<p>My FAFSA EFC is about 14,000, and my parent’s combined income is ~125,000, and I have 2 siblings in college. However, Brown calculated my parent’s EFC to be 50,000 (6K in scholarship and 7K in workstudy/loans), which is ridiculous and I’m not really sure where they got that number. I also plugged my parent’s numbers into the Brown Collegeboard Calculator and it estimated that I would get 30,000 in aid.</p>
<p>My parents are only paying at most 15,000, and I think it would be tough for me to solicit 35K in private loans a year… I would really love to attend Brown, but it doesn’t look financially sound. I was wondering what the best way was to do this; I plan to call their aid office next week, but I hear they don’t match other schools.</p>
<p>Are your parents self-employed, or own a business? That can make a huge difference between FAFSA EFC and CSS profile schools – usually meaning that your income is readjusted to be higher and a larger contribution is required. </p>
<p>In the past, Brown has matched financial aid from other schools. It really depends – it won’t match packages with merit awards, for example, and usually can’t match what Harvard gives.</p>
<p>Based on the little you’ve said, it does seem that something is off – with 3 kids in college, it would make a lot of sense for your package to be much larger. You definitely should call. You should not, under any circumstance, take out $35K in loans/year. Did you fill out Brown financial aid calculator? What does that say? I would also go through the CSS/Profile with your parents, line by line, and make sure that you didn’t make a mistake.</p>
<p>It would be very sad if money is the reason you can’t go to Brown, but unfortunately that does happen to many people at your income level at many schools, not just Brown. </p>
<p>No, my parents aren’t self-employed/own a business. I’ll double check the CSS Profile tonight, but I did plug it into Brown’s financial aid calculator which estimated contribution to be 20,000 and the rest in loans and grants. I believe my parents have about 600,000 in real estate (our house and a small condo), but they aren’t going to sell their house of twenty years so I can go to college…</p>
<p>Also I’m worried about matching since although I got into some other pretty good places (like umich), will they care if it’s not one of their “peer” (other Ivy) schools?</p>
<p>Ah. The second home. That could explain it. I’ve known several families who got almost no aid because of second homes (not at Brown, other colleges). Colleges assume you can access the equity. </p>
<p>It could be the condo. I don’t think Brown uses the cost of your primary home. You should definitely call and ask. Also if they do adjust the amount, make sure it is for all 4 years. There are way to make the costs less (going off meal plan, borrowing books from the library, not spending much on personal expenses) but not 35k less. Brown is a great school, but so are many,many others. No school is worth going deeply into debt. I’m sure you will have a wonderful experience wherever you end up. Best of luck to you! </p>
<p>It is great that you are taking so much responsibility for this. But you need to get your parents involved. They know their financial situation better than you. If they can come up with a reason that there is a hardship, that their income or assets look greater than they appear, etc., then you might have a chance. </p>
<p>Brown admitted you, which is wonderful. So they really want you. Now, you need to give them an excuse to use their endowment to make it easier to help you attend. Without an excuse, they won’t do much. But if you offer them a sound reason (not just that you won’t be able to afford it), then they are pretty generous. At least, they were in our situation. Good luck.</p>
<p>Hi, I just wanted to update you all / if anyone in the future is in a position similar to mine…</p>
<p>Brown updated my package today, and gave me ~5000 more in grants, which I’m thankful for, but it still isn’t enough. Would it be better to come talk to them in person (like on ADOCH)?</p>
<p>I don’t think you can really ask more than once. I doubt in person would make any difference and if people are allowed to see them, they will be really busy on ADOCH perhaps. Did you figure out why the estimate in the calculator is so different?</p>
<p>The way most places do financial aid is that they basically expect your family to be smart enough to not go sinking money into extra homes until after they’ve put all 3 of you through school. They figure your parents are comfortable taking out loans to pay because they’re already buying extra properties instