How to afford Tulane …

Paying for College
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My son was accepted to Tulane, his dream school, and we are trying our best to get him there without taking on any debt.

He received a $25K merit award which will help significantly but with 90K a year price tag it’s still so expensive.

He has applied for the competitive scholarships but can’t rely on them solely.
He is willing to work on campus and do other things to lower expenses.

We are an upper middle class family so probably won’t qualify for much aid based on CSS or FAFSA … 90K is still a stretch for us.

As a first time college parent, how do you go about approaching FA for additional money, grants or work?

Also, is Tulane open to working with parents who need help with the cost?

Any and all advice is appreciated!

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I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but without debt, you have very limited options.

Would Tulane increase the award? Perhaps. But you’d be talking an extra 5K? 7K optimistically.

Working on campus- terrific. That will cover books, lab fees, his social life. Maybe transportation home for Thanksgiving and Xmas. But it won’t put a dent in the overall price tag. Summer job? Great. But be realistic about how much he can earn this summer (as a HS graduate with no college yet).

What less expensive options are on the table right now?

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Does your son have any affordable options? Tulane may give a little more if you ask, but as noted above it won’t be enough to make a difference.

The likelihood of Tulane bringing the cost from $65,000 a year down to $40,000 (for example) is basically zero.

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OP - and it’s not going to hep you - but parents/kids - stop with the dream school thing. There are no dream schools.

Schools have issues - Tulane (I hear they’re making it nicer) but three years ago - was - old and run down (when we visited). Kids get bad roommates. Food isn’t good. Profs aren’t good. Whatever it is.

But first step is budget.

Knowing Tulane was $90K up front and merit limited (they are open and list how much you can get) - if that wasn’t going to work, it should have gone in the - we can apply and maybe something will work out to get you there - but we have to put this into the highly highly unlikely category.

Because a school you can’t afford or don’t want to afford is a high high reach!!!.

You should have a budget discussion with your student. How much can you or are you willing to spend? Set that budget and find schools to fit.

Given your son’s admission, there is a lot of lower cost options out there for him - but he has to take advantage of those!!

Sure, he can get a part time job, he can work in summer and contribute or you can strangle yourself financially - but is any of that worth it?

What does he like about Tulane - and let’s find him one that will meet your budget - whatever it is.

It likely is as simple as - your son, without you putting yourself under such strain, won’t be able to attend Tulane.

There’s lots of colleges out there and lots that he can and will have a great experience at.

Good luck.

Ps Loyola is next door, has cross reg and is cheaper b4 merit. Could it be a possibility ?

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I think it depends on how much more money you need. Some colleges can come up with $3000, but can’t come up with an extra $30,000. So…how much more aid do you need to make Tulane work.

Did you run the net price calculator before your son applied?

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What is your budget? If you are hoping for another $5-10k, work study and a federally subsidized student loan would get you there, but if you need the price to come down another $15-25k (or more) you would need to borrow. Schools might increase your award a small amount, but they aren’t going to give you a lot more. Was the award you got in line with what the NPC said?

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Was this (hopefully) an early action admission…

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He has full ride to our state school and still waiting on another small private school that is not as expensive as Tulane … so we will see.

I see lots of difficult family discussions coming up … it’s just so frustrating bc your child works so hard and is rewarded by getting in to their dream school … you want to make it work.

He knew going in that he would need significant scholarship money to attend so we just need to wait and assess our options.

Tulane is such great fit and I know he would thrive.

I just wasn’t sure where to start … is it best for the student or the parents to reach out to his admissions counselor or FA advisor?

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He was actually rewarded by getting a full ride to your state school. Congrats!!

Getting that type of merit money to schools like Tulane is very difficult.

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My daughter worked very hard and got into the one reach she applied to, received no merit (they don’t give a lot of merit), almost no FA. She mourned for a day and attended a lower ranked OOS public that gave her good merit. She’s in graduate school at BU so saving money was needed (she’s home for Christmas and apparently works in admissions for her graduate program answering emails, busy today). That in state offer is awesome!

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Yes, my son was accepted EA and we did talk to him about it being a reach! You just get caught up in the excitement and want the best for them. Thankfully, my husband is a CPA so he is good at this type of stuff and definitely not emotional!

We are in need of about 15-20K more to make it work without taking on a loan.

That’s with the 529 we’ve saved, us throwing in another 20K a year and with his merit scholarship.

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Hmmm he got into Tulane. That’s reward. So few do.

