Early Decision and Financial Aid.

calmom
Thu, 04 Jul 2013 15:57:01 +0000

Actually, I think I need to add: NYU historically has presented financial aid letters in a deceptive manner – they list parent PLUS loans as if they are financial aid, making it look at first glance that full need is met. So the applicant will see that the COA is, say, $50K – and that the bottom line on the letter of what is remaining to be paid is -0- and think that NYU has been generous – it is only later that they realize that is based on the student taking the maximum available stafford loans and the parent borrowing $35K+, just for the first year. NYU also tends to give largish work study grants – work study is an authorization to get a campus job, but the student will need to work the hours to earn the money. I know as a parent that when I saw school authorizing $4500 or more in work study money that it was unreasonable to expect a freshman to get a job with a pay rate or the number of hours needed to earn that much.

So an unsophisticated person who follows the steps outline in post #24 above would also tend to misconstrue NYU’s award.

(It’s possible that NYU has changed the format of their aid letters to be more clear – but my point is that when you are able to compare awards from other schools, you will also get a betters sense of how the various components of an award: scholarships, grants, loans, work study – should break down.)