One little nugget of wisdom Elle's guidance counselor instilled.....may have just paid off. Figured it might work for someone else too, so thought I'd share. He told her that any time she spoke to the college on the phone, regardless of the reason, she should always ask to be transferred to financial aid instead of hanging up...and simply ask "Are there any new sources of funding available for my fall tuition?" She's done this three or four times now....and the answer has always been...Nope, you've applied for everything, but you're welcome to keep asking. Today she called the school to talk about her housing, and did the obligatory transfer to financial aid...to ask the obligatory dead-end question, "Are there any new sources of funding available for my fall tuition?" Only this time...the lady at the other end said, "Oh, Hi Elle! Hang on a second." Financial aid lady came back and explained that a student receiving a private U of M scholarship had recently decided not to attend...and that the scholarship donor asked them to find 20 alternate students to interview for the scholarship! So, Wednesday, we're going to South Bend, so Elle can interview for this last minute scholarship! The donor has decided to award two scholarships (of $2500, instead of one for $5000)...in a pool of only 20 kids. So, the odds are still iffy, but way better than typical. Keep fighting for funding...even through the summer! You might get a surprise
Thanks folks! We just got home. Elle felt the interview went very well! They told her she'll know by Monday. Either way it goes, we feel really blessed. Elle got a total of $7000 in scholarships for this year, already, and a wonderful aid package (including some work study where she works 10 hours per week to help pay tuition) from U of M, too. She's really close to being fullly funded...so we can't complain...at all. She's trying to line up work at the biological station over winter break, and during the summer next year, too. It's a wonderful opportunity because it will count as an undergraduate research credit, and they've already submitted paperwork to try to get her paid for it as well. She's very determined to graduate without debt. She spends a TON of time chasing scholarships and taking odd jobs. We're really proud of her efforts to keep the financial burden on us minimal. She's got a very good financial head on her shoulders and keeps impressing us with responsible choices. (proud mom brag...sorry..lol) She claims her money sense came from her AP economics class. LOL. She's obsessed with the idea of putting money in an IRA as young as possible, because according to her: all dollars put in your IRA in your 20's are worth five times the dollars you put away in your 50's. And yes, it freaks me out...that my 18 year old is planning her retirement. LOL. I keep telling her that someday her father and I are going to come live in her basement as little senile old people...so she'd better plan ahead for our comfort! Ha! Here's another tip for anyone who has a senior in regular school this upcoming year....Elle scheduled a regular time with her counselor once a week on her lunch break to meet with him for ten minutes and talk about scholarships. She must have applied for 20 of them through him, and dozens more through websites.... and another big bunch through the college. Applying can be so disheartening, because you can apply for so many and not get a single hit. But keep trying! Only takes being awarded a couple to make a TON of difference in your debt load. Also...make sure to do early applications to schools you want. Elle got a $500 award simply for making the early application date!
Interesting development! We're not sure if Elle got this scholarship or not....but her award at her financial aid page at U of M mysteriously went up $1000 this morning. This could be due to other factors, and not have anything to do with the scholarship...but it sure looks fishy! LOL. No letter from the scholarship contacts yet, though. And the amount is odd...I was sure I read it was going to be two $2500 awards. Maybe they had so many excellent applicants that they decided to do 5 awards of 1000? I think this would be a really cool way to do it, in all honesty. Let more kids benefit. Regardless of what happened....she's up $1000 today, and that's worth a victory lap. LOL.
(the only other thing we can figure, is that her updated GPA could have affected her award. She just sent her final transcript to the school. She carried a 4.11GPA her senior year, but had applied to U of M with a 3.86. Her final GPA was a 3.93. Maybe her improved graduating GPA qualified her for more funding? It's all a mystery. She just got an email from the school that said "your financial award summary has been adjusted, clink link to view". Last time she got a scholarship from the school, we got a letter, and it's on the awards page listed separately. I guess we'll know soon!)
LOL...well...she DIDN'T get the scholarship! It was being given by the family of the composer who wrote the U of M fight song ages ago...and the scholarship ended up going to a music student...which made perfect sense. Elle was interviewed because of her musical theater background. Apparently the girl who got the award is a published composer...savant-like musical kid with two teachers for parents. She was a perfect fit and had significant financial need (one parent is now disabled), the scholarship-family gave her the whole $5000 award. I think they made a great choice. Elle read me their note, and it was really nice. They told her they adored her, wished her great success, wrote many personal references to the interview and recommended she apply for another scholarship that will be available to her next year. Was a lovely rejection...very personal, not a form letter. You win some, you lose some. Losing this one was still a positive experience. We did get to the bottom of the mysterious additional $1000 of aid. Turns out it was the GPA. Her awesome senior year gave her GPA just enough boost to reach another benchmark for academic achievement funding, so they boosted her award accordingly. Note of caution to families with HS Seniors this year: Let this be a serious wake up call about not slacking off in your Senior year...even after you've been accepted to college. If Elle's GPA had slipped, her award could have been reduced. Luckily, she had a great year and it went the other way....but I sure wasn't aware of this little technicality! With Elle's aid package, work study, scholarships, and savings from odd jobs....she's managed to come up with $22,000 of the $27,000 she'll need this year without our help. She's been offered loans for the other $5000 without a co-signer due to her grades. We're not letting her take the loans. We've got an educational 529 account for her....that thanks to the recent jump in the stock market...is doing really, really well. We'll pay the $5000 out of that. Freshman year paid for. No loans. Whew! A year ago...I would have NEVER believed it.
It's always disappointing not to win, but kudos for them to write the letter in such a way as to be a real encouragement!!! It's very possible to be disappointed for yourself, but at the same time be excited for the winner!
I honestly feel very good about what happened. The other kid wants to be a composer...she's exactly what the family was looking for to honor the memory of their loved one. The other kid demonstrated a lot more financial need, too. It was meant to be, and we're truly happy for her. Elle has had such incredible luck with academic awards and scholarships this year....it's impossible not to feel 100% grateful for what we've been given. It was way more than we ever expected
