<p>This means that you and she would have to come up with $20,000 to $30,000 per year in student loans or outside scholarships. Given that most outside scholarships are small, that would be $80,000 to $120,000 in debt, which is generally considered an unreasonable amount of debt to burden a new graduate with (or burden parents with if they do not have the money to pay for the school without taking large loans).</p>
<p>In practical terms, she has been financially rejected by Wellesley.</p>
<p>Yes, in my opinion, it is much better than Tulane or Grinnell. I spent 2 nights staying with a group of Wellesley grads in DC and all of them were very accomplished, had remarkable internships and now gainfully employed and sharing a house in DC.</p>
<p>cbreeze, did you spend any time with Grinnell or Tulane grads? Not arguing that Welleseley isn’t a great school, but I’m always surprised that folks make categorical declarations about the superiority of one school over another when they’ve only visited one of them. If you have some inside knowledge about Grinnell and Tulane, do tell.</p>
<p>Also, it looks like Wellesley is unaffordable ($80,000 to $120,000 in debt) for ChocoChipMom and her student. They need to treat that as a financial rejection and move on.</p>
<p>Hi again…@cbreeze thanks for that lol…but yesterday I told my daughter she needs to consider not going to wellesley…I appreciate your view of the wellesley girls tho and the potential wellesley sees in her will grow no matter where she goes to school…imo.</p>
<p>I looked at everything…we have 40k for her freshman yr…she could borrow the 5500 and she does have good leads on bigger scholarships but thats obviously a longshot anyway…not sure where we’d scrape up an additional 15k or so this year…we have about 70k in stocks we can sell for next year (right now they r valued at 70k and hopefully next year when we can sell they will be worth more) and then more for jr and sr year but the market can be funky and its risky but if wellesley is THAT fabulous it can be worked out…</p>
<p>@Cbreeze, I also wondered if u had met tulane or grinnell grads and found them to be less accomplished? Im not being snarky, im truly curious. This is all new to me and I do want her to get a fantastic education. She wants that for herself :)</p>
<p>Other than the location, I think Grinnell is a close peer of Wellesley in all the ways that matter. If I were in your shoes, I’d take that deal.</p>
<p>@hanna, thank you for your reply. We are planning to visit as soon as Grinnell’s spring break is over. We both really loved Tulane and New Orleans. Do you have an opinion on Tulane? We liked it for its medium size, location, campus layout, she is legally blind and its urban location is a good one…fun is within walking distance and most people do not drive in New Orleans but use cabs or public transportation…seems like a nice fit for a visually impaired person. </p>
<p>I have an adult friend who attended Tulane years ago and is hoping that his, very bright child, will attend Tulane. To me, that is a huge endorsement. Good luck</p>
<p>I am a Wellesley alumna and my D is there now. I love the place. I believe I characterized it as “bootcamp” in a recent post in the Wellesley sub forum but it was somewhat tongue-in-cheek.</p>
<p>I have to disagree with the idea of “financial rejection,” because Wellesley gives really good need-based financial aid. Now it’s still a very expensive place, but it’s not as expensive as, say, Villanova or NYU, and if your family is deemed by W to be full pay, you are doing all right. I realize that not every family who is full-pay on paper is full-pay in reality, and I don’t believe anyone is obligated to cough up almost 60K/year for any school, but Wellesley does not do admit/deny. They have need-blind admissions and meet full need.</p>
<p>I don’t support Wellesley because I feel I somehow have to justify the extra 100K I’m spending there over another place where D could have gotten merit aid. I am very happy to send Wellesley my money because I think it’s a wonderful place, when all is said and done. I do not delude myself that my D will have super-better life outcomes than had she gone to, say, St. Olaf (another school that was a top choice for her and offered her merit, and another school I love and would happy to send my money to). My D wanted Wellesley and we decided to pony up. That’s all.</p>
<p>Grinnell is an excellent school.</p>
<p>If you are super-uncomfortable with parting with the money for Wellesley, then Grinnell is not a second-best choice by any means.</p>
<p>@njsue, thanks. We will see grinnell and we r still waiting on a few other colleges accept/deny…maybe ill call wellesleys fa office too. I have concerns with the disability services there (we were not impressed when we met with them last fall & were troubled after that meeting) & I worry about that road that runs right through campus. People seem to drive fast and wild on it and I just really left there feeling worried about my daughter’s safety as there is only a painted crossing :-/ </p>
<p>I wanted to love it like my daughter does but I just left it with a big knot in my stomach. And then the generous offers from grinnell and tulane and nada from wellesley just kind of tipped the scale for me. We will see. I dont think of it as being financially rejected…but alot of our income on paper is from bonuses and stock options…and those are iffy. </p>
<p>At any school, even one with generous need-based financial aid, a student may be financially rejected if the school’s notion of what the student and family can pay is significantly higher than what the student and family can actually pay. If what ChocoChipMom posted previously is accurate about what they can pay relative to Wellesley’s cost, they would be facing $20,000 to $30,000 in debt per year.</p>
<p>Yes but it’s not some cynical strategy imposed by the college. “Admit/deny” is a specific practice designed to increase a college’s profile. Wellesley does not do this. It does not admit students who categorically cannot afford it without aid. Wellesley does not “gap” admits. As I said, full-pay on paper does not necessarily mean full-pay in reality, but students admitted to W as full-pays come from families where money is not a problem. Allocation of the money may be. That’s up to the family to decide and I would never presume to judge people’s circumstances in that regard. I know, for example, that if I had more than one kid, I probably would decide that I couldn’t afford to be full-pay at Wellesley or similar.</p>
<p>I realize that Wellesley does not intentionally do this type of thing. But the effect from the point of view of an applicant who cannot afford what Wellesley thinks she and her family can pay is the same.</p>
<p>Tough situation. These decisions often come down to how much pain is caused to family finances when splurging for a top college. Last year we bought a nice car with all the options that we wanted, but we were able to do so with cash. We would have been more thrifty if we needed a car loan. </p>
<p>OP - Which school do you feel offers the best support services for your DD? That’s an important factor too. </p>
<p>Hi again…I actually have a younger daughter that will be a frshman in HS when my older is a freshman in college…that is definitely weighing heavily on my mind. We will be looking at EIGHT straight years of undergrad college. Its a very tough call because I have to consider the younger too. So @NJSUE when u mentioned if you had more than one child you would think twice abt full pay at wellesley - that is another factor here. </p>
<p>Yesterday at my daughter’s HS adults there are telling her college debt isnt so bad…some have 100k yada yada…i wish people would keep their mouths shut…and when she says she may not be able to go to Wellesley because of finances, they act so disappointed…which again makes her feel like it should be THE ONE and tulane or grinnell just meh…we LOVED tulane wnen we visited…but all this nonsense peeps r filling her head with has made her forget that. </p>
<p>@colorado_mom, we prefer cash for almost anything too. We dug ourselves out of debt and dont want to return. I dont want to b in financial pain due to a full freight school payment. :-/ but its hard because I really dont know if wellesley is THAT much better than the others she has merit from. If it is, we can try and work it out…painfully. </p>
<p>Another factor is…if she goes to Wellesleyshe really will need a guide dog. That campus is definitely not made for visually impaired. We are in a state with laws re markings of stairs, crossings, etc…none of that at Wellesley…so here we go applying for a dog we may or may not get. Imo its just a mess. Other than its a great school it just doesnt seem a great fit but my daughter has never let her impairmemt define her or hold her back and doesnt want to now. </p>
<p>As I said, we fall short this year but we will have more next year…so its not 100% about the money, there are other factors.</p>
<p>Well just yesterday we received an invite to another admitted student weekend at grinnell so fingers crossed she can love it…and the campus layout is workable and disability services there seem competent. </p>