We are anxiously awaiting my son’s financial aid package for U of Minnesota TC. Also, he has not heard if he will receive any scholarship money from them yet but we are still hopeful. They tell us it is still under review. Does anyone have any idea when the fin aid info arrives and had anyone received theirs yet???
I think I read somewhere that decisions on financial aid should be made in March. My D’s is under review as well. Are you checking MyU or whatever it’s called? There’s an online portal that shows the status.
Yes, I have been checking daily. My son received his U of Iowa and ASU info this week but I am so anxious for U of M. They are the only school, out of the six he applied to, that we don’t know if he is getting any merit money yet. Frustrating since we have to make a decision soon.
D received U of Iowa and one of her private colleges within the past few days. So they are starting to come out. We’re still waiting on an admission decision for one school so we have a long road ahead of us still LOL (it’s her reach school too 
). Fortunately no decisions have to be made till May 1, correct? If you put enrollment money down at Iowa or wherever to secure a place in the housing queue I think it’s refundable at this point. Just be sure to get your son’s housing application in at the U of MN. That happens to be non-refundable but it’s only $25. And believe me you will NOT want to wait till the last minute on that one.
There are other recent threads discussing merit money. Are you OOS?
Once we did fafsa that page on my U (I think that is how I got there from kid’s my status login) was completed within about 3 weeks, ours was very simple though and we were not expecting any aid. Kid has no merit money either. When you read those thread with stats on those who have received merit, it seems really nuanced.
My son is OOS and we did reserve housing at of U of M already. Also paid the enrollment fee for him at Mizzou and already registered for summer orientation because those dates go quick. We are not getting any aid for him either but was really hoping for some scholarship money from Minn. Every other school is giving him some. For us we are thinking Iowa is out. He likes Mizzou better than Iowa anyway. Just starting to lose patience with U of M.
@MrsFrenzy D just got her financial aid letter today in the mail! To our surprise she was also awarded a $2,500 scholarship so awards are still going out at this point. We, too, are ineligible for federal aid but it’s nice to know that the University found some money for her.
Hopefully your son will receive good news very, very soon.
That’s great! Congrats to your daughter. Hopefully ours will come soon. Did not come in today’s mail. Just curious…are you OOS also. We are from Chicago suburbs.
@MrsFrenzy we are in-state which makes the award even more shocking. D scored very high on her ACT but had some academic difficulty her sophomore year. She got it together and is a stellar student now. They’d be lucky to have her (IMHO). But still - reading about all these high achievers here on the CC forums really has humbled us!
BTW we used to live on the North Shore. D2 is reaching for Northwestern in a year or so. Not surprised. She was born in Evanston Hospital.
What part of the Chicago burbs do you all live?
I’m sure if Northwestern is her dream she will make it happen. My daughter is only a freshman but is a varsity xc and track athlete and has her hopes on continuing her running in college. Let’s hope! We are in Huntley (West Suburbs) now but I grew up in DesPlaines/Mt. Prospect area. My son did well on his ACT-28 and also has a great GPA. He’s received money from all schools. Our in state option for him he did not care for at all. Honestly he has his sites set on moving OOS. ASU gave him $12,000 and MIzzou is giving him $7,000 but he can stay his first summer and get residency in Missouri which will help too. He is going into Business/Finance and U of M is great with Carlson School of Management. He was also direct admit to CSOM. We will see what happens but hoping they find some money for him as well.
Hang in there MrsFrenzy - my son just got his UMN scholarship letter yesterday - we too are chicago suburbs (Batavia)
@MrsFrenzy congratulations to your son and his scholarships - and his admission to CSOM which is a great accomplishment!
We lived in Woodstock for two years so are very familiar with that area of McHenry/Kane County. Used to commute to Chicago via the Northwest Line (a LONG commute). I was happy to relocate closer in but we did love the small-town feel of Woodstock. Huntley was just beginning its growth spurt in those days. It has been fun to drive by the area on visits back to Chicago and see how much it has expanded.
Good luck to your son!
