I recently got admitted to Bates College ED1. I am absolutely in love with the Bates academic environment and the community on campus, so I’m beyond thrilled to have been admitted.
I got a wonderful offer from Bates in terms of financial aid and I paid my enrollment fees as well. However, I have a few questions.
I had a recent change in my family finances due to the death of a parent earlier this year. They were the primary earner while my other parent did not work. Before applying ED I contacted the financial aid office asking if it would be ok to ED as not only would paying for college be hard (we immigrated a few years ago and my parents did not set up a college fund; I’m also first gen), my late parent’s income last year was relatively high, making me ineligible for any aid. I was told to absolutely go for it and that they would work with me to fix my aid once I got in. To my surprise, my financial aid was already very good despite my SAI being high. I was told by my counselor that this means they have already used their professional judgement but I’m wondering if this is a mistake? I sent in the FAFSA pretty much as soon as it opened so around 10 days before the notification date. I did submit the CSS on time. Can they change my aid offer?
Is the short term not part of the annual tuition? To be honest I’m a bit confused on the short term as I’m not sure whether it’s optional or mandatory. Regardless it seems very interesting but I’m not sure if my financial aid accounts for that as well—on the document I only see fall semester and winter semester tuition. I’d love to take a short terms course but I’m worried it might not be affordable and if I can’t take it, it might just hurt me.
I know Bates has really started to encourage traveling abroad. Does the financial aid follow? Aforementioned my aid is very good and pretty much the only thing that’s allowing me to go to college. I’d love to study abroad as it also pertains to what I hope to major in, but likely cannot afford additional costs. Will I still be able to do work study?
Thank you so much for any advice you all can provide! I’m new to the process and navigating it alone, and I’d very much appreciate any insight anyone can provide.
I am so sorry about the passing of your parent. To experience this at any time – but especially now as your life is on the precipice of such dramatic change – must be devastating. Your experience and accomplishments suggest that you are remarkably resilient – I hope you have a good support network to get you through it.
That said, welcome to Bates! My daughter’s a very happy sophomore there. I can answer some but not all of your questions. It’s very important that you are in touch with financial aid officers – you can confirm with them whether they took your family’s changed circumstances into account, or whether you need to come up with a new formula, etc. Only they will know that, but I’m sure they will be willing to work with you. Although the loss of a parent is not the most common reason, families’ financial circumstances do change, and financial aid offices are used to working with students.
Short term: It’s required, and you will participate in short term two or three of your years at Bates (two is the minimum, and you can’t do four). The most common years to do it are the first year and the last year (first year because students want to stay on campus, and senior year because graduation follows short term and you need to do short term to keep your campus housing – also, people want to spend those last few weeks with their friends). For those who do short term three times, sophomore year is a more common choice than junior year (because some students might still be abroad during May of junior year). Short term is included in tuition if you’re doing an on-campus class. If you’re studying away (elsewhere in the US or abroad), there will be an extra fee to cover costs, and you should ask the financial aid office if your package will cover that fee.
Study abroad (for full semesters): Financial aid does follow you when you study abroad for a semester or two. I don’t know how much it will cover, say, travel expenses, day-to-day expenses, etc. I think it may depend on your financial aid package (I could be wrong). So that would be a question for the financial aid office, but it definitely will cover tuition and fees, and I think there may be extra funding beyond that. If part of your financial aid is supposed to be covered by work study, you should ask the financial aid office how that works when you are abroad, but I know you are not expected to hold a job during your semester away. You will start looking into study-abroad programs by fall of your sophomore year, and you’ll apply to programs in the spring.
I hope this helps. Once again, I’m so sorry for your family’s loss, and I am also glad you’re excited for what lies ahead.
I’m sorry for your loss. I have no information specific to Bates, however when I filled out the CSS/FAFSA for my twins after their Dad died (Sophomore year of HS) all of his earning were automatically excluded.
I’m sure your parents are very proud of you. Bates may have a support group for grieving students, you may want to contact the Counseling Service prior to starting classes to set up an appointment early in the fall semester. Grief hits everyone different and there is no wrong way to grieve.
