<p>A few days ago I announced that I would be ranting about FA from one of D’s final college choices. While I will still state that the FA package was no where near the other offers she received, I put all of the event into a time line and it makes much more sense now. It appears the problems are related to dates of letters and mailing dates. To summarize:
In late March D checked her Lehigh portal and found she was accepted. There was no FA notification.
We kept checking the portal but nothing was posted up through April 8th.
I sent the FA office an email on the 9th and got an automated response.
On 4/10 we got emails from FA advising us to check the portal. That is when we found the listing for the standard loans, a small work-study, and a university grant.
The total was less than the other contending schools so I placed a call to FA on Friday, 4/11 to review their calculations.
On Monday, 4/14, D received a letter dated 4/10 and postmarked 4/12 from FA restating the FA package listed on the portal. This totaled approximately $23,600 for the freshman year including loans, grants and work study.
This was not comparable to her other two top schools
I did not get a call back from FA on either Monday or Tuesday 4/14 or 4/15.
On Wednesday, 4/16 we received a letter from the FA office stating that D’s award was just a $5,500 Stafford loan. Nothing more and nothing less. We were all is shock that they reduced the FA.
That letter was dated 4/9 and was postmarked 4/14.
In summary, the simple Stafford loan letter was the first item sent as it was dated 4/9 whereas the second letter with the other FA components was an update as it was postmarked 4/10. Unfortunately, the second letter with the full FA offer arrived first and the original interim offer arrived second, thus causing all of the confusion.
What was worse was the language on the back of the first letter that was received second. It said in part: "We regret to inform you that due to demands on our resources, we are not able to offer you Lehigh grant assistance. You were placed on a financial aid waitlist due to your financial aid application being completed beyond our established deadline. You will be notified of any availability of funding no earlier than June 1st.We have indicated any federal grants and loans in which you may qualify. Additionally, you and your family will still have the option to apply for Alternative Loans and Plus Loans to meet financial obligations for this year. If you would like additinal informaiton …"</p>
<ul>
<li>Receiving that after receiving the original FA package definately caused some confusion. </li>
</ul>
<p>With regards to “mssing their deadline”, all items were submitted before the end of February. On March 3rd D’s portal stated they were missing all of the W-2’s. They were re-sent to the FA dropbox that evening and we re posted as received a couple of days later. Not sure how they could have been missing as they were part of the CSS package and the W-2 amounts are clearly listed on the FAFSA as well.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that with timing confusion or not, the FA package just didn’t stack up to her other top choice so she opted to submit her depost to become a Villanova Wildcat this fall.</p>
<p>Sorry for the long winded saga but it was a rather confusing week sorting through all of this. Where is the nearest bartender? I am ready for a raspberry mojito because it’s 5 o’clock somewhere!</p>
<p>I hope no one else has to endure this type of confusion. Cheers!</p>
<p>Congrats @PetraElise and @Beadymom - so wonderful to have decisions confirmed!</p>
<p>@onlyonemom and @doverdover - Congratulations! So great to have that decision made!</p>
<p>@go2mom - Go2girl is clearly a very dedicated, hard-working, and accomplished student. What a tough decision to make. Congratulations to her!</p>
<p>Best wishes @2016BarnardMom on your S14 choosing between such wonderful options! Also, you owed yourself a break! Enjoy!</p>
<p>Made the deposit tonight! D14 is officially a Pepperdine Wave! DH and I took D14 out for dessert last night to discuss school choices. DH made up a wonderful decision matrix, on which D14 rank-ordered her schools on things most important to her, assigning a weight to each criteria. She then added up each school’s points for all the criteria, which really clarified which school is the best fit for her. So happy to have this decided!</p>
<p>Thanks @2016BarnardMom. Wow, that’s tough! I didn’t want to pressure our D, and we wanted her to make the decision, but on the other hand, I also told her I hoped to have a decision by the end of the week, as I didn’t want to wait to the last minute in case the school’s site or the computer itself crashed. Sunday still gives you a few days after he gets back, but will be so glad for both of you once the decision is made. It’s just such a relief to have done.</p>
<p>@AvonHSDad - No kidding! That could be very upsetting to alot of people. Congratulations on her decision to become a Villanova Wildcat!</p>
