S26 is still trying to decide on a school. It’s between RPI and U of Rochester. Very different schools so it’s been tough
My concern is the finances. For the first year, it’s quite similar but RPI says they don’t require returning students to complete the CSS Profile. The Profile is better for our family than the FAFSA alone and CSS schools have given us a lower COA due to sibling in school plus other factors. Very concerned that if RPI used the FAFSA SAI only, it will wipe out our need based Rensselaer Grant and increase our COA by 15k for years 2-4. We also lose any sibling discount at that point as well
I have an email to the FinAid office but curious as to what current families have experienced in how their financial aid changed when the no longer submitted the Profile and/or a sibling was no longer in college.
Yes, call - some schools, like BU, honor your price for four years.
I don’t personally know but I’ve read on here many times, as recently as yesterday, that Rochester has a rep for raising in years 2-4 - so I’d have the same concern based on what I’ve read many times.
Unfortunately locking in financial aid or tuition is not an option
I heard similar stories about U of R but they were able to tell me how much my EFC would increase once the sibling discount is gone. I can only hope that they don’t renege but they require the profile each year so at least I feel like they will have a complete picture. With RPI, I can’t figure why they stop requiring it
Our anecdotal experience with U of R was very bad to us. They tried to not count our 3rd kid, claiming that kid’s school is not on their list. They even fixed our FAFSA for all 20 schools my child applied. It was nightmare. I wouldn’t want to deal with their FA office. My child attends a different school on scholarship+ FA and we got a letter with guaranteed FA for all 4 years. That was critical deciding factor for us. Yes, tuition and housing increased, but we knew each year what amount we do not pay and never again had to deal with FA office. No FAFSA, no CSS in years 2-4.
A fin aid officer told me my need based grant could be reduced if they determined our need changed. That is why I am concerned about the lack of of CSS profile
Was your experience that using only FAFSA did not affect the need based grant?
You have to file FAFSA every year if you get any federal aid (loans, Pell, SEOG) and many schools require it for their own aid to make sure they use up all the federal aid available before they give out their own aid.
My younger kid just graduated from a different school that required CSS the first year and FAFSA-only the following years. No one on the parent page has mentioned experiencing what you describe.
We had two kids in school for two years and our tuition went up then the older one graduated but not before. I would expect that if U of R provides a sibling discount they will continue to do so based on their records, regardless of if you file FAFSA or CSS. I think they can use that information once they have it.
They likely also have an appeal process that can be utilized if the subsequent year grants are very different than expected.
But if they have a reputation of decreasing aid in future years that may be a problem. Our school did not. But most schools will of course re-evaluate aid based yearly changes in circumstances.
Thank you for your response. It’s good to hear people’s experiences with schools that do not require the Profile after the first year.
Our only experience is with a school that guaranteed your fin aid package for all 4 years so that was why it was not required. RPI does not have a guarantee so that is why not requiring the CSS each year seems strange to me.
Hoping I can hear from RPI families to get a sense about reputation and experiences on how need based aid changes year to year.
I’ll say this - it doesn’t behoove any school to bait and switch. They need your revenue in future years and they need you to graduate. People’s finances, of course, do change though - especially those who own businesses or get annual bonuses.
Yet some non-meet full need schools do decrease their non-need based aid after the first year for some students.
OP, you are smart to ask these questions. I would encourage you to call financial aid (rather than wait for someone to answer an email) and setup an appointment to speak with a staff member. Good luck.
But I wonder how many drop out due to it - is it enough to cause that because then the student’s revenue would need to be replaced and it would impact grad rates.
We even hear this about meets need Rochester - but I imagine at the non-meets need, families are aware (like this poster) of the possibility and would hopefully take it into consideration b4 attending….i.e. if you’re that stretched at the beggining, it’s likely not the right school for you.
Don’t know the answer (obviously could check retention and six year grade rates in the CDS), but I personally know some people this has happened to and have seen other CC posters say the same.
That’s why I wonder and don’t know the finances - but if @melissabel is stretched in year one, perhaps they should re open their search to include an assured to meet budget school. RPI and Rochester are great schools but no school is worth financial duress and if the family is going to be on edge every year….it’s not the right school IMHO.
Just a note to share with others- u of Rochester is a “meets need” school ONLY for the first year. They do not guarantee to need full need for continuing students although they said they attempt to keep packages the same barring any major financial changes. This was told to me my financial aid counselor.
I have heard from UR parents that it’s best to keep everything status quo if you don’t want to risk your package ( for example - don’t move off campus or fiddle with meal plans). If you owe less directly to the school, it’s more likely they may reduced need based aid.
With 2 weeks to make a decision- these are our options for the first year. I think I will likely encourage my son to submit some transfer applications for our in state schools as a back up just in case the rug comes out from under us for year 2. It’s frustrating that returning students don’t receive their packages until June/July so we may need to have a plan B in place.
If RPI ends up the choice- he received a substantial merit award so year 2 might be a struggle but maybe doable if he takes a loan or can become an RA. but then he can move off campus for years 3-4, which would be a substantial savings.
But it can’t solely be about money as it’s got to be a good fit too.
