<p>Any success stories out there?</p>
<p>I received zero financial aid, and I need about 20k per year :/</p>
<p>I sent in my appeal today, but I'm not very optimistic about it.</p>
<p>Send in an appeal, but don't underestimate the power of talking to someone on the phone! With both of you looking at the documents simultaneously, there are better opportunities to understand both your financial situation and Wellesley's options.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>they'll let us do that?!
wow that makes me feel so much better
the woman i talked to on the phone told me i had to send in a written appeal, but i think my appeal was really weak on paper
so i'm probably going to try and call soon too then.</p>
<p>Well, you wouldn't be submitting an appeal over the phone--just inquiring about the specifics of your application. Ask if certain special considerations have been taken into account.</p>
<p>yeah hopefully i'll have some luck
i've heard that their finaid office is very open minded, but i haven't heard any specific stories yet.
most likely state public school for me, i guess :/</p>
<p>Be sure to have all your financial aid, tax, income and expense information in front of you when you call. I called last year when my dd received less than other colleges offered, and was basically told to write a letter with specific details explaining our situation. I did, but it made no difference in their offer.
I would say your best bet would be to tell them how the numbers don't accurately reflect the money available to you.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks WellesleyMom.
I just don't really get all this financial aid stuff.
Our income after taxes is only $9,000 more than our EFC....and we don't even have much savings....
Going to Wellesley would put me over 100k in debt just for undergrad, and that's crazy.
When I call, I hope they see this too.</p>
<p>Best of luck, Zanna. I would strongly encourage you to stay away from debt as much as possible. When I hear about kids finishing undergrad work with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, I wonder what they were thinking. If you do get FA, they will ask you to take out small student loans each year, but I think the total is only $10-15,000 for the four years. You'll also get work study, which is great since you only work about 10 hours a week, and it gives you money for expenses.</p>
<p>While I don't disagree that it sucks to graduate with piles of debt, I will throw my two cents in here. If you love the school, go there. Don't worry about the costs. You can't place a price on happiness. If you go to a college you love, you are more likely to be involved in activities and successful in classes, which will help you with applying to grad/professional schools or entering the job market. This will, in turn, help you get a great, high paying job and your debt will soon be history. I'm really in no position to say this, as my parents are handling all my undergrad expenses (though I'm on my own for grad life), but I truly believe this is the time in your life to be impractical. Going to the college you really love will pay for itself 10 times over.</p>
<p>but 100k of debt?</p>
<p>not including med school!
:(</p>
<p>yeah, that's really steep, i'm also in the same situation for brandeis, however, after i appealed, they doubled the amount of my scholarship and kept the student loan and work study amount the same, this basically covers for half of the tution yet i still need to take a 20k (probably 25K including plane tickets and spending money) loan for the first year</p>
<p>what's also bad is that this is only semi-guaranteed for the first year because it changes every year</p>
<p>as for me, i'm considering going to a UC because of the in-state price and although it might be overcrowded at times, the tuition's is cut in half plus there's no issue with travel expenses</p>
<p>i really want to go to wellesley too (waitlisted) and brandeis is such a great place but after speaking with an admissions officer, he told me that he wouldn't let his daughter incur 100k worth of debt (not including interest rates) so yeah, i do agree with WellesleyMom about staying away from debt</p>
<p>I'm reviving this year-old thread because I'm wondering if anyone has any recent personal experience regarding financial aid appeals.</p>
<p>Wellesley is my first choice, but I would be incurring substantial debt if I chose it over my state school. What's the best way to go about appealing? While my family received some aid (in the form of grants, loans, and work study), we're still 10k-15k/year short from Wellesley being a realistic choice. I think we'll be going up to Wellesley next month for a visit. Would it be a good idea to talk to people in the FA Office in person? Should I do anything right now -- make phone calls, write letters, etc.?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>It's <em>always</em> a good idea for you/your parents to talk to the financial aid office in person to explain extenuating circumstances/beg and plead/whatever. The only thing I might do right now is get together any information (medical bills, pay stubs, tax forms, whatever) that might bolster your case for more aid. Now is not the time to be shy about your financial situation. I don't have any personal experience with the financial aid office, but I think this advice is applicable everywhere.</p>
<p>Great, thanks for the advice!</p>
Hi, this is a really old thread but I’m hoping I might get a response. I’m in the exact same situation as the OP - I applied to Wellesley and was accepted, but with zero financial aid. I would be over 100k in debt if I accept, and I just can’t in good conscious do that to myself or my family. But equally, I feel like Wellesley is the best place for me to be, both academically and socially, not to mention the job opportunities it would eventually open up. I have a meeting set with the financial aid department in the next few days, and I’m wondering what the likelihood is of them offering me money. I would need about $15k to consider it seriously - I was offered $22k and $14k from Fordham and American University respectively. Did any of you find success in your appeals? The financial situation that my FAFSA was based on (2014) is very different from where my family is at now. My dad has switched jobs twice since then, in once case being forced to resign and not offered severance despite 20 faithful years at the company. We also were living abroad at the time, and the company paid for our rent, my private schooling, and our car. Are there any tips or advice you can share for making successful appeals to Wellesley?
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Use old threads for reference only. Start a new thread instead. This thread was started 9 years ago today!