I was accepted with the John Dickinson scholarship but received no financial aid, so I still can’t afford the school.
My family’s EFC is $60,000, but realistically my family can only afford 30,000 and would still be struggling
Is there a way to convince Dickinson to give more financial aid? Or can one receive more scholarship money from them somehow?
Doubtful if you could finagle more than a thousand dollars more. Why “realistically” can they only pay $30,000?
Without saying too much, we “only” have 150K a year gross income. We also spend a lot on our house so we can stay in our school district
Most people we know fall into the same bubble of technically could fork over 60K but if they want to retain a modest living standard, can’t
@TomSrOfBoston
It is your family’s choice to spend a lot on their home. that will not get you more “need” based aid.
The EFC calculations are goofy. People in the middle are screwed. $150K in income to pay $60K is crazy after taxes (income, social security, state and medicare), living expenses, cloths, transportation, retirement, etc.
^^The OP stated that he did receive a merit scholarship but he wants need based aid too.
There is generally an expectation that parents will have saved for college, and that students will take out at least federal loans if needed. Savings, loans, and current income are all part of assumptions colleges make about FA. Plus, the OP got $20,000 of the price via merit aid. It is too bad he/she didn’t run the net price calculators earlier in the process to see what they would have been expected to pay. I hope the OP has some colleges on their list that they know they can afford for sure.
I hope so too. The Dickinson NPC was very accurate for us. I too wouldn’t mind more aid, but I do understand college aid is not meant to supplement your parent’s choices in lifestyle. They can cut back.
Last year on CC a student accepted at Yale was asking for more aid. If not received, his parents would have to let go some of their household staff!
I would talk to someone in the financial aid office. If you describe your situation I’m sure they would take another look at your package and see if they can do anything to help.
If other schools have offered you more money, you can bring that to their attention as well.