<p>My D got the package. The EFC is about 1500 higher than that on FAFSA.</p>
<p>Budget total: 35,676 (a significant increase from last years number!)</p>
<p>EFC = 24,354 (FAFSA shows 22K+)</p>
<p>Total "award" = 11,322, which includes
Grant : $6000+
Work study: $1800
Loan: $2600+</p>
<p>It is intereting that the loan is considered as "award" ?!!</p>
<p>Rice is not as attractive as it was.</p>
<p>college is expensive, but your son can always do outside scholarships. so umm did you just receive the packet today?</p>
<p>We received it a few days ago.</p>
<p>As far as I know, most schools consider loans part of the so-called "award."</p>
<p>Q: how does the package compare to what you got at other schools? better, worse, different?</p>
<p>Oh, boy.. didn't want to hear this. Our FAFSA efc was 23,590! Hoping we get our financial aid info soon.. don't know if she will be attending OWL weekend if financial aid isn't more attractive. We live in PA and do not want to spend the money on travel, etc if cost of attendance isn't feasible.</p>
<p>We received a letter a couple of weeks ago that told us we weren't eligible for financial aid and yet the FAFSA indicated we were. We sent our taxes etc on to Rice anyway so I don't know if we will get a package in the mail. We haven't gotten anything showing the total cost yet.</p>
<p>Hmm, sounds like there are a few things happening here. Rice does not price discriminate as much as other schools. Even though the overall price is lower, your expected contribution isn't. You end up getting a lower award from Rice with an EFC roughly the same (or perhaps lower!) than it would be at a school with higher costs. Another factor may be that Rice puts more of its student aid into merit awards than need-based awards resulting in lower need-based awards on average for middle-class applicants.</p>
<p>The end result is that the primary beneficiaries of Rice's lower costs are students who pay the full amount. </p>
<p>So unless you're wealthy, poor, or receive a lot of merit add, perhaps Rice isn't quite the low-cost bargain we thought it was.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>I have to agree. As my D says.. she isn't getting her hopes up for any one of the seven colleges that she applied to because she doesn't want to be disappointed when the financial aid numbers come in. NO WAY can we afford to pay full freight for a 35K+ school. One of the main reasons D applied to Rice was because it was one of the "alleged" lower priced top 20 schools.. with what she feels are great academics .. goes to show maybe there isn't much difference between say.. Ivy League and these so called "bargains".. jury is out on this. D did apply to one Ivy but hasn't heard yet about admittance let alone financial aid. I would really appreciate hearing from anyone else who has gotten their financial aid package, i.e. thoughts and comparisons with other offers they may have gotten. Thanks!</p>
<p>I think that it's hard to know if what whoever got is a bad package without seeing what the other schools gave - if every other school gives something similar or worse (not that I'm hoping that!), then Rice will have given them good financial aid. </p>
<p>What I think a lot of people are seeing right now is that the sticker price is almost irrelevant if you will get need based aid. What really counts, obviously, is the package - since the EFC shouldn't vary by more than a couple thousand from school to school. </p>
<p>For me, sticker price was important, since I knew I wouldn't qualify, and since I knew how much my parents were going to pay wasn't going to match how much colleges thought they could. Since I was making up the difference, it mattered.</p>
<p>I think you folks need to chill out and see what would be your final out-of-pocket expenses from any of the schools you have applied. Then make the final decision based up on what you are getting for your money.</p>
<p>If you are a full price parent, and has determined that you want to send your kid to a private and they get in to H, Y or P you would pay close to 44-45 K vs Rice 36-37 K. A difference of about 7-8 first year. The difference may shrink due to Rice raising tuition more than normal, and only you can decide if that difference is worth or not.</p>
<p>If you are getting need based aid based on EFC, your out-of-pocket expenses would be about the same if you were to go to H, Y, P or Rice. (Ofcourse the loan component may vary.)</p>
<p>If you are getting any of the merit scholarships, you are getting a discount. Be happy.</p>
<p>Simba -
That's what I was trying to say, but you are far more articulate than I am.</p>
<p>perhaps more direct? Actually, the title annoyed me.</p>
<p>If current trends continue, I suspect that the difference between Rice and HYPS (the rest of the Ivy's and Duke do not belong in that group!) will tend to increase for upperclassmen over 4 years. This year, the increases for returning students are progressively smaller based on years at Rice. By contrast the other schools are increasing 4+%/year across the board. So in essence, Rice is allowing you to "lock" in your tuition based on year of entry.</p>
<p>Is this behavior likely to continue, or will Rice stop distinguishing between class levels?</p>
<p>Again, this only matters if you are paying full freight.</p>
<p>Gator - the main reason the % tuition increase varied is that current sophomores and older students have their tuition tied to the consumer price index (or inflation, basically). This means that their tuition can not rise faster than inflation.
