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<p>These comments bother me quite a bit. Mainly because I don’t understand them and the data online does not verify them. They are unlikely to be verified by anybody with access to google and five minutes of spare time. 1190, I was honestly hoping you were right here by the way. From all that I can tell Carleton is in the middle of the pack in financial aid generosity. Carleton is nowhere near as good as Grinnell, not as good as Amherst, similar to Swarthmore, Northwestern, Chicago, and notably better than Middlebury, Pomona, Bowdoin.</p>
<p>% students at Grinnell receiving Financial aid - 89%
<a href=“Admission and Aid | Grinnell College”>http://www.grinnell.edu/about/offices-services/admission/tuition-aid</a>
% students at Amherst receiving Financial aid - 71%
<a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/media/view/425316”>https://www.amherst.edu/media/view/425316</a>
% students at Carleton receiving Financial aid - 64%
<a href=“Carleton College | Minnesota Private Colleges”>Carleton College | Minnesota Private Colleges;
% students at Swarthmore receiving Financial aid - 70%
<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/admissions-and-aid/financial-aid-and-cost-information.xml”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/admissions-and-aid/financial-aid-and-cost-information.xml</a>
% students at U. Chicago e receiving Financial aid - 60%
<a href=“University announces increases in undergraduate education cost, financial aid for 2012-13”>http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2012/03/23/university-announces-increases-undergraduate-education-cost-financial-aid-2012-13</a>
% students at Northwester receiving Financial aid - 64%
<a href=“Northwestern University: Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores”>http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegeprofiles/p/Northwestern_pf.htm</a>
% students at Bowdoin receiving Financial aid - 46%
<a href=“http://www.bowdoin.edu/catalog/admission-to-the-college/financial-aid.shtml”>http://www.bowdoin.edu/catalog/admission-to-the-college/financial-aid.shtml</a></p>
<p>So how are you looking a this?
-Are you looking at needs based grants alone without considering merit scholarships, work study, or loans? </p>
<p>Just because a school gives fewer needs based grants does not mean they are less generous. Schools charge tuition differently, and may make up for fewer needs based grants with more merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Also, work study and loans are a pretty small percentage of the financial aid any school gives. The percentage of students on aid could rise because schools let the rich kids have jobs so they don’t feel left out. As I remember Carleton did this. I remember talking to a friend of mind a Carleton with two MDs as parents. He was really happy one day because Carleton decided to give him a job trimming trees in the arb. He no longer felt “left out”. It is not really fair to count this as financial aid though. As for the OP’s question. In the past, most have been able to negotiate on work study. </p>
<p>Has Carleton’s financial aid numbers changed in the last few years significantly?</p>
<p>What am I missing? I’m not trying to overly combative, but as far as I can tell the main source grants/scholarships Carleton gives is near the middle for similarly ranked schools. Considering Carleton’s endowment, this is very good. The fact that Carleton has not been need blind for going on two decades is a sore point to alumni. It doesn’t help if Carleton financial aid policies are misrepresented.</p>