<p>I kind of want a decision because the marching band director went to Kalamazoo College and if S14 hasn’t made a firm decision, I know the band director will be pushing for his alma mater!!! I guess it depends whether I can get an answer from K about financial aid if he is really still unable to decide and we’re down to just finances.</p>
<p>AvonHSDad: You gotta love the way things happen with FA offices. Son '14 still has not receive a package from about one third of the schools to which he applied (and was accepted). Thank goodness he made a decision in late January where he would go this fall, so we were not stressing over everything. We’ve communicated with FA at his chosen school, and they have been awesome. Went online, accepted his package and done. Even got a couple of e-mails to remind him to apply for more scholarships (he has one essay to go for them). </p>
<p>Older son came over for Easter. He brought up his amazing financial aid package from UVA Law. And I mean, amazing in a good way. No student debt as an undergrad (just debt to Mom and Dad) gave him an incredible scholarship and low interest loans. He accepted the package in front of us, but added that he would turn back any monies that he did not need. He can live on the cheap if needed. He is just excited, because the apartment he rented (I went with him to see it) will have decent counter space so he can use his crock pot regularly. He has decided that he really likes to cook.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Son '14 cranked out his final essay for local scholarships. He’s pretty burned out with all the essays, so here’s hoping he can claim some of the local monies. He must have applied to 20 different things. One thing I learned was that most guys do not submit anything. Maybe that will favor him, because he spent so much time working on the scholarship apps. </p>
<p>Any ideas for a grad / 18th birthday gift for a guy? laptop and phone are out, since he doesn’t need to replace those. But any other suggestions needed please, thank you so much!</p>
<p>Hello, everyone. Got back from London yesterday evening and have skimmed posts here and there while away. I am ready to take those drink orders for our remaining cruisers!</p>
<p>Ran into yet another group from DS’s school while going through customs last night (this group had been in France). Well, they were waiting at customs and they called out my son’s name as we walked past them on our way to the global entry line. My kids are really going to get a shock when they start traveling on their own, LOL. Maybe they’ll decide to spring for the global entry to save time, but I doubt they will splurge on first/business. DH travels so much that for him it’s worth it. In fact he is flying out again this afternoon to Montreal, and had a bit of a panic this am when he couldn’t find his passport and thought maybe he’d left it in the cab last night. DD THINKS she left her phone behind in the flat. Getting a replacement phone isn’t an issue, but she had lots of pictures that probably aren’t backed up. Oh well, lesson learned.</p>
<p>Had to scrounge through the fridge to pack lunches this morning since all stores were closed by the time we got back since it was Easter, and our grocery service didn’t deliver for the same reason. Luckily I had the foresight (AKA dumb luck) to buy some prosciutto and salami right before we left so they got a lunch box version of a charcuterie plate today.</p>
<p>Roommates: DS is “talking” via facebook with some potential roommates so hopefully that will get resolved soon. </p>
<p>Graduation party: DS does not want one, and much of our family is coming from out of town anyway so the scheduling will be difficult. Ceremony is at 7 pm so I will just host an early cocktail hour with heavy hors d’oeuvres for those attending the ceremony (about a dozen folks) around 4 pm.</p>
<p>Birthday gift for 18 year old: We just gave DS cash. He didn’t really want anything else so that was the best gift from his perspective. </p>
<p>Family vacation: This London trip is probably our last trip all together for a while. Summer is tricky since DS has to report early for his sport and will be working until he leaves. DD '18 will be starting high school and will be trying out for a fall sport, which means she needs to be around the entire month of August. DD will also be in California for a week in July visiting grandparents, so that leaves only a very small window for vacation with all four of us so probably not happening. But we are thinking of a quick trip to Madrid over Christmas break so that will be our next family vacation. Need to figure out that timing as we have an annual New Year’s obligation that we need to be in town for, so we can either go for 4 days before Christmas, or 5 days right after. </p>
<p>@2016BarnardMom- Your post made me laugh! I think it’s GREAT that you’re taking time off. You definitely deserve a rest. But I totally get it. I am on doctor’s orders not to do anything for a couple of weeks and those sticks in the yard are just mocking me!!! (We have actual fire-wood sized ones that came down over the winter and need to be sawed up. You’re welcome to come take them for your future firepit!</p>
