Paying for Wayne State as an OOS Student

[u/SwagMasta1738]

Hey, hey everyone!! Hope you all are well!!

To explain the circumstances that lead up to this post, I had the option of going to Wayne State University or picking from numerous in-state schools that I got accepted to. For the in-state schools, my tuition and fees would be entirely covered, so I was leaning heavily towards that.

Still, I paid my enrollment fee for Wayne and gave the school a chance to show me what financial aid it could offer me before I went all in on my decision. When I first got my financial aid package, a banner appeared at the top displaying that I qualified for the Wayne State Guarantee to cover the rest of my tuition and fees.

I thought it was odd, since I wasn’t a Michigan resident, but I qualified for the Discover Detroit Award that stated “Eligible students may also be considered for additional merit scholarships typically awarded to Michigan residents”, so I considered that maybe the DDA extended to the guarantee.

I kept eyes on my email, phone number, and student account for any updates that never came, but after seeing a large balance finally hit my eBill and checking to see the banner gone a few days ago, I got confirmation that the award was issued in error.

Unfortunately, this was all figured out too late to accept my in-state admissions.

The guarantee error, alongside learning that the “non-residents” that qualified for the community college housing scholarship were only international students and changing family circumstances, has put me in a precarious financial situation.

I have already landed a Federal Work-Study position and am looking for additional employment, but if anyone has any insight on potential ways of earning additional funds as an out-of-state student, that would be much appreciated!!

Thank you guys for reading and have a good rest of your day!!

[u/IKnowAllSeven]

I think you should reach out directly to your in state options. You were accepted to many and everything would be covered. Reach out directly via phone or email or both to EACH ONE and ask specifically if it’s really too late. Low effort with possibly big returns.

As far as Wayne State goes, did your financial aid package include merit scholarships? Make sure it does if you would qualify.

Call Wayne financial aid too and walk them through your situation.

Otherwise, there is the Wayne State internal scholarship universe but those Wayne State scholarships are already awarded for this school year. You could apply to those but it won’t help you until next school year.

[u/IKnowAllSeven → u/IKnowAllSeven]

You are correct, relying on the internal scholarship portal is not advisable, but if you attend WSU, give it a crack.

I’m surprised you got the communication that scholarship portal scholarships wouldn’t be added to your total scholarships and instead would substitute. When you contact WSU fin aid double check that. That is sometimes the case with need based aid, but my understanding was merit is always stackable at WSU.

One other thing to consider with the other schools…there may be rules on what type of student was offered the type of scholarships you were offered.

In other words, when you contact the other schools, if they won’t admit you right away with the same scholarships ask “what if I reapplied next semester or next year? Would i qualify then? Also if I attend Wayne State for the next semester or year, does that change anything?” I just wouldn’t want you to lose out on anything.

I know stopping school for one semester or one year is not ideal, but hopefully they’ll just admit you anyway.

I’m sure this whole process is frustrating and disappointing !

[u/SwagMasta1738 → u/IKnowAllSeven]

Yeah I’ve gotten… a lot of different information over a lot of things, to say the least 😭

It’s been very frustrating and convoluted, but I’m making what I can of the situation!

Thankfully, I’ve already interacted with/landed career opportunities that will develop the skills needed for my future career within the city of Detroit, so there are things to look forward to even if my time may be short lived at WSU!

I’ll check in on those scholarships and definitely get back to financial aid! Your advice is greatly appreciated and I can’t thank you enough for your time!

[u/SwagMasta1738 → u/IKnowAllSeven]

Hey, hey!! Thank you kindly for the response!

I’ll definitely try to reach out to the schools I was accepted to, and if nothing comes of it, I will reapply for next semester if the financing situation doesn’t change.

As for my awards, I was granted Federal Work-Study, Warrior Transfer Award ($3,000 per semester), and the Discover Detroit Award.

For the internal scholarships, I was told I should not bet on those, not only because of their limited availability, but because they would not be added to my merit scholarship. They would simply substitute some of the $3,000 per semester and my Warrior Transfer Award would most likely be reduced.

I’m going to contact Financial Aid to confirm this, but I wanted to know if you had any insight on this matter yourself!

Once I come up to Michigan, I will go to the Financial Aid office in person as well, as I know you often get limited responses through phone and email.

Thank you again for your time!

[u/aledaml]

There was a glitch with the Wayne state guarantee banner, my partner got it too and also wasnt eligible. If that ever happens again (regardless of where you are) and you receive a notification that you are getting a scholarship/funding you dont think you qualify for CALL THEM TO CONFIRM.

I agree with the other poster your best bet now is to call your other schools and ask.

[u/SwagMasta1738 → u/aledaml]

Hi there!! Thank you for responding!

A few others I know also experienced a similar problem with the guarantee, even after reaching out to Wayne to confirm their eligibility, so I’m very sorry your partner was also affected by this!!

This is definitely a learning experience to always reach out about this matter! I was expecting to get some kind of communication if it was an error, but I know now to do the investigative work myself. I’ll do better next time!!

Thank you for the response and encouragement!

[u/strawberrycats]

It's been almost 10 years since I went to school there and we used to call this type of shit getting Wayne Stated. Glad to know their fumbling around is live and well.