Our son just got his financial aid letter from UMinn. The big fat goose egg. I figured he would at least get the Gold National scholarship to give him in state tuition. But nope, not a dime of merit aid. And I love schools that list Parent PLUS loans as “financial aid”.
Cross Minnesota off the list of schools! Of course the odds of him going to Minnesota were slim at best any way.
I know what you mean! It’s not looking good for my son either. Mizzou is looking better and better every day. U of Iowa is so much more than Mizzou we have pretty much ruled it out too.
My son scored a 32 on his ACT has 3.9 GPA - outstanding leadership, academic, community service etc. 3x state qualifier athletically - all region - all conference - athletic and academic letterman. He has top merit scholarship offers from other schools but Minnesota was his #1 choice. We are out of state and had heard nothing since his acceptance in November. Just spoke to admissions and they said “sorry, nothing they can offer him, but we still want him to come.” My son is going to be devastated when we had been told during a summer visit that he had an excellent chance at the National Excellence scholarship and he had his heart set on U of M now a big ZERO. I told them how as a parent can you tell a kid that has worked so hard to achieve that the school of your choice does not think you are worth ANY THING! How can a kid with $180,000 of scholarship offers from 3 other schools get ZERO from U of M? I just want to scream and my heart is breaking for my son. The flip side is Saint Louis University who is just a academically competitive and ranked highly has pursued him diligently and values him so perhaps he needs to go back and reconsider their generous offer and the offer from in state Kansas University. Just beyond disappointed right now.
Hold on, @MrsFrenzy - did your son not qualify for the National Scholars Award at U of Iowa? I only ask because his stats sounded good enough. Admissions told me they go off final transcript and then it’s automatic.
Here’s the info:
University of Iowa National Scholars Award (NSA)
For incoming nonresident students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
Value:
$19,984 ($4,996 a year for up to four years; if tuition increases, the scholarship will increase by the same percent)
Minimum Requirements:
If your high school ranks, a Regent Admission Index score of 290; if your high school does not rank, a 26 ACT (or a combined SAT critical reading and math score of 1170) AND a 3.60 GPA on a 4.00 scale
Application:
None. Scholarship is awarded automatically to eligible students upon admission.
Renewal:
Renewable for up to four years or until your receive your bachelor’s degree (whichever comes first) provided you maintain continuous full-time enrollment each semester at the University of Iowa, maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative University of Iowa grade-point average, and continue to pay nonresident tuition.
Contact: Office of Admissions
Edit/Update: Oops my bad. Forgot he was getting that great scholarship from Mizzou.
Yes he is eligible for that but it really doesn’t help much. It’s over $42k for total OOS. That’s crazy!
@mrsmacks It sounds like Minnesota is missing out on a good thing giving your son a scholarship. I’m sorry for your son. The other offers sound incredible and I’m sure he will be happy at another school as well. Good Luck!
@MrsFrenzy - tell me about it! Even worse, “Net Cost” on my D’s award notice, after grants and scholarships, actually increases $1,600! Go figure.
Nothing beats that $7,000 scholarship and then being eligible for in-state tuition. Financially speaking, Mizzou is by far the most economical option.
We are in the process of trying to figure out the real “incremental cost” of sending our daughter to college so we will know exactly how this is going to hit our finances. For instance, a portion of her “meal plan” would have been spent here at home on food, we’ll save substantially on gasoline, etc. I suspect by the time we are through even her uber-expensive private art college options won’t be quite as much of a shocker as they first appear. The Cost of Attendance is a great figure to have for things like budgeting, using 529 funds, etc. But the initial perusal can actually cause a minor heart attack, I think.
Good luck to your son as he finalizes his decisions.
mrssmacks - it is extremely difficulty to explain the lack of merit scholarships to kids who have worked so hard. Somehow we just have to remind our kids ow amazing they are and that it is a loss for University X, but to do so without bad mouthing the schools who let us down. I found it very difficult to keep my opinions to myself…but you have to…
Well my son got absolutely nothing from Minnesota! Illinois residents don’t get resiprocity either. Not a happy mom but he has other great options!