University of Michigan Social of Social Work Fall 2016

[mswh0peful]

On 8/21/2016 at 11:39 PM, BrendonSW said:

Hey friends! I haven't been on here since May, so I wanted to give a quick update. 

I moved to Ann Arbor last week! I'm all set and ready to go for the academic year. I'm very excited to meet you all, so please say hi at orientation if we cross paths! 

I'll be in the Self-Reflection/Mindfulness SEED mini course. 

As for financial aid, I told you all back in April that I appealed my financial aid package from SSW. Originally, I was offered $9,000 for the entire program (advanced standing). At the end of May, my appeal was denied. A week later, my appeal was reversed and I was offered much more. For any folks applying for next fall, do not give up. If there's one thing I learned during this entire process, it's don't give up and keep trying. I was offered enough to cover more than half of my tuition. Initially, only about 10% of my tuition was being covered. Seriously. Don't give up. 

I'm looking forward to meeting you guys. I'm totally introverted, so hopefully being on here will help connect us in person.  

Hey! Would you mind if I messaged you to ask you a little bit more about the re-review process you experienced? I was offered 24k and emailed financial aid to ask them what the appeal process is, and they emailed back telling me that I am already offered the maximum amount of aid that a grad student can receive. Although 24k is very generous, as an out-of-state student, I'd still have to take out at least 40k in loans! I'm curious if that's a new policy they have or if you originally had the same response. Congrats on getting more aid and on attending U of M!

[BrendonSW]

On 2/13/2017 at 3:47 PM, mswh0peful said:

Hey! Would you mind if I messaged you to ask you a little bit more about the re-review process you experienced? I was offered 24k and emailed financial aid to ask them what the appeal process is, and they emailed back telling me that I am already offered the maximum amount of aid that a grad student can receive. Although 24k is very generous, as an out-of-state student, I'd still have to take out at least 40k in loans! I'm curious if that's a new policy they have or if you originally had the same response. Congrats on getting more aid and on attending U of M!

2 years later and I'm finally back on this site! I will go ahead and respond just in case anyone happens to check this thread wanting to know the same information. 

I emailed Tim Colenback regarding the re-review. When I reached out to him, I explained that I had not been offered enough funds to justify attending U of M and wanted to know if there was any additional aid I could apply for. He responded with a form for me to fill out and asked me to submit an essay basically outlining why I need the money, my career goals, etc. I believe the essay was around 5-7 pages long. I submitted everything to him in mid-April and received a response in late May stating that my request had been declined. I didn't respond to the "rejection" email and was pleasantly surprised when I was awarded additional funds 2-3 weeks later. Thinking back on it, it probably wouldn't have hurt to send him a thank you email after the rejection and a reminder that I still needed more funds if they became available. Regardless, I was able to receive more funds and decided to attend U of M. 

My initial scholarship amount was *deep breath* $3,000 per semester. I personally would have never attended without more money. Ann Arbor is not an affordable area. I've lived in Nashville and Baltimore and found Ann Arbor to be more expensive than both. During the re-review, I requested an additional $12,000 per semester. Ultimately, I received $15,000 each semester and ended up still going $40,000+ in debt for a program that took me less than a year to complete. To answer the question above, they never told me about a maximum amount. However, I did meet a student in the program who was from out-of-state and she received a full scholarship to attend the MSW program. Her tuition was completely covered. My advice: push them. Advocate for yourself. Advocate for yourself all the way up until your orientation and continue to advocate for yourself after that. People drop out of the program, they defer, many students don't accept to attend, etc. which makes funds become available throughout the school year. Also, apply for ANY scholarships offered through the SSW. I currently sit on a scholarship review committee and there is typically a very small applicant pool for SSW scholarships. Hope this helps someone! 

[IvySWCu]

Do you have any advice for scholarship search on ther MSW programs outside of UMich?

[BrendonSW]

On 11/11/2019 at 12:25 PM, The Finance Girl said:

Do you have any advice for scholarship search on other MSW programs outside of UMich?

Based on my experience, I'd offer similar advice. Check in with the financial office and see if there's a way to be considered for more financial aid. I'd check in with the financial aid office located within the School of Social Work. I'd also look on the school's website to see what scholarships are available. As I mentioned above, sometimes there are only a few applicants for scholarships, so you have a better chance than you may think!

[IvySWCu]

1 hour ago, BrendonSW said:

Based on my experience, I'd offer similar advice. Check in with the financial office and see if there's a way to be considered for more financial aid. I'd check in with the financial aid office located within the School of Social Work. I'd also look on the school's website to see what scholarships are available. As I mentioned above, sometimes there are only a few applicants for scholarships, so you have a better chance than you may think!

Awesome, thanks. I have heard back from three schools about being accepted for Fall 2020 MSW, but have not recived a FASFA letter, does that come from them as well? I want to make an informed decision in regards to Tuition Fees before I submit a depoist. I find it odd that they did not provide the award letter with the acceptance letter? Is that common?

[BrendonSW]

On 12/2/2019 at 2:53 PM, Zayah said:

Awesome, thanks. I have heard back from three schools about being accepted for Fall 2020 MSW, but have not recived a FASFA letter, does that come from them as well? I want to make an informed decision in regards to Tuition Fees before I submit a depoist. I find it odd that they did not provide the award letter with the acceptance letter? Is that common?

When I received my acceptance letters, the award letter typically came within a week. Now that 2 weeks have passed, have you received your letter yet? 

[IvySWCu]

57 minutes ago, BrendonSW said:

When I received my acceptance letters, the award letter typically came within a week. Now that 2 weeks have passed, have you received your letter yet? 

Nope, however when I called the programs it looks like FASFA does not package or send out letters until Feb/March.. 

[BrendonSW]

7 hours ago, Zayah said:

Nope, however when I called the programs it looks like FASFA does not package or send out letters until Feb/March.. 

Ah! I misread. FAFSA does send a letter in February/March. I was thinking about the social work department’s scholarships for you. Those usually come within a week of receiving an acceptance (in my experience). I believe my FAFSA came in February. The FAFSA for MSW programs really outlines which federal loans you’re eligible to receive. I don’t believe I received any federal aid for grad school.

[IvySWCu]

1 hour ago, BrendonSW said:

Ah! I misread. FAFSA does send a letter in February/March. I was thinking about the social work department’s scholarships for you. Those usually come within a week of receiving an acceptance (in my experience). I believe my FAFSA came in February. The FAFSA for MSW programs really outlines which federal loans you’re eligible to receive. I don’t believe I received any federal aid for grad school.

Oh gotcha! Yeah - so I called UIC and UMD nad Rutgers, and they said the school of social work does not award ANY scholarships until a student confirms their enrollment.. Which means a huge deposit at every school, and I can't justify that.

 

I have heard UC and other schools make their scholarship offers before acceptance, which makes sense as those are typically more expensive.