 4/14. Any insight is appreciated!
@thatmulletkid Did your school already name Valedictorian and Salutatorian? I thought Presidential was reserved for Vals and Sals…or do they award it for other reasons too?
My D got the Leadership Scholarship award for 18.5k/year. Informed delivery has something else coming from UConn today. East coasters? What’s in your mailbox?
Probably not the case, but I guess you can’t be middle class and afford $78k! Yeah, we also aren’t seeking any student loans, and we can probably swing son’s tuition, it’s just a) the additional $6k for ASD support (seriously considering a go fund me for that piece) b) that we have D coming right behind in two years and we can’t support two tuitions! Guessing we will qualify for more need based aid then. We are applying for scholarships, but it’s hard to think we’ll be chosen rather than someone less comfortable. But we don’t have much retirement and laying out $35k -$50k will not help. We encouraged a less elite school based on the stress and lack of services to help our son, and didn’t think of the price tag, but that’s kind of a side benefit. D will likely go to a decent LAC, but I am betting it will be in the same $50k range. Already mapping out the scholarships she will apply for.