@lakers2020 I understand. I know they will be responsive. And I hope they help find a solution that is adequate - I know they will try. All the best!
Have you joined the WashU parents group yet? There might be someone there who has been in a similar situation and can give you guidance. I am hoping that it will all work out for you!
@lachhi Thank you! By no means is our family asking for a full ride or even half ⊠we are realistic and by no means cheapskates. But we simply can not afford absolutely no aid. Yes, we are hoping for the best when we can connect with them.
@Waldo755 No, I have not. Is that on this board?
@lakers2020 Sorry! It is on Facebook. Search WashU St. Louis Parents.
I remember sitting in on an info session at Wash U and a parent asking what they should do if their child needed aid to afford Wash U and they said to not apply ED since aid is not guaranteed and applying ED basically means you are agreeing to go there regardless of the cost.
But, it was always my understanding that if your run the Net Price Calculator on the schoolâs website that is should give you fairly accurate information regarding what it should cost your child to attend there. If that information is drastically different from what the school is now telling you that you should afford, I would let them know that when you contact them. And if those numbers are different and you simply canât afford for your child to attend there, that is an acceptable reason to break your ED contract.
I wonder if you have some assets that are negatively impacting your ability to get aid from them? Sometimes schools will see an asset, such as retirement savings, and expect you to use that to pay for school. Sadly, what they think we can afford and what many of us actually can afford are two different things.
I hope this all works our for you! I can imagine how stressful it is!
This is what Iâve heard from every school, which is why I asked earlier if that was really a legit reason to back out of an ED.
I donât recall anywhere on the CSS where they asked specifically how much you thought you could realistically afford, but I could be wrong. That would just be your opinion and they are making a judgement on the facts they are presented. Like another responder stated, it is possible given the crazy high SF real estate prices vs. the midwest that you appear to be able to afford more than is realistically possible. It is my understanding you can back out of ED if the financial aid package is not acceptable. It isnât like they donât have thousands of highly qualified applicants anxiously awaiting to fill your spot.
Wash U states n their website that âWe meet 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all admitted studentsâ. When you filled out the FAFSA that would tell you how much you can afford to pay for college. I believe it is called your EFC. If that number is greater than tuition, fees, and housing then you should not have expected any financial aid. I am sure you and your daughter are very disappointed but perhaps you should not have applied Early Decision knowing that you could not afford the school and knowing that financial aid was not guaranteed for you. When you speak with the financial aid officer, make sure you know your EFC.
I agree with everything youâve said, but it should be noted that the EFC doesnât take debt or cost of living into account. Itâs all about what is in your non-retirement accounts and how much you make. So, living in a very high cost-of-living area is what what the CSS Profile is supposed to help balance out.
That said, I still agree that applying ED with the hopes of Financial Aid is something that every school that Iâve interacted with has specifically warned against.
Just curious, how many of you that were accepted also needed or received financial aid?
Accepted but did not need financial aid.
my daughter was accepted, needed and received almost exactly what the washu calculator told us she would receive in need based aid.
@lakers2020 When we visited WashU, I asked the admissions director about ED and merit scholarships. I explained that a merit scholarship (she would not qualify for any need based aid) would be a great factor in my daughter attending WashU. She said that if my daughter is accepted ED with no merit, my daughter would still be obligated to ED so she strongly recommended that my daughter apply RD. She said if my daughter applied ED and wanted to back out because of no merit scholarship, we would have to come back to campus and explain the situation in person.
My daughter just got notice yesterday that she will not get any merit.
My daughterâs stats:
ACT 36
SAT subject tests: Math 800, Chemistry 800
National AP Scholar
National Merit Finalists
President of several clubs
Top 60 nationally ranked athlete in US
Volunteered 150+ hours
Class rank #1
She turned down several Ivy schools who offered her a likely letter as an athletic recruit (Ivies do not offer any merit or athletic scholarships) because she wanted to see if she could get merit at WashU. She would not get any financial aid or need based aid. Since WashU at $75,000 (tuition and room and board), which is similar to many Ivies, she will likely choose an Ivy school at the same tuition cost or mid tier schools offering $25,000+ merit.
She was offered several full D1 athletic scholarships at other universities, but she wanted a undergrad with excellent opportunities for her intended major and she didnât feel those universities were the right fit.
Greatly disappointed, but best of luck to the finalists.
When we visited in the fall, someone asked the same question about ED and aid, and was given the same response, aid is not guaranteed, apply RD, check the online calc⊠So no one should be surprised at what they have to spend on tuition, especially nowadays. If you were not 100%, then you should have applied RD instead of taking another students spot and now trying to figure a way out of your ED contract. We understood all that coming from CA, so my kid took his chance at the lower acceptance rate of applying RD.
@Confused911 Is your daughter attending WashU? We got notice too no merit fellowship.
@lakers2020 She isnât sure if she will attend WashU with no merit. She did apply regular decision so she has time to decide. Very stressful times. We learned a few weeks ago that she is national merit finalist, so we know that USC and Boston University offer half off tuition, which brings costs to a little over $50,000/year. I think she will wait to see what other merit scholarships come through before making a final decision. She loved WashU and several Ivies. I feel if we are going to pay full tuition, she should lean towards the Ivies since she liked both. However, as deadlines approach to make a college decision, I begin to wonder what undergrad is actually worth $75,000/yr. I find it amazing that colleges, which are educational institutes, keep limiting merit scholarships. On the other hand, as an athlete, full scholarships are freely given away. She has been offered many full athletic scholarships (tuition and room and board), but I donât think she would have gotten full merit at some of those universities. Not because she doesnât have the academic qualifications, but because universities just donât seem to give enough weight to merit. This makes absolutely no sense to me. Good luck to you.
@Confused911 Your posts are leaving me confused (no pun intended) and a bit baffled, to be honest. Your daughter applied RD, so you donât even know if she is accepted. And, you indicate she turned down letters from Ivies, etc. (which, by the way are no guarantee the student is accepted⊠I have many examples where this is the case). Why on earth wouldnât she at least apply to all of those schools if attending a prestigious university is important to her? It sounds like your financial profile is such that you could afford the bill (even if it is a stretch) and that was known in advance. Yet, your daughter was offered full D1 scholarships⊠why not take one of those if money is indeed an issue. You canât have it both ways, unfortunately. I agree that the cost of schooling is outrageous so itâs on the family to determine the cost/benefit and everyone will arrive at a different conclusion given their own personal context.
Based on your daughterâs profile, she will excel wherever she lands, both in college and beyond. I hope she is picking her college based on where she will truly be happy/thrive. Students I know with stats like hers are stressed to the max. They may not show it, but it may be percolating underneath. Going to a university that is more balanced may be a better fit for her in the long run. Cultures span the gamut across the Ivies /top schools (Cornell on one end ⊠Stanford on the other).
My daughter will be attending WashU next fall (got in ED2) and itâs a great fit for her culturally, academically, etc. She turned down lots of merit from other schools (which we knew before she applied ED2) but the WashU fit was something we were willing to stretch to pay for (no aid for us).
I hope it works out for your daughter. Best of luck.
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