<p>Providence was one of the first colleges D2 wanted to go too and she was pleased when she received her acceptance but the aid, compared to others, was not enough. They gave her 5500 sub loans, 2000 perkins and 1800 work study (which I don’t calculate for our purposes)which brought it down, but still pricey and I was concerned about the future increases.</p>
<p>“Financial aid should be in place to ensure equal opportunity for all. If you want system which favors the rich and keeps the poor at a perpetual disadvantage, a time machine to to 1500s England is in order.”</p>
<p>“Equal opportunity” is not the purpose of financial aid. Financial aid is a tool by which schools shape their incoming class to reflect their institutional goals. Hence, more aid money to achieve diversity targets. More money to bring in recruited athletes or students with other exceptional talents. The public university system was created to provide college access to all. Private schools are still private and have the right to give or withhold aid as they see fit. Students applying to these schools should keep this in mind. (That said, admitting students and then raising the tuition is a bad business practice and they should expect a lot of complaints if this occurs.)</p>
<p>I do agree with that. Financial aid will always be “uneven” to us but not to the college. They all have reasons for admitting certain students, and whether you agree or not, that’s who they wanted that year. Some students are admitted because they are a fit, but not enough to get substantial aid to help nudge them to that final decision. The pot is only so big. I believe no student admitted is not deserving of a certain college because they wanted him/her and that’s what it’s about…books, numbers, counselors, only can do so much and once admitted, financial aid is another matter.
Raising tuition by a large margin and “bait and switch” are all scary things though and although asking a lot of questions might help, sometimes you just are blindsided which is never acceptable.</p>
<p>As soon as someone figures out a “fair” way to dole out aid that satisfies everyone, let me know.</p>