Financial Aid Packages

205mom
Sun, 24 Apr 2011 15:10:57 +0000

Yesterday, DS said YES to a great university, and sent his NO THANKS to eight others.

I realized that seven of the eight had given generous offers. Brandeis stood out as the most unwelcoming in their package. This, from a university that says it meets 100% of need if one applies by a certain date.

No one should hold it against the faculty or the alums. The university is still a contender when it comes to good academics, though it has slipped there in the last twenty years.

But FA brochures do need to change their wording, at least for the next admission cycle.
“Meeting need” can not include loans. Loans DO NOT reduce cost; they increase cost, even as they defer it. We do not need the FA office to tell us how they can loan us money or arrange for loans. Anyone can borrow. Real Financial aid is a scholarship or a grant.
And Brandeis is not competitive this year in this regard.