Unfortunately, this is not a practical system - costs for many of the items Rice needs most are rising faster than inflation (for example, health care costs). Thus, the tuition increases couldn't keep pace with the increases in cost, and this year's freshmen (like me) do not have their tuition tied to the CPI. This means, that in effect, Rice can raise the tuition however much it wants, and current freshmen and the students after them can choose to pay it, or leave the university.
That said, President Leebron has publicly stated that he is not a fan of huge tuition increases for returning students - he doesn't think people should be surprised by big differences in how much they are expected to pay each year. Hopefully, he'll keep his word on that!
The only way that you can lock in your tuition is to pre-pay.</p>
<p>whoever8...did you apply ID? Just wondered if RD stuff was coming out already (anxious mom)</p>
<p>Jens</p>
<p>Thanks! You are a very able Rice representative.</p>
<p>Your response contains very helpful, although not encouraging, information. I understand that there are a lot of things that Rice desires and needs to remain competitive, and I wish that Rice had these things before my S enrolls. </p>
<p>However, without unlimited resources, it is, nonetheless, discouraging to hear that Rice is not likely to be a significant bargain much longer.</p>
<p>I disagree - I think Rice is VERY committed to maintaining it's legacy and reputation as a best value school. </p>
<p>Like Simba said above, for people needing need aid, it shouldn't matter much if Rice raises its tuition. And for those not needing need based aid, Rice IS a great value. For those getting large merit scholarships, Rice IS a great value (Ivys, as you know, offer NO merit aid!). If I had gone to one of my friend's schools, I would be paying about 100,000 more over four years! I think Rice is fabulous for value!</p>
<p>Also, I think this is somewhat of a "correction." Rice has been significantly underpriced for many years. Hopefully this adjustment in costs will be the increase necessary to maintain excellence for quite some time, and future increases will be much smaller. </p>
<p>And don't forget - tuition increases for current students were about the same as at other schools in terms of percentage, a trend that no one expects will change. This means that once you enroll, your tuition bill will likely be smaller than at comparable schools (IF YOU AREN'T ON NEED AID) and will increase less than at comparable schools (in terms of dollar amount).</p>
<p>I think everyone hear should take Simba's advice to wait and see the offers from all the schools and then decide. Of course, I am very interested to hear how Rice's need based packages compare to those from other schools.</p>
<p>I stand by my comment. </p>
<p>Next year's seniors will pay less than $20k in tuition, more than $10k less than the going rate at competitive schools.</p>
<p>Next year's frosh will pay over $23k, about $7000 less than at competitive schools. </p>
<p>While it may be true that Rice will maintain some delta between its tuition and tuition at other schools, the size of the difference IS decreasing with no guarantee that the difference will remain significant.</p>
<p>We will see if Rice maintains this $7000 differential or if it closes the gap further. Those are nice words from the president, but as people have already seen with the differing calculations of EFC, the president's definition of "surprise" may not align with student expectations either.</p>
<p>I stand by my comment as well then.
Rice will be considerably cheaper and a better value, for people paying full price or on merit aid, for the forseeable future.
The fact that one year the difference decreased does not make a trend. The fact that throughout it's entire history Rice has been far cheaper than the Ivys seems to be a much more significant trend.
We may have to simply agree to disagree on this one.</p>
<p>Actually differing calculations for EFC by FAFSA and Rice is not that significant. In the case of OP it was less than 10%. Also, one should realize that no school is going to subtract EFC from the sticker price and will make up the diference. There will be some work study and loan components.</p>
<p>We all are consumers, and will have to see come April where do we get most for our $. My S has it right - he has a desire to go to a good school, but has no emotional attachement to any one of them. He is not going to owl weekend (free for us because we are in Houston) or some other places where he is invited 'all expense paid' (he thinks they are all brain washing propaganda events anyway). Ultimately, it will be a business decision.</p>