<p>After sending off a large packet of paperwork to one of my son's options for next year, it made me wonder about long-term finances. He was accepted, but was not offered Merit aid from a private university that has a large endowment.
Yet surprisingly, when I entered our figures from our 2012 Tax Return, their NPC on College Board reflected a possible 21K Institutional Grant. IF we are fortunate enough to end up at that figure, the tuition is manageable for our family.
However, unlike Merit Aid which is guaranteed by maintaining a certain GPA, what happens next year? Can anyone share their experience with non-merit grants after freshman year?</p>
<p>From all I have seen and read, most colleges, are pretty good about remaining consistent with awards in subsequent years. Some exceptions are if your financials change drastically, either up or down, particularly in those schools that do not guarantee to meet need. Such schools may not increase even when there is a huge dip in income or if a second child enters college. </p>
<p>Be aware that the cost tends to increase each year. If staying on campus, upper class dorm choices can be suite and apartment style which cost a lot more than the standard freshman double. Also from what I have seen, there is usually a 5% or so increase in tuition. Almost ALL schools increase student contributions, as they feel a student should be taking increasing responsibility for the cost of this education. A lot of times this is met by on campus jobs and finding off campus digs and going off the meal plan to cut costs. </p>
<p>But as a rule, especially when it comes to those schools with good endowments, the renewal packages have tended to be in line with the initial ones, as long as the financials are consistent.</p>
<p>Thanks Cptfothehouse - You are a wealth of good knowledge about all things College! Ooh, bad rhyme, I know.
What you advised is what I was anticipating, I just want to be as realistic as possible. I know my son will probably receive several small local scholarships at HS graduation and I want us to look at the potential four-year price tag, not just the first-year sticker price.</p>
<p>The NPC could change if the number of students in a family changes. Would schools be willing to provide some estimates about grants for future years due to factors such as this and perhaps retirement?</p>
<p>If the school guarantees to meet full need as a matter of course or meets most of it, it is highly likely to continue to do so when there are changes in finances. But those schools that do not, often will not. Thumper is one who can tell you her experiences with some very good schools that do not guarantee to meet full need and how they did NOT give much when a second student entered college. One should discuss this with the financial aid officers of the schools when making the decisions.</p>
<p>Merit aid also can be an issue when gpas are involved. None of us think that our excellent students could possibly fall under a 3.0, but many kids do. Too many. College is a whole other ball game and all kinds of issues other than academic ability come into play. Emotional issues, Executive function skills Maturity. And mental illnesses rear their ugly little head right about this time when our kids are dealing with things like sexuality, relationships, independence, drugs, drinking, experimentation, being cool, etc. This is coming from one who lost a scholarship and am the parent of a kid who did as well.</p>
<p>My middle S need based FA did drop when his older sister graduated from college-- as was mentioned above I think this is common. We were expecting it to decrease, but I was surprised at how much it decreased. For my youngest I am trying to do a better job at predicting the drop when middle S graduates. You could ask the FA office, but I am trying to put different situations into the calculators to see how numbers change. Of course colleges change their calculators each year as well, so I think it will be difficult to get an accurate prediction</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that at schools that meet 100% need, most are going to require a student contribution from summer earnings. However, some schools will remove the student contribution or increase aid, if the student does a public service internship</p>
<p>Year over year, the student contribution will increase, which means the EFC will increase. In this case, the institutional aid that you receive after freshman year will “decrease”.</p>
<p>I don’t have a whole lot to add other than to say if the college doesn’t guarantee to meet need it can fluctuate especially if there were 2 in college and then 1 graduates. I will say that it is never a good idea to “cut it too close” on the financing of college. If you are looking for pennies in the couch or thinking about Plus for freshman year it’s a good idea to think about that in terms of four years and every family is going to be different.</p>
<p>OP, I’d suggest posting on both the school-specific forum and on the parents’ forum asking for other people’s experience with need-based aid at that specific school. Anecdotally, I remember that a few parents on the college class of 2015 thread said that the aid offered for sophomore year dropped off significantly from freshman. I don’t remember details, though. One of the schools was Emory, which I believe does meet full need, so that was a real surprise for the family. But don’t rely on my memory, ask current parents at the school your kid was accepted to about their experiences.</p>
<p>Yes, definitely will call the school if DS3 can get a package. Some changes are understandable. But, it has to be consistent rwt NPC once the students matriculates. That is if the initial package is 100% need based, it has to remain that way for 4 years if there is no change in the family condition. Otherwise, the school has no credibility.</p>
<p>my son’s scholarship went up during his time in school. While the increase didn’t match the increase in tuition, it helped</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the replies, you gave us some great questions to ask if the grant we are hoping for becomes a reality.</p>