@riverandsasha3 As I said in my earlier post, still apply to as many scholarships (as you think you have a reasonable chance of receiving–a guidance counselor can help you here) as it’s always better to HAVE more merit scholarships than can be used.
@momofsenior1 Most T20s meeting full need I believe won’t allow outside scholarships to stack (or even internal ones, as I know Vanderbilt will only offer you financial aid if your need is MORE than the scholarship offered by them,) but will allow you to use it to remove your student contribution (summer/school work,) as well as to buy a one-time laptop if necessary. If your scholarships are more than your financial need (unfortunately you cannot use them to count towards your EFC: the amount your parents are expected to pay,) you can always ask the scholarship provider if they can split the amount over multiple years so that you maximize the benefit you receive from it.
TL;DR: Apply for scholarships and worry about the logistics after you get them/college decisions release.
@riverandsasha3 Ok, I just want to confirm: is 30K the number that your parents WANT to pay or is it the number that the financial aid calculators (note that the FAFSA is inaccurate for private colleges like Duke, so the CSS Profile or the college’s own calculator) has stated? If it’s the former, then you’ll need to have your parents run Duke’s own financial aid calculators to get a sense of how much they expect you and your family to pay, and note that it can change every year as circumstances change (increased income etc.)
@thumper1 My sister got a scholarship to Duke because she is an athlete. My mother was on disability for 5 years and then became unemployed in March. I don’t know much about our financial situation, but I do know that the money my mother receives is not from work. It’s from Social Security. I also receive Social Security direct deposits, but I don’t know what they are for. I’m pretty sure they have something to do with my mother’s disability.
My parents are not divorced and do not own any real estate. I ran the net price calculator a couple of weeks ago, so I hope they’re accurate.
I tried to sit them down for a conversation about finances, but all they kept telling me was that they would pay for it and I shouldn’t worry. I keep suggesting not applying ED, but they said I should because they want me to go there.
@riverandsasha3 I think Jack Kent Cooke Scholarships are based on financial need, so if you’re eligible for that program, you should probably look into the Gates Scholarship program, the Questbridge Scholars program, and the Posse Scholars program. The Elks scholarship program DOES consider financial aid, though I’m unsure if it’s only at the national level or from the local/state level onwards (check the website!)
@PikachuRocks15 The net price calculator for Duke said $30,000. I’m confused though because Harvard’s said $8,000 even though I entered the same information. Is the financial aid really that different between the schools?
@riverandsasha3 Every financial aid calculator is an ESTIMATE, NOT a GUARANTEE of aid. While it’s likely that the financial aid offered will be within the estimated range provided, the way that some of these calculators work (like the MyInTuition 3 min or whatever it’s called calculator) is that they base their estimations off of actual financial aid packages for students with numbers similar (but not necessarily the same) as yours.
I’m not sure why the numbers are SO far off. I’ve read on CC that the College Board NPC calculators have been inaccurate for some schools due to not being updated etc, but I’m not a financial aid officer, so I can’t speak to the accuracy (or lack thereof) for any particular school. Did you input the numbers into two different types of calculators (the long-form College Board NPC for one and the shorter-form one for another?) You might also try running the College Board’s own EFC calculator that is updated for 2020-21 (it’s the one that runs the CSS profile, which Duke and Harvard both use) and see what it comes up for your EFCs (I think colleges will usually choose the higher EFC or somewhere in-between if they vary differently, and thereby change the financial aid offered between the institutional vs. federal methodology calculations, but it can also vary based on the specific formulas that each college uses, their amount of aid available, if you appeal your aid package or not with extenuating circumstances etc.)
@riverandsasha3 Also, as @thumper1 said in an earlier post, NPCs tend to break down for applicants with specific circumstances that are hard to easily quantify the impact of. No one but the financial aid office knows for certain how they are calculating the financial aid award package, but if you are admitted ED and the package is insufficient, you can withdraw from the ED commitment (though you lose your acceptance, and is a worst-case scenario.)
Yes, Harvard has much more generous need based aid…and much deeper pockets to provide that aid.
Financial aid for 2021-2022 will use the 2019 tax year income information.
You absolutely will have affordable college options. Please keep your mind open to other options. I would suggest you look into the schools I mentioned above where your stats would give you merit aid.
Duke might end up being affordable…but it might not be.
@PikachuRocks15 if this student had an expected contribution at Duke of $30,000, the student is NOT from a low income family. Some of the scholarships you named really do consider financial need, and look at lower income students. Gates and Questbridge do consider financial need. This student is not a $0 EFC student or Pell eligible…it would seem. I’m not sure she would meet the financial bar for those awards. @CottonTales could you perhaps clarify income and Questbridge?
@thumper1 The OP was applying for the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship which does consider financial aid I believe, so wanted her to confirm whether or not she is eligible for it: and if she is, she’s likely eligible for the others (unless the Jack Kent Cooke scholarships has a much higher EFC bar.)
Income to qualify for Questbridge can be max $65,000 with normal assets, if any. As @thumper1 said, if you have $30k for Duke, or even $8k for Harvard on their NPC’s, you won’t be eligible. I can’t remember what the income limit for Gates was, but I would assume the OP wouldn’t be eligible for that either.
OP, didn’t you say you didn’t want a southern school? Duke is definitely in the south, the weather in the spring and fall months at school will not be much different from Alabama.
@thumper1@PikachuRocks15 Sorry, just wanted to clarify that I am a male. No worries or anything. I just wanted to clear that up for you.
Also, I know I’m not eligible for QuestBridge, so I didn’t apply. I didn’t see the income eligibility requirement for the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship until now, so I will be taking that application off of my Common App. Thanks for letting me know about it, though.
I also didn’t even mean to mention the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship in this post. I meant to say that I applied to the Brayn Cameron Impact scholarship, but that’s equally impossible to get, so that doesn’t make much of a difference.
@CottonTales So sorry for the confusion, but my post above clarifies the scholarship miscommunication. As for Duke, I wasn’t expecting to like it. Not only does my sister attend, but I didn’t want to be in North Carolina. When I went to visit, I was pleasantly surprised by Durham. Not only is the surrounding area of Duke one of the most concentrated intellectual hubs in the world, it seemed like a nice change of pace from the big city vibes of Chicago. I thought a small city would be boring, but the culture and activity is great. Also, the area is very liebral, which made me like the school more. Although I don’t like hot weather, Durham still sees snowy winters and crisp falls, which I love. It may not be the blizzard climate that I enjoy so much, but I feel like it has great characteristics in every aspect I could think of. And that’s just location-wise.
@riverandsasha3 Duke’s an AMAZING place, but it is beneficial, as @thumper1 said, to not elevate any school to a dream school level. Now that’s not to say to not hope and try your best if you love the school, but from someone who just finished applying to college, it’s also important to have a list of safeties (that are affordable!) and match schools that you would be fine with attending, even if it isn’t your first choice.
I am not sure if I am getting the full picture, but I get the sense that you are not low-income if your parents can afford $30k. But based on your reported NPC, which does not work for all cases, you think you will get about $45-50k (75k or 80k - 30k) of financial aid from Duke? Like others who have said it, the school will deduct any private scholarships you would get against your financial aid. I am not discouraging you from applying, but you would have to get at least $45k-50k /year of scholarship for 4 years in order for it to makes sense for you to apply? Am I understanding this correctly? Are you a URM bc there are scholarships for URMs. Bryan Cameron makes sense bc it full-tuition. Other scholarships that you have mentioned are for students with getting pell-grants, 0 EFC etc., and it’s hard to add them up to $45k-50k/ year. Not impossible though.
