But can we afford it?

schnp
Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:32:47 +0000

I’m a Junior at Rhodes and have had a great experience with Financial Aid here. The office is great about getting to know your family’s situation with paying for college. For instance, I have a twin brother here and the Financial Aid office knew that we would both be paying for school ourselves so they were willing to help us as much as they could. From the Financial Aid page: The average aid package of students with demonstrated need is $28,561, including student loans.

That said, Financial Aid looks more at the students’ whole involvement in high school than one specific thing like NMSF. They want to see the same things Admissions looks for: extracurriculars, leadership positions, community service, good grades, challenging classes, etc. They’re not looking to reward just one specific thing like being a finalist for an award. So as long as your daughter is well-rounded I think she should do pretty well with merit-based scholarships.

There are also opportunities for fellowships after you’ve received your initial package. Freshman year I was given the chance to accept a fellowship that bumped up my aid package by about $3,500 which if course was very helpful. I would also suggest that your daughter plan on doing work-study which allows her to make up to about $2500 a year that can go towards tuition if she chooses, but otherwise is money in her pocket.