<p>Wake is no different than the vast majority of schools in counting loans as part of their need based aid. Only a few schools with huge endowments are able to offer no loans up to EFC and a few more cap the total amount of loans. Wake is not one of those huge endowment schools. Wake’s committment of meeting 100% of need based aid and counting the loans as part of that is not exactly deceptive, it is simply business as usually in the university environment in general. </p>
<p>Need based grant aid will be down at a lot of private schools this year with finanacial aid packages carrying a heavier loan component. University endowment income has taken some major hits with the financial collapse, just like ordinary citizens’ retirement accounts. </p>
<p>So, what to do now? Since you are a North Carolina resident, is there any way you and your father could actually go to Wake and talk with a financial aid officer? Talking with financial aid on the phone would be okay but face to face is more productive. Yes, I have known of students who were very committed to Wake who were able to get a little more in grant/scholarship aid by discussing it with Wake. Decide how much you would be willing to take out in loans for Wake. They won’t give you a free ride. They expect that if they are willing to take a chance on you, you will be willing to commit some amount of money in loans for them. $56,000 IS a lot of money. But, do you think you would be willing to do $35,000, $20,000? That’s the price of a new car or a good down payment on a house. Is a Wake education as valuable to you as a new car or a down payment on a house? Know this before you talk with them. </p>
<p>At Wake, I believe you can be an RA your sophomore year. That is always a good option. However, it is not guaranteed as you can’t always count on being selected. Keep this in mind before you make a commitment. Also, you cannot opt out of a food plan if you live on campus any year. Wake sets the minimum you must buy. It is a smaller amount for the apts with kitchens (not available to freshmen) but then dorm costs of those are higher so it could be a wash financially. </p>
<p>Getting your hopes up would not be the best idea right now and you do have a really good backup - Way to Go! But, if you and your Dad talk with them and they won’t budge, you won’t be any worse off than you are now. They may not be able to offer more grant aid until they see how their acceptances are going so it could take a couple of weeks but if you want Wake that badly, I would certainly give it a try. Can’t hurt and could help make this possible. Good Luck!</p>