Hi, I will be applying LMU coming Fall as freshman 2017. I’ve heard that LMU financial aid is not accurate or pay less than your entry year as freshman. Can anyone enrolled into LMC give me idea how much financial aid I will receive in freshman year and the years after. My EFC would be 0 and I’m California resident. Thanks so much for your help.
Hi Dennisy,
First LMU is an outstanding school (one daughter is just about to graduate) they do give some merit aid (higher the GPA and SAT/ACT the better) and some grant aid however in my opinion LMU is a high Net Price school and as such it might not meet your full need.
Please refer to the following for LMU, USC and Chapman
http://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/loyola-marymount-university/paying-for-college/net-price/#
http://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/university-of-southern-california/paying-for-college/net-price/#
http://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/chapman-university/paying-for-college/net-price/#
I hope LMU comes through with you as I said I love the school, however you just never know. In my experience don’t put your eggs or hopes all in one basket college aid can seem like an unusual lottery and sometimes one school really comes through. So apply to a variety of schools and why just stick to California but have an open mind for example schools like TCU and Baylor in Texas are also fairly generous in merit and need based aid.
Just because you have a “0 EFC” number doesn’t mean that a given school will meet your need - in fact more often than not you will end up with loans and parent plus loans at the privates. Of the 1,136 institutions that submitted financial need data to U.S. News, 62 of them claim they cover full need.
One thing you might want to explore, is schools that are a) dedicated to meeting 100% need and b) school that are dedicated to having students graduate debt free.
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2015/09/14/colleges-that-report-meeting-full-financial-need
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/list-of-colleges-that-meet-100-of-financial-need/
So if your fixated on staying in California in addition to your primary choice of LMU consider applying to a few of the following 100% need schools (but keep in mind the schools themselves define need - it isn’t just the FAFSA)
Claremont McKenna College (CA)
Harvey Mudd College (CA)
Occidental College (CA)
Pitzer College (CA)
Pomona College (CA)
Scripps College (CA)
Stanford University (CA)
Thomas Aquinas College (CA)
University of Southern California (CA)
Good Luck