EA class of 2024

[leapyearG]

@Off2college19

We were in your shoes last year at this time so I’ll share my experience in the hopes that it will save you some stress. WPI was one of my son’s favorites but he was only offered $10.5k merit. I immediately reached out to ask about other scholarships or merit possibilities because this merit award was much lower than any others and was told very bluntly that they don’t increase merit under any circumstance. After receiving merit offers of $20K+/year from Northeastern and Brandeis, my husband emailed to see if WPI would consider increasing their merit because it was still high on my son’s list. Again, a very blunt “no.” With a net cost of $58,000 we took WPI off the table. After accepted student visits at his other two top schools, he decided on Northeastern where he is having a great first-year experience. However, on April 30th - ONE day before the decision deadline-he received an email from WPI with an offer to double his merit. They didn’t call it merit but rather some type of scholarship or award. Needless to say, I was not happy with WPI for throwing a last minute wrench into what was a very stressful time. We had already missed accepted student day, put down our deposit with Northeastern, and moved on. Son quickly put aside the offer as he was already happy with his decision but it did cause some stress at the time. In the end, it all worked out for the best and I have no doubt that he ended up in the best situation. I’m not sure if knowing this will help anyone at all but if WPI is your student’s dream, then know that there may be additional money if you’re patient- and willing to throw away your deposit to another school.

He got into NU yay! unfortunately with not much more merit than WPI, does anyone know how one goes about appealing the merit aid?