But I know the price of a steak at Flemings b4 I go instead go to outback.

He got a full ride - that’s rewarded.

He’s clearly get money at so many schools - so I think he’s rewarded.

But these are businesses - nothing less. They need revenues, etc.

I don’t want to come off mean but it should have been known up front that Tulane was not likely.

Loyola is next door. It’s cheaper and has cross registration.

Back to - there is no dream school. Many who are at the “dream school” are already looking to transfer three months in.

I have no doubt there are many schools where he can thrive.

What is it that he likes about Tulane ?

This was always going to be the situation. You just didn’t want to acknowledge it up front.

But your son has definitely been rewarded.

That he’s going to get a quality and affordable education wherever he ends up is - AWESOME.

Not everyone can. He earned that with his stellar high school tenure !!

Edit - I see your previous note - you did know.

My suggestion. The kids get emotional and we all love our kids. But the business end is important …try to keep it level. Just for these reasons.

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You could ask, but the odds of them throwing an additional $20,000 a year at him are very slim.

There will be other expenses- study abroad, travel, maybe housing at an internship that pays little, etc. Will he move off campus one day? What will that cost? What if his friends move into an apartment that is more than you can afford?

Is grad school in his future? Will he want to move to a distant city after graduation- one that is pricey?

This is just the beginning…

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All very good points and yes he has been rewarded. To be clear we did not go into this not knowing the cost. We knew it would be a stretch for us and he was and is very aware that he has to get additional funds to go to Tulane … it’s a reach academically and financially.

I’m simply wanting advice on the options.

And yes he will probably go to grad school.

Thanks all

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You can have him reach out to his regional adcom with a concise email-

“This is what I will need in additional aid to attend”. And then it’s time for a pivot (and you still have time!)

What did he like about Tulane? Have him make a list. And then get busy with the guides and the various college websites looking to assemble a short list of affordable “Tulane-like” options. But this needs to happen ASAP unless he’s excited about his affordable acceptance.

Good luck. He is neither the first nor the last kid to find a “different dream school” when the numero uno turns out to be a budget crusher…

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While students should be the driver for most admissions questions, it’s ok for you and your child to approach this issue together. They may request additional financial information or have other questions that he can’t answer.

Do your research, but ask sooner rather than later, while they still have discretionary funds. Be prepared to commit if they reach a number that will work for your family.

It’s unlikely that they will get to where you want, but it doesn’t hurt to ask and your son can feel that he exhausted all options.

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I think that’s a hill too high to climb if your income doesn’t support it for need based aid…and he already got a merit award based on his application merit.

That means you want $40,000-$45,000 total merit aid…and that is a huge amount.

But ask…

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My friends daughter got a wee bit more and they give her some extra last year. She’s a freshman now. Her mother just lost her job and will have to see what they do with her now. It will be temporary but still. I wouldn’t go to any school that is not affordable to your family. We told our daughter she couldn’t go to her #1 school since her #2 was giving her some great merit. In hindsight her #2 and #3 (she transfered junior year) was the better choice. She would of been locked into a program and that would of not been good for her long term.

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I always suggest the parents be the driver on anything financial. They might be asked more specific financial questions and no reason to go back and forth with the student. It’s also something that can increase their anxiety. We asked a school for a dorm discount and they said they never heard of that then gave us an extra $3,000/year. So it doesn’t hurt to ask. :dollar:

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I think we’ve all been in your position and we understand, but I know that many of us didn’t plan on spending retirement savings or taking out massive loans to make these expensive schools work.

We told our kids something similar to: “There are three of you that we have to budget. This is what we can afford.”

Our eldest got into Johns Hopkins and “really, really” wanted to go. We thought she might get some merit and we didn’t know anything about the NPC, so we let her apply. (She also had Harvard interviews and was accepted at Yale, but campus visit killed that one off the list.)

When we saw the price, we said “no”. Hopkins didn’t give a dime. The Ralph Nader in my husband came out. He said: it’s not worth it.

So we got the silent treatment from daughter, which we ignored, and then she started to receive her UC acceptances/USC and she got a full ride at SUNY Buffalo-Honors for her pre med program and suddenly the clouds parted. She attended SUNY Buffalo.

All three of my kids worked hard in high school and in their sports, part-time jobs and volunteer tasks. Yes they deserve something for all their work, and they did get it-their college diplomas with great job and financial prospects.
It doesn’t matter how you get there. You adapt and change with the circumstances.

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