Financial Aid Appeal?

scottj
Sun, 10 Apr 2016 14:08:30 +0000

Dear spiritusmuse : Your post presents a very familiar financial scenario that looks at the cost of college tuition through the prism of one year’s income. College finances are not like paying the monthly mortgage, electric bill, or heating bill, but rather is a process of planning for many.

[For those reading, each child requires $10,000 per year in net savings into a college bank account for a period of 20 years in order to afford a top level private four year education. Two children - $20,000 per year. Only have 10 years of savings time? Make that $20,000 per child.]

Your predicament is not at all unusual. However, your view that Boston College is demanding that half of the family’s annual disposable income is used for college tuition is completely misplaced. That is a decision you are making by choosing schools like Notre Dame and Boston College.

If your family is already heavily leveraged, you should include that information in your appeal, however it will not be Boston College’s responsibility to make the University affordable unless there is significant documentation indicating why your current finances are so seriously strained. Here on College Confidential, we have seen documented cases of an additional $10,000-$15,000 per year being made available in specific cases, but your current $30,000 annual bill will not completely disappear. It sounds like you need to understand what you believe your family can truly afford and be prepared to discuss that number and the reasons surrounding it with BC’s financial aid counselors.