I was recently accepted restrictive early action into my absolute dream school! However, once I read my financial award letter that happiness was soon gone… I am expected to contribute about 5 times more than is physically possible for my family…
The school itself has quite a long policy about meeting need completely, so no one of the students graduate with any debt, but at this point my debt would be huge. Others are on the same boat and have tried to appeal with no success, but is there anything that can be done? I am sending them an email outlining most expenses and how this huge contribute literally can not come out. I am so confused because this school has been known to be extremely generous, but now people have to decline their offers as theres no way to afford them?
Has anyone been in a similar situation and has any advice? Thank you!
If this is a college that meets full need for all, it sounds like your family has other financial obligations eating up their income…and therefore they can’t afford the schools calculated family contribution.
Is that correct?
What “expenses” are you talking about that you hope the school will consider? If it’s high mortgage, or other consumer debt…it won’t matter.
The college might consider unrimbursed medical expenses, or something of that kind.
Expenses generally aren’t taken into account for financial aid, with a possible exception for medical or disability related expenses for you, your parents, or your siblings.
Back in October, you anticipated being able to pay $25k, which is more than a third of the cost of the most expensive schools I’m familiar with.
“Meets full need with no debt” means that the package you’ll be offered covers the gap between cost of attendance and the school’s calculation of your family contribution, and that that package doesn’t assume any loans. It does not mean that it will cover the gap between cost of attendance and what your family feels able to pay.
The **students **don’t “graduate with debt” but it doesn’t say that the **family **doesn’t incur debt. That’s the trick.
Most funding, for university students, comes from a finite set of resources:
-parents and family
-university donors (usually open to all students, but funds are very limited)
-federal and state resources (must be US citizens for these) which include US-backed loans.
It’'s not a dream school if you can’t afford it.
International students are expected to be full pay because most schools can’t afford to fund them.
You said you can pay $25K per year. I hope you applied to some of the schools which are within your budget.
Colleges aren’t very sympathetic if, for example, your parents are supporting extended family beyond you and your siblings. Sometimes medical expenses can get them to increase aid. Or if there was some misunderstanding about your assets (like you listed assets as belonging to you that really belong to your parents). But in general, “meets need” means their definition of need, not necessarily yours.
So many colleges have “limited” financial aid for international students. Is this one of those?
You say you can’t afford the family contribution to this SCEA school. But you also don’t say what that calculated contribution IS. Did you receive NO aid from this school?
Give us the whole story, please. It’s hard to help with half of the story.
While the colleges that offer SCEA do meet full need, differences can and do arise regarding what one thinks their need is and what the level of need is per the college’s calculation. These differences can be small or substantial, and everything in between. This is why running the NPCs generally helps.
We are waiting for OP to return to answer some of the questions above to get a clearer picture of the situation.
If your net cost is 5 times what your family can pay then you’re unlikely to bridge the gap even they award you extra money. A lot of students have to decline schools they love because they can’t afford them. That’s why it’s important to have financial safeties on your list. Do you have one?
@Mwfan1921 this is an international student. The Net Price Calculators will NOT be accurate.
I’m wondering if this student looked at “meets full need for all” but didn’t check to see what this means for international students.
Also…being able to afford the family contribution is sometimes a family issue. Some higher income families have other financial obligations that the financial aid calculations do not consider…things like helping extended family financially, mortgage costs, etc. Things like owning a second home can also very much increase the family contribution.
Some applicants wrongly assume that what THEY think they can pay…is what the colleges will calculate they should be paying. That’s not how it works.
We don’t have any idea what this poster’s actual family finances are like…or which college didn’t meet their need.
@thumper It sounds like you mean this IS an international student. And yes, NPCs not accurate for intl’s, but they can certainly ask for a financial aid pre-read…the SCEA schools do this often. And of course, there are many reasons why a given family wouldn’t be able to contribute what a college thinks they can.
Exactly what I said, and yes, waiting for more details from OP
This kid already got accepted and received his financial aid package. It’s too late for him to get a pre-read…but for others this might be an option.
Frankly, however, many of these schools have a HUGE international applicant pool, and no need to do this…because plenty can and will pay the price to attend.
review the documents you filled out: did you make a mistake, indicate a parent income twice, add a zero, forget something?
email financial aid, explain that you were admitted but the amount you’re supposed to pay is impossible. Outline any mistake you made, any expense you forgot (especially medical) etc.
Such a thing happened once - there was a cultural misunderstanding and the family contribution went from $19,500 to $234.
You need to dialogue and have detailed explanations.
What is your annual parent income? What assets does your family have?
How much CAN they pay per year…on another thread you said $25,000 a year (which is WAY more than 1/5 the cost of attendance even at the most expensive colleges).
It’s very possible there is NO mistake on your aid application forms. Your family finances AND the school policies on awarding need based aid to international students would be the place to start.