<p>@1dilecon Thank you for your kind words. I’m just now getting around to reading through all I missed the last few days. My D is applying to some scholarships, but they would not affect our EFC much as they’d first reduce her Perkins loan, then Subsidized Stafford, then they’d actually reduce the grants. The scholarships can’t reduce our family contribution more than $500 However, we are investigating ALL possibilities to try to avoid having to sell the boat. I’m hopeful we can figure something out. Now that my pre-surgery anxiety has abated I am feeling more optimistic!</p>
<p>Still on the boat and getting seasick. We are back from visiting Dartmouth and Bowdoin. S still hasn’t made a decision and the top contenders (about 5) are all so different and all expensive. Conservative and religious vs. pretty liberal vs significant frat presence vs. no frats. Ugh. I am get all weepy at inconvenient times and I am not ready for him to leave. I wish there was one clear cut “best” school for him. Help! I skipped the alcoholic drink this morning but the heavily frosted leftover Easter cake has taken a huge hit. </p>
<p>Congrats to all-college decisions and valedictorian decisions and big-time scholarships! </p>
<p>Any advice on how to get through this week is appreciated!</p>
<p>@staceyneil: I’m excited that he wants to use his crockpot! He’s already asked me how to make the beef veggie soup I always do when it’s chilly. It costs me about $10 or so to make it, and we get good mileage out of it. He also likes that you can make lasagna in a crockpot. This way, he will not starve while in law school. Son '14 also wants a crock pot for college.</p>
<p>Fun catching up on everyone’s news this morning.</p>
<p>@2016BarnardMom- Give yourself permission to be “a slug.” You seem to be a very efficient, productive person by nature. When you aren’t able to muster up your usual energy, it is for a reason. Relax and enjoy the downtime. Your natural rhythym will come back to you when it is supposed to. And your freshly baked bagels are making my mouth water. One would be so good with my AM coffee. :-)</p>
<p>@momreads- I need your crockpot recipes. I have always wanted to try making crockpot lasagne. My crockpot go to’s are pot roast and split pea soup on a hambone.</p>
<p>S14 left for school this morning wearing his college t-shirt and hat. He said lots of friends were planning to wear their college swag today as it is the first day back from spring break. They have worked so hard and now they are reaping the results. So proud! (I put my UCLA MOM decal on the back of my mini-van yesterday… right under my USC MOM decal… should get some interesting looks in traffic.)
:-h </p>
<p>My crockpot gets lots of use, with the varying schedules we’ve got around here. This way food is ready even if I’m not home and DS or DD gets home before I do from some function/carpool/school or sports event. I make lots of things in it – the aforementioned lasagna, pot roast, and soups, but also mashed potatoes, meat loaf, “roast” chicken, faux pulled pork (my barbecue and smoker aficionado husband would cringe at calling the crock pot version true pulled pork), shredded beef or chicken for soft tacos, various curries, braised Asian dishes. I probably use it 2-3 times a week, especially during the cooler months.</p>
<p>Thank you everybody. This group has been very supportive. Me and the wifey had a long talk to our daughter yesterday after church and it looks like that my D is leaning more on Cornell now. Initially, during Cornell Days, she had an impression that Cornell students are not “friendly” and “social” but when she attended classes and stayed in the dorm for an overnight hosting, she started talking to them and once she got to know them, she thinks that she had more connection to them than at the other schools that she visited/stayed. Though, she was not quite ready yet to commit yesterday.</p>
<p>After that talk, my wife went emotional because she realized that her “baby” might be going farther than we were expecting.</p>
<p>Back from last week’s ASDs and we have a decision! D put in her deposit this morning to Chapman University . They had a wonderful ASD and that sealed the deal for her. Of course, having a beautiful campus in Southern California and receiving a VERY nice merit scholarship doesn’t hurt either. Happy to be stepping off the boat, but S’11 is applying to law school and graduate school next year so we get to go through this again! :)) Congratulations to all on decisions and amazing scholarships! This really is the best site to help parents through the whole application and decision-making process. I can’t believe how often I quote information from here…</p>
However, we are investigating ALL possibilities to try to avoid having to sell the boat. I’m hopeful we can figure something out. Now that my pre-surgery anxiety has abated I am feeling more optimistic!</p>