Screwed over, offer assistance please

[sybbie719]

Phonemaster,

How much research, due diligence did you do before applying ED?

Every year someone complains about the amount of money that they receive from BU. BU states in their basic financial aid FAQs that they take the following into consideration:

@Boston University

What factors are considered when I apply for need-based aid?
If you are an incoming student, your application for a need-based BU grant award will be considered based on several factors. These include calculated financial eligibility, academic achievement, and the availability of funds for your program of study.

If you are a returning student who previously received a grant award, your award will be renewed at a similar level, provided you meet all eligibility criteria and your financial eligibility continues at a similar level.

If you are a returning student who has not previously received a grant award, you will be considered on a funds-available basis, provided you meet all eligibility requirements, including a 2.50 grade point average for the prior academic year.

http://www.bu.edu/finaid/aid-basics/faqs/

BU also does not meet 100% demonstrated need (which means that there is going to be a gap

If you look at section H2 of their own common data set, you will see the following:

http://www.bu.edu/oir/files/2015/05/cds-2015.pdf

(i) Average % of need met for need based aid recipients 91% (freshmen) 86% (full time undergraduates)

(j) Average package (up to need) for those in “d” $39,436 (freshmen) $35,766 (full time undergraduates)

(k) Average need-based gift for those in “e” $34,004 (freshmen)

BU has also gone on the record to state while they are need blind in the admissions process, they are not talent blind when it comes to distributing aid:

@Boston University

“Students get frustrated that their award letter doesn’t seem to have anything to do with their E.F.C.,” says Peter Shungu, who helps Boston students navigate the college aid process as an adviser with the nonprofit organization Access.

Ms. McGuire, whose office overlooks the Charles River and Harvard beyond (“It’s the only time I get to look down on Harvard,” she quips, on separate occasions), is blunt about the purpose of B.U. aid: “It’s meant to encourage some and do what we can for others. I don’t want to say ‘discourage’ because we want people to enroll. But we are more encouraging to some.”

**Translation: The strongest students in a pool of applicants (maybe this is your safety school) will probably get more aid than the weakest applicants (maybe this is your reach school).

“We’re saying, ‘We love you,’ ” to those offered the best packages, says Laurie A. Pohl, vice president for enrollment and student affairs.**

Bottom line, Dr. Pohl says, is that **“we’re going to meet full need out of the box for our best students who have financial need.” ** All told, about 200 students in each incoming class receive scholarships for half the tuition, and about 100 for full tuition, whether they need it or not.

Beyond the few getting these coveted scholarships, how does Boston University decide how much “love” to shower?

**B.U. may be need-blind in admissions, but like many colleges, it is not talent-blind in financial aid. When the admissions office accepts a student, the file gets a rating before going to the financial aid office. That rating, Dr. Pohl says, is based on a holistic read of the application: factors like leadership, talent, motivation and personal character are weighed as well as grades and test scores.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/education/edlife/finaid-pappano-t.html?_r=0

What are your stats? You may find that you were not at the top of the pool and BU essentially gave you an admit-deny; you had the stats to be academically admitted, but based on the strength of the pool, you did not have the stats of a student that they wanted to financially woo in order for them to enroll.

If this school is not going to be financially feasible for your family, you need to decline the admission and move forward.