<p>If one is accepted into one of the need blind schools and your family meets certain financial qualifications, you can get a full ride. But what about second tier schools? I know some give FA, and they may have large endowments…but does anyone know what type of formula is used to determine financial aid? Can anyone talk of financial aid experience in schools like Mercersburg or Tabor? What type of FA have you recieved? What do you think made your student stand out? Any input would be great.</p>
<p>I have a daughter who attends M’burg thanks to a generous FA package. I suppose they use the recommendations of the FA clearing house, (ie; the parent financial contribution amount), since the same offers came from other schools as well. But I cannot say enough about Mercersburg’s willingness to really listen to parents who needed extra help with the process.<br>
I think my daughter stood out mainly because the decision to go to BS was hers alone. We supported her, but would have liked her to stay at home too. She is typical of many kids on this board; straight a student, student council office all through middle school, 3 sports, leading roles, volunteer, played an instrument… Her scores were not as high, only an 82. While she can be bubbly and enthusiastic, she is not shallow. Her main desire to go to BS was to live with diverse kids. She certainly has that at M’burg. But, on the other hand, in her thank you note she did mention her newly discovered love of Tasteekakes (that can’t be spelled right), which don’t exist in our state.
Good luck to your child and feel free to ask any questions. Oh, and btw, my son looked at and was accepted at Tabor. Chose to go to Proctor instead. Better fit for him. But I loved Tabor. I grew up on a coastal town and it felt like home.
zp</p>
<p>MBurg is also one of the few that has a purely “academic” full scholarship to the best applicant.</p>
<p>Hi,
My S was accepted to 3 “second tier” schools and all three gave him the same amount of financial aid within about $1000. One of those schools was Mercersburg. The amount they awarded was about $1000-$2000 less than what the SSS people said we could afford. All three schools had significantly smaller endowments than the big BS’s mentioned most often on this board. The one we choose had the smallest and gave us the most money!
We choose the school that was the best fit for him and he is loving it!
Good luck in your quest for the right school it’s a difficult and exhausting process for all involved!</p>
<p>Interestingly, we just attended a college workshop and they put it like this (I think it is completely applies to BS too).
Need Blind - only means they do not care about FA when ACCEPTING you - they do not promise to meet your need. Same thing with all the prep schools.
Need AWARE - they DO care about your FA when accepting and with colleges they do promise to meet your need. </p>
<p>Now with prep schools, the need aware schools don’t make that promise, but I do think that you are just as likely - or more so -if you are a strong candidate in their pool - to get more aid. My son’s school has TINY endowment compared to others and his offer was very generous. Additionally, another school he applied to - even smaller endowment, and almost identical offer. </p>
<p>The advise we were given - be at the top of the candidate pool - academically - and also be someone they want on campus and you’ll be more likely to get that good FA offer.</p>
<p>My son stood out in his interviews and I’d say his recommendations. Academically he was strong (high scores, good grades, not straight A’s) but someone you just like.</p>