In the past (as recent as last year), UMD students have gotten scholarships and grants from UMD that were almost always ~$3,000. The source of these grants and scholarships are awarded from the financial aid office, but the money itself can come from sources like the alumni association and the state itself. I spoke with the financial aid counselor about this, and he told me that ~40-60% of the class got them from year to year, and he claimed that the process of awarding them was "random" because some students got them some years, while other students got them other years, but that upper years had a greater likelihood of receiving this grant. Needless to say, with a "random" process of making awards at Maryland, the financial aid counselor has tremendous amount of say in determining who gets what. So I know that it's stupid, but if you go in to speak with the financial aid counselor in person and just say how you need more money (don't we all?), or if you just fill out the form asking for more money, he keeps your name on this list and when more money "frees up", he awards it to those on his list. I don't know if the situation has changed this year with the state cutting funding to our school, but I do know that I was able to get 1,500 in addition to my 3,000 during first year, and after I lost my grant during third and fourth year, I received 2-3,000 each year during the appeals process. It's kind of a nerve wracking process because the money that he awards during appeals usually don't become available until Sept-October, but it's always nice receiving that extra refund check in the mail after you thought that you had finished receiving all of the financial aid you thought that you were going to receive. I would have never known how to do this until another student told me to try it during college, when I went into my FA office there, was told that I was probably receiving too much in aid as it was due to my parent's income, but I got $500 just for my 20 minutes of time anyways.
Regarding the estimated school budget, you should realize that it's usually an overestimation for most people. Don't underestimate the number of stupid fees that you have to pay, but the school's formula is usually overly generous when calculating rent and transportation costs, so you don't have to max out every year just to survive.
