Do you have an in-state public option in CA, as a backup?
I understand that merit aid is highly competitive. I was not expecting merit aid and did not decide to apply ED based on an assumption that I would attain merit aid. I did hope for it, though.
My family ran the net price calculator and we determined the cost was within our financial means. However, BMCâs official cost came out to be 8k more than we expected for each year. This made the cost unattainable for us.
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I would have to borrow an amount ranging from $27k to $32k, based on the amount my parents were able to pay. I definiltey plan to take on a student job and summer job, regardless of which college I attend.
Concerning my future, I hope to become a Clinical Psychologist (perhaps even Clinical Neuropsychologist), which will require a PhD from a well-regarded university. As such, I plan to become a Research Assistant, and hopefully eventually Research Associate, right after college before my PhD. I am particularly interested in focusing on child development for my research and studies, and BMC is one of the only schools I applied to with a specific child development program.
Yes, all my other applications are for the RD pool. I must respond to BMC by March 1st, and the decisions for the RD applications will be released around April 1st. So I must make my decision by the end of the month, without the ability to weigh my choices. And yes, I am at my boarding school on a scholarship and financial aid.
If I qualified for merit aid, they would have let me know already in the acceptance package. I was very disappointed, especially since many similar students received it. However, I was not preemptively expecting to receive it. I also agree that most similar schools will likely offer similar financial aid packages, all except Smith due to the no-loan policy. However, I donât want to make a decision based on the assumption that I will get into a school that already deferred me.
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Thank you! I hope that Bryn Mawr will work out, but in case it doesnât, I hope the RD acceptances are more affordable. Unfortunately, most of the colleges I applied to (and that I have a strong desire to attend) have a similar price point.
Did they give you an explanation as to why the difference?
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Perhaps they included loans or work study that didnât show ? Or when they saw the CSS something didnât match the entry. Oftentimes itâs possible - someone can mis interpret the NPC questions. Or when they get the docs / statements via IDOC something is valued differently.
If the # is different and itâs truly out of budget, then youâd have the right to choose another school.
Hopefully if you speak with them, they can resolve so that you can attend if itâs still your top choice.
Good luck.
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Per year? Or in total for all four years?
Likely in total.
If this loan amount is for ALL four years, you might want to consider thisâŠEspecially since you say your other colleges are similarly priced.
The federally funded Direct Loan is in your name only. Itâs in these amounts:
Freshman $5500
Sophomore $6500
Junior $7500
Senior $7500
Is this loan amount included in your Bryn Mawr financial aid award? If not, would would adding this make the college affordable?
Also, if you have a job now, and continue to work during college, you can also offset some additional cost.
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Got it. I see the pickle youâre in with regard to the other applications, especially vis a vis Smith, which is known for its generous financial aid (big endowment) and no loan policy. But you donât know if youâre getting into those other places and what their financial aid will look like. Bryn Mawr is the bird in hand, and an especially great place to be if your future plans involve getting a PhD.
I am loathe to tell people to borrow or not borrow money. It just feels presumptuous to me, though others feel quite differently. In breaking from that general m/o, Iâd say $24,000 isnât a huge amount of money for a quality undergraduate education of the sort Brynn Mawr will offer. When you get above that and start wandering to the $100,000 mark, I tend to agree with others that you need to find another way.
There are also some things you can do to mitigate the borrowings. For example, if BM has a summer session (and Iâm sure they do), classes tend to be a lot cheaper and you can really pull ahead by taking courses each summer and graduate much earlier, reducing exposure to regular tuition rates and college housing costs by as much as a year. I myself would view spending less time at oneâs college to be a net negative, but if you want to make this work summer term can be helpful.
I wish I could advise you as to what to do, but itâs close enough to the line such that I think itâs not crazy to attend, but you might be giving up a better offer, and debt is debt and it has to be respected. You have to pay it back.
If it were me, Iâd go with the bird in hand, attend Bryn Mawr, and take summer courses and graduate a semester or two ahead of time.
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They included work-study and federal loans in the financial aid package, not in the NPC. Even with them, the cost is out of range.
In total. The loan amount is in my financial aid reward, but it does not make the cost more affordable, unfortunately.
Thank you, I really appreciate your advice. I share your opinion that attending Bryn Mawr would be a wise long-term investment and that itâs unwise to assume Iâll get into other colleges with better financial aid. I also agree that taking summer courses is a net negative, and I intend to spend that time working in some capacity. I am willing to take on student loans, however, even with the maximum amount of loans, the cost is still unattainable for my family. I would likely have to take out private loans. That said, I really love Bryn Mawr and I do hope to attend.
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There must be a way for you/your parents to reach to BMC wrt financial aid package.
Perhaps knowledgeable people here can helpbyou craft the points you/your parents can make in the letter appealing to Professional Judgement.
Do you know your EFC/SAI?
Whatâs your familyâs income? Do they own a business or a farm?
(I apologize if you already answered these questions, the thread is now 100-post long and Iâm sure itâd help posters if you could provide this information again.)
@kelsmom is a FA specialist BTW.
Adding:
Do they own any real estate other than your primary residence?
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So there are no other affordable options ?
If you canât get BMC to your level needed and you donât have affordable alternatives, there is, depending on your stats, still time do so.
While itâs no doubt a fine school, causing yourself or your family financial stress is rarely worth it even for a school like Bryn Mawr. You can have a similar outcome, not necessarily experience, from hundreds of schools.
Hopefully you and your folks can meet with financial aid to see why the estimate was off. But personally Iâd find an assured financial safety in case you need to walk - and if they canât get you where you need to be - would consider walking - certainly b4 taking $30k in loans.
I think that the place to begin is to call the financial aid office and find out the reason for the difference between the NPC and the actual offer. Once you have that information, we may be able to provide advice regarding how you might approach BM regarding your aid package. Without that information, though, itâs hard to advise.
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I dont know the EFC since, to my understanding, the FAFSA is all messed up this year and wonât be reported to colleges until early March.
Iâm hesitant to share financial details publically, but I can say that my family is upper middle class (though firmly middle class for the expensive area we live in). They do not own a business or other real estate.
I think you need to reach out to financial aid at Bryn MawrâŠand ask them whatâs what.
They have your CSS Profile and that data is what they are using to compute your institutional need based aid.
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