money___

bicyclekick · 08-08-2008, 05:12 PM

I've heard from a few people that the financial aid situation at Brown is pretty bad and that they don't give you much money if your family makes over 60k per year.....is this true?

franglish · 08-08-2008, 06:01 PM

They've been very good and fair to us. You can check out their FA policy on their web site.

bicyclekick · 08-09-2008, 12:42 AM

their website doesn't offer specifics though...it just says they expect your family to come up with some based on your family's income, but it doesn't offer a scale or something for how that is determined....

franglish · 08-09-2008, 07:07 AM

Well, of course they are not going to be specific. There is no standard scale of aid. They use the Institutional Method of calculation, information is available on the methodology, but not the exact determination. There is a lot that goes into it. The only thing that they do disclose with more exact detail is the loan policy.

Avanine-Commuter · 08-10-2008, 12:58 AM

I got very little help from them FA wise-- $6000 approx. a year including loans. My mom is unemployed single mother and I called to ask why we are paying $47,000. They said "Your mom is paying $400, the rest comes from your savings and your dad". OK, well my dad's income is not past $100,000. I put $10,000 savings approx, and they expect me to pay approx $10,000 this year for the student contribution part of my tuition. That does NOT make sense. So I am supposed to blow my entire savings + trust fund on ONE year of college? Aiye, they give me a headache.

poubelle · 08-10-2008, 05:19 AM

Maybe they do expect you to do that. My parents saved up quite a lot of money for me, and it will all be used up by next semester. I reapplied for financial aid for 2008-09 and got some (in the form of loans, super), so I guess I'll just have to try again next May...! I really can't speak for Brown's aid more generally, though, since I think my parents are rich or something.

That really doesn't make sense in your case, Avanine, since I thought that loans were eliminated if parental income is less than $100,000 Y/N?

franglish · 08-10-2008, 08:06 AM

Avanine does not say that loans are part of the expectation. Brown did eliminate loans for families whose income is lower than 100k, and they go up gradually after that. The answer that Brown gave you makes sense, because they are asking you to pay from your (sizable) savings, and they are asking your dad to contribute-- seems like he has a good salary. You have to re-apply for FA each year, so if your savings are gone after this year, then the calculation will result in a smaller amount that you pay. But, yes, they are asking you to pay that much because of the savings.

elpope · 08-10-2008, 01:11 PM

Yes, that's how it works. FA is flawed everywhere you go--you should just buy a car or something with your savings and not spend it on school, since you're penalized for having saved up money instead of spending it on cool frivolous ****

poubelle · 08-10-2008, 02:48 PM

Re: franglish: Avanine said, 'I got very little help from them FA wise-- $6000 approx. a year including loans.' That seems to me that she's saying that loans are part of the expectation.

modestmelody · 08-10-2008, 05:37 PM

100% of money in a students name is expected to go to college. When you have no money in the bank, that 10k is going to go right into financial aid (provided you can't pay that much otherwise). My first two years at Brown I got nothing as I was using up savings that were in my name in addition to outside scholarship, etc. Year 3 and 4 I've paid a little less than half because 1) No money is left in my name 2) My sister started to go to college.

FWIW, my family's income is about 99k after taxes.

Avanine-Commuter · 08-13-2008, 02:57 PM

Would it help to mention that I cannot access my savings until after I'm 21? Will that up my finAid package or will it do nothing?

livingtea · 08-13-2008, 08:26 PM

to the OP: i dunno about other people but for me, brown's fa was amazing. bro also going to be at college + parents making about 70k = no loans, 5k that parents need to pay, 2.5k that i need to pay (luckily scholarship took care of that), and 2.25k federal work study. (no savings.)

avanine, sorry to hear that your package was insufficient.

. keep negotiating/talking and don't give up!

bicyclekick · 08-13-2008, 10:21 PM

well livingtea, the fact that your parents make 70k and your bro going to college got you a good package...unfortunately my bro and sis graduated college already, and my parents income has risen recently...in the 140k range....i'm guessing i wouldnt get much aid with that?

tnb19 · 08-14-2008, 12:22 AM

Is there a strict cutoff range for aid at most schools? like at x yearly income (150K or something like that), the student just gets nothing at all? i've never gotten a straight answer to this question, hope someone here can clarify

modestmelody · 08-14-2008, 09:40 AM

Technically, tnb, yes, kind of. There is a certain point beyond which savings won't matter in the equation you already make enough yearly, assuming that there are no huge outstanding debts and extenuating circumstances. They're always going to look at certain things, but if your situation has no extreme circumstances it's possible to make enough that the rest doesn't matter.