hudsonvalley51

I was about to say 150K middle income? I know it doesn't go as far in Westchester or NoVa as it does in Bumpkin Hollow, NY, but its still a respectable household income. I like how Joie Jager-Hyman, in Fat Envelope Frenzy, describes most residents of Berwyn, PA as being "rich" because the median household income is 90K. That made me feel good for about 10 minutes. Then I looked again at my D's financial aid packages.

tokenadult

That's precisely why I posted this thread. I want to get a reality check on what was promised this year by at least six colleges, including Harvard, that changed their financial aid policies since the school year began. Harvard hasn't announced admission decisions (it has only sent out a small number of "likely" letters) or financial aid awards yet, nor have any of the other seven Ivy League colleges. By a week from now, most of the news from Ivy-plus colleges should be out, and then we should have an idea what today's reality is. I'm as curious as you are, and appreciate the participants here who are helping us all get a reality check.

tokenadult

Yes. Fortunately, College Board's online calculators

College Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans

allow parents to get an early look at what should happen by the federal methodology (FAFSA) or the institutional methodology (PROFILE) well in advance of applying for college. What I don't know, but may as part of reading this thread, is how college's respond to the need calculated by those methodologies.

sueinphilly

colleges (imo) will rarely (not never, but hardly ever) give an aid package that has the parents paying less than the EFC. Harvard and the other Ivies are the rare exceptions.

the BIG problem is that people don't know their EFC until WAY too late in this process.

If you can get outside scholarships (not given out by the schools) you can probably (?) use that to pay towards your EFC.

aibarr

Most disappointing financial aid ever offered to me was from University of Texas' graduate structural engineering program for my MS.

They offered to waive out-of-state tuition and have me pay only in-state tuition.

After informing them that I was born in San Antonio, lived my entire life in Dallas, and had gone to college in Houston, I courteously let them know where they could stuff their "generous" offer...

kimfred

The message needs to get out to parents that they need to be looking at college and everything involved much earlier than they are. I started in January of my sons junior year. I thought I was way ahead of the curve. Was I wrong!!! But . . . I bet I was way ahead of 90% + of parents in my area. The world is such a different place than when I went to college . . . maybe there were scholarships, etc, but I certainly never heard about them.

It also makes a difference who your child is. My second kid will go to an in state college, haven't been able to drag him to a college yet, even when his brother has been visiting, he will go where his friends go, I could see him living at home to go to college. I really wouldn't need to start early for him . . . for son graduating this year, I was way behind the curve starting in January of his junior year. I have tried to advise other parents on this, but they really don't pick up on it.

The school doesn't even advise to get an early start. I requested meeting with school GC in February of Junior year, her comment was I was starting so early.

tokenadult

From a list I saw online,

1 Harvard University (MA)
2 Princeton University (NJ)
3 Yale University (CT)
4 California Institute of Technology
5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6 Stanford University (CA)
7 Dartmouth College (NH)
8 Columbia University (NY)
9 University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill *
10 Duke University (NC)
11 Vanderbilt University (TN)
12 University of Chicago
13 Rice University (TX)
14 University of Pennsylvania
15 Brown University (RI)
16 University of Virginia *
17 Emory University (GA)
18 Washington University in St. Louis
19 Cornell University (NY)
20 University of Notre Dame (IN)
21 Northwestern University (IL)
22 Case Western Reserve University (OH)
23 Texas A and M University--College Station *
24 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)
25 Johns Hopkins University (MD)

can we count on all these colleges meeting the full financial need of an admitted student?

I've seen a statement above in this thread that Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) gapped a current admitted student pretty badly. How about the track record of the other universities listed here? (Yeah, I know, some don't announce this year's offers until the weekend.)

katwkittens

Meeting full financial need can mean many different things as other posters have noted. If this thread is to be beneficial to others, now and in later years, that needs to be known upfront.

There is meeting demonstrated need (with varying loans, work-study, grant-in-aid, merit scholarships and endowed scholarships), "gapping" and there is "preferential packaging". There is also the possibility of changing aid after matriculation. Can happen after freshman year, sophomore, and junior years. This can be for the good and for the bad. Sometimes the additional is not broadcasted, it is for those who decide to matriculate.

Preferential packaging can be as different as there are schools. Stipends for research, book scholarships, computer grants, additional research and academic opportunities, special study-abroad programs INCLUDED in the financial aid package, travel re-imburement..... the list is endless.

With 4 kiddos through this process and the schools they applied to and were accepted to had financial aid packages that varied as much as $15K and that did NOT include the varying amounts of loans, work study, SEOG, student summer contribution, academic year contribution. All 4 kiddos had same EFC so that was not a variable in the equation.

Between the 4 there have been more 60+ aid offers. The most recent did include many of the schools tokenadult has listed and those did vary somewhat in HOW the need was met but did meet need 100%.

Others that met full need, Amherst, Swat, Colby, WPI, BC, Wesleyan, Davidson and others had huge gaps. Varied greatly. This is from our personal experience.

Hope it helps.

Kat

NorthEastMom2

I think that the new finaid policy for the Ivies will be more smoke & mirrors. As I read it, they're talking about meeting the EFC with no loan - grants only - for upto $ 180k income. But the problem is the institutional methodology for how they calculate the EFC and no one has addressed that issue. If the Ivies calculate the EFC high, they're off the hook.

JDorian

NYU. Rofl. No duh.

ethanrt

New College of Florida. University of Chicago.

salamander

Dear NYU,

For the love of God, my mother made less than $43k last year. Do you really think I'm going to take roughly $35k in loans for one year? That was just cruel, to accept me, invite me to the Baird program, and then completely screw me over financially. Your loss, though, I guess. You don't get this National Merit Finalist you tried so hard for if all you're gonna do is drown her in debt.

No love,
salamander

skylandsmom

Tokenadult, my understanding is that neither Case nor RPI guarantee to meet full need.

tokenadult

I should definitely check this detail, as both of those are colleges with programs of interest to math-liking young people.

Is this a statement that New College of Florida and the U of Chicago significantly "gapped" an admitted student with demonstrated financial need? I wouldn't have expected that from U of Chicago this year--but that is DEFINITELY a college of interest to a lot of young people I know, so please tell me more.

saeraxD

I got financial aid packages (grants + work study + minimal loans) from non-ivies (Northwestern and Wellesley) that will allow my parents to pay a couple thousand less than our EFC. I was really surprised.

But I also got a financial package (from my state school...) that was 28k in loans.

And don't even get me started with UMich..