My son has narrowed his list to two schools for Fall 2015 admission (computer science major). RPI vs. Stevens
Institute of Technology. RPI’s net price is about $14,000 less than Stevens. So I sent an appeal letter to RPI, and included a copy of the Stevens financial aid award. RPI’s response was to add $2000 to his merit award, and $1,000 in additional loans. This still leaves RPI’s net price about $12,000 more than Stevens. Perhaps I’m reading too much into this, but is this RPI’s way of saying “Go to Stevens,” or do they not have the money (RPI’s debt) or do they think he doesn’t deserve more or do they think they are worth the extra money? I’m confused, and don’t know if I should pursue this further with RPI or not. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
RPI doesn’t have to match Stevens for price. Each place uses its own formula. RPI has made their package a little bit nicer - perhaps up to the limit of what their formula allows.
So if the cost difference is a deal-breaker, send your kid to Stevens. You did what you could.
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but is this RPI’s way of saying “Go to Stevens,”
or do they not have the money (RPI’s debt)
or do they think he doesn’t deserve more or
do they think they are worth the extra money?
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Maybe.
Maybe.
What are your son’s stats?
I don’t know if they are peer schools; are they?
This is confusing because first yu said that RPI is less than Stevens.
And you are reading WAY WAY too much into this. Different colleges have different prices and also different funds available, it is not just a matter of deserving. Not all colleges can or will match offers. And they may not consider Stevens a peer. If they wanted to discourage your son’s enrollment, they would not have increased the offer at all. Offering something was to the contrary, a way to keep RPI in for his consideration and an indication that he is worth it. I would not pursue it further as you have already asked and they gave you the answer about what they could do.
I know that RPI doesn’t need to match Stevens. I just thought they might come closer. I think the two are peer schools. His stats are high. Yet, he has friends with much lower stats that got significantly more merit money than he did from RPI.
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My income is low enough to qualify for the Simplified Needs Test, so I didn’t have to fill out the asset questions on the FAFSA. But I do have to complete the asset questions on the CSS Profile, which is due between Feb 1 and Feb 15 for these schools. Originally I had decided not to file the Profile because I have significant assets from a couple of inheritances. I am sure I wouldn’t qualify for any institutional need-based aid.
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This may be the issue.
they know that you qualified for a full Pell grant even though you have significant assets and won’t qualify for need based aid when CSS Profile is used. They may be thinking, “this person is getting a $5700 Pell only because the feds are silly enough not to look at large assets if income is low enough. We know what the true “need” is, and we have more than met it thru merit and Pell.”
At this point, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to spend the add’l $12k for RPI.
Does your son like RPI a LOT more than Stevens? Does that matter enough for you? You mention that your son “doesn’t want loans”. Well, this may be the time to ask him: “If you want RPI that much, are you willing to borrow a total of $30k to go there?” Sounds like he’ll be some kind of eng’g major. If so, then he would be able to easily pay that back. That seems like a more fair situation then having a low income parent dig into assets that may be necessary for retirement years.
Oops, BrownParent. You’re right. I meant to say that RPI costs more. I appreciate your point of view regarding the increased merit amount. You’re probably right about that too.
@mom2collegekids - Yes, I think that could be exactly what RPI is thinking, and I clearly understand why they would think that. I actually did file the CSS Profile with RPI and Stevens. Yet, Stevens gave my son a merit award and institutional grant, whereas RPI gave him no institutional grant (but gave him Perkins loan). Do you think Stevens is front-loading his aid for freshman year, and will reduce it for the following years?
My son likes RPI somewhat more than Stevens, but not a LOT more… at least that is what he tells me. I suspect that he really would rather go to RPI, but doesn’t want me to pay more than Stevens, or to take out loans. I guess I’m trying to figure out if a degree from RPI is worth a lot more than a degree from Stevens. Not sure how to figure that one out.
Stevens and RPI are not peer institutions - not by an stretch of the imagination! Stevens has just over 3,200 applicants per year, and an acceptance rate of almost 50%. RPI has over 16,000 applicants per year, and an acceptance rate of 41%. That’s a significant difference. RPI’s average ACT scores range from 27 to 31. At Stevens, the average scores range from 25 to 30. Bottom line: a lot more candidates get turned away from RPI than from Stevens, so RPI can afford to be more selective. Also, once you leave the NY metro area, RPI is better known than Stevens.
Stevens is not known to be generous with financial aid, so if your son received such a generous award, he was probably one of their top candidates. If he wants RPI, then it’s going to cost more. Whether or not it’s worth it is up to you.
I agree that RPI’s selectivity and reputation are better than Stevens. But Stevens ranks high for Return on Investment, I think due to its extensive co-op program. My son likes the idea of co-op for the work experience that he would gain. Yet, he believes that he will learn more at RPI. He is one of Stevens’ top candidates (he got into their Scholars program). As for RPI, he is somewhat afraid that there will be a lot of kids smarter than he is at RPI.
I’m not sure he will “learn more” at RPI. Yes, their academic program may be more rigorous, but he should not discount the value of the co-op learning experience. In the end, employers are looking for new recruits who perform well in the workplace, and not just in the classroom. 
@dodgersmom - I agree about co-op. That is part of the seemingly never-ending dilemma! Only 16 more days of it!
Best fit considering all factors. In my house the money difference would make the decision - in part because I also believe how valuable co-op is, and if son can be a top student at Stevens, he will have an excellent co-op opportunity. So win-win on those two factors.
Perhaps I’m reading too much into this, but is this RPI’s way of saying “Go to Stevens,” or do they not have the money (RPI’s debt) or do they think he doesn’t deserve more or do they think they are worth the extra money?
As a financial aid professional, I am astounded by the increasing number of students who expect that telling me what other schools gave them will result in me giving them more money. Some of this is due to the fact that certain schools will up their offers. The truth is, though, that most schools don’t low-ball their aid packages, so there isn’t generally a whole lot of wiggle room. The point being, you are probably reading too much into this. The fact that they gave you a little more means they want him … the fact that they didn’t match the offer most likely means they were not able to do so.
@kelsmom - Your last sentence really sums it up for me. I appreciate the perspective of a financial aid professional. If I could ask you one more question…how do I find out if a college is front-loading the financial aid award? I asked Stevens and financial aid said that as long as financials stay constant, there should be no decrease in aid. But because I tend to overthink things, and this is a very important decision, I don’t know if I can take their word for it. I mean, what else would financial aid say? If they do front-load, I doubt they would tell me. Thanks.
Flash, ask on the Stevens page is people experienced a drop in financial aid. I think not, but I think highly of Stevens. They don’t want to lose students in the following years and I think will work with you to keep your son there.
I agree with twoinanddone - ask on the Stevens page. The folks there will know the most about what actually happens at Stevens.
Thank you very much to all who took the time to correspond with me.
May 2015 issue of Money magazine listed schools with the highest 20 year ROI (highest earning graduates according to PayScale.com data). Stevens Institute of Technology came in 3rd behind Harvey Mudd and Calif Institute of Technology. The rest of the list was Colorado School of Mines (in-state tuition), Babson, Stanford, MIT, Ga Tech, Princeton, and Colorado School of Mines (out of state tuition).
^ Notice, for the most part, those are high tech schools with lots of engineers and their attendant high salaries after graduation. That’s one reason I don’t think the ROI evaluations are very helpful.