I am curious. Do students admitted from the wait list get any FA? Merit? Or is all the money spoken for by that time? Anyone with experience (or knowledge)?
Unless it’s a school that charges a higher rate and gives a discount via merit awards to every student, it’s highly unlikely someone accepted off the wait list would receive a merit award. Not so much because the money is spoken for, but because merit money is typically used to entice the students at the top of the applicant pool to come to the school by making it cheaper than higher-ranked alternatives would be. Those top applicants would not likely have been wait-listed.
Need-based aid will vary by school.
Totally depends on the school. Some schools that meet full need for all do so even for students off the wait list.
Others specifically say they don’t guarantee to meet full need for students off the wait list.
You just have to wait and see.
It depends. My S was given pretty good merit and need-based aid off a WL (but not as good as his higher-stat sibling got from the same school that accepted her early).
^____ Thanks, all!
D2 was offered very good need-based financial aid from the highly ranked LAC that offered her a spot off the waiting list. Similarly, a friend’s daughter was offered extremely good need-based financial aid from an Ivy.
Some schools consider need when deciding who to take from the WL.