Future ED students and prospective students

ericatbucknell
Sun, 11 Jan 2009 10:46:46 +0000

a few thoughts:

the poster in that thread did seem to receive an appropriate financial aid package. from what i was able to gather, his parents make a bit over $100,000 per year. he received approximately $25,000 in need-based aid.

that said, as is ALWAYS true, if there is some question about ability to pay, DO NOT APPLY to ANY school early decision. the benefit simply isnt worth it.

last, i received a fantastic financial aid package from bucknell. i know many others who would say the same. what can be said generally is that all schools calculate financial need in slightly different ways. as such, for those who need aid, applying to multiple similar schools can be very beneficial. lafayette may come out quite a bit better than bucknell for one cross-admit and might come out worse for another. colgate typically gives good aid to its admits, but seems to be more need-aware in its admissions process than most other top schools. which will be best for a specific applicant? theres no way to know.

as such, all i can recommend is to apply to schools with an open mind… and evaluate the resultant options when the time comes.