<p>“Can’t Berkeley’s engineering compete with Harvard, Caltech in quality?”</p>
<p>We’d need some kind of agreed-upon objective measurement, if we start by agreeing that all schools are not alike in this regard.</p>
<p>Very informative… and a bit depressing. </p>
<p><em>sigh</em></p>
<p>College is so painful- you pay a bunch of money to torture yourself by studying just to get a piece of paper. I guess it is just one of those evil necessities of life.</p>
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<p>Again, not my rule, but the rule put forth by Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<p>The rule says </p>
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<p>The reason I quoted Berkeley is that Berkeley is not a private institution. It is a great engineering school, but it does not give CMU bragging rights. X got into Caltech or MIT but chose to come to CMU sounds better than Y got into Berkeley but chose to come to CMU.</p>
<p>“You waited until April? Sorry, we gave your money away.”</p>
<p>Related question – for sophomore year the deadlines are much later. Is it safe to wait until the April or May deadline, or should we still be aiming to get it in as soon as possible? The school claims that if circumstances remain the same, your award should remain comparable for all 4 years, so if we don’t anticipate needing much more aid, can we presume that they have “set aside” comparable funding for our student for the next year and we don’t need to rush our taxes, FAFSA and Profile in this year?</p>
<p>It depends on the school. The only caution I have is for students at schools that are stretched thin on money. For example, the public U where I worked had so many low income students that work study & SEOG were gone quickly - and they were awarded by date the FAFSA was received. For private schools, though, I think the returning student dates are probably safe.</p>
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<p>They’ll actually review your aid package if you received a better off from one of their “peer” schools. I was an engineering applicant and got a significantly better offer from RPI. We faxed a copy of the letter over, and CMU matched it (and then some since I wound up actually getting an extra departmental scholarship).</p>
<p>you are so kind .God help you!</p>
<p>The flipside of #4:</p>
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<p>The Ivies have the most generous need-based packages available (excl. merit aid). ED boosts the chances of admission. So, waiting for RD reduces the chances of admissions, and reduces the chances of that generous need-based aid. (There is nothing to negotiate if one is not accepted.)</p>
<p>How about “Middle class need not apply for financial aid” </p>
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<p>We are upper middle class and got excellent financial aid for our D. It did involve paying quite a bit of money ourselves … but I certainly expected to have to pay something. We don’t get aid (other than the offer of unsub loans) for our S, because he attends a less expensive state school. The cost is lower, so the need for aid is lower.</p>
<p>I agree with kelsmom. In some ways the surprise is that middle class families <em>can</em> apply for (and receive) need-based financial aid. Of course many schools can’t afford to meet need for all students, so you need to do some research to know where your child is likely or unlikely to get aid.</p>
<p>That’s really true. I know in my family’s case it was about the same cost for me to go to CMU versus my brother to go to one of our state schools; something we never expected before those financial aid packages came in!</p>
<p>In our case, it was less expensive for my son to attend an Ivy than an UC at instate rates. The ED was well worth the gamble, IMO.</p>
<p>I believe that’s true.</p>
<p>I am ordinary middle class and both Ds have wonderful financial aid from a top LAC costing us under the cost of going to state college. The catch is that you have qualify to get into the top colleges that have the money to give you this kind of money. We still have to pay what is for us is a lot of money but since this is our first priority (their education) - we find a way to come up with it. It is niether free or cheap but within reach. Can you negotiate? - don’t expect a school with a small endowment to bid up - if they are wealthy and you are worthy - it is possible.</p>
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<p>Exactly! (And that is why I differ from the normal cc rule that says financial aid candidates should not apply ED, particularly since ED gives a boost to top colleges that have lotsa money.)</p>
<p>It’s an interesting point, if your child loves their ED school so much and your financial situation is such that you and they would be willing to pay extra for them to go there even if it weren’t their very best offer. </p>
<p>My S1 ended up at an ivy (RD) with pretty decent need-based aid. However, he had several cheaper options involving merit-aid. (Not hugely cheaper, but if every penny counted, he would not be where he is now. If we’d needed it, he could have had even cheaper options at schools that didn’t look to be quite as good of a fit.)</p>
<p>For a kid who can get into one of those top schools and get the best need-based aid, they will definitely be able to get a “better offer” based on merit elsewhere. </p>
<p>So, if your kid has what it takes to get into a top school ED and you’d be willing to spend “more” than you might absolutely need to for them to attend, and you don’t want to even see what your other options might be first, then it may indeed make sense for them to apply ED.</p>
<p>Here is what they don’t tell you:</p>
<p>When/if you are awarded a need based grant your freshman year do not expect that amount to increase. Ever. Even if your <em>need</em> increases. However, if your <em>need</em> decreases fully expect that grant to decrease.</p>
<p>^ Which school(s) did this to you? People should be warned.</p>
<p>If a school guarantees to meet need, it should do so even if your need increases. But for schools that do not meet full need, all bets are off, and JustAMom makes a good point about not being able to expect more “just because” your need increases.</p>
<p>When you are at the point of seriously considering signing on with a school, you should definitely find out what the financial aid policies will be for future years – will loans be increased after freshman year? If your circumstances remain the same, can you expect the aid to continue for 4 years? What if our income changes? etc…</p>
<p>Yes, these are good questions to ask. Publics will generally not be able to tell you what will change from year to year … it depends on state funding & the school’s internal grant allocation … as well as the neediness of the student body, which can change from year to year … and the allocation of grant money from the federal government, which can change from year to year. Many private schools, however, have policies that are “set.” A former coworker told me one of the school’s she had worked for - a non need meeting private, a relatively unknown LAC - determined the aid freshman year & it wouldn’t change even if the family situation changed (for better or for worse - unless, of course, worse meant more Pell money). It was basically “tuition discounting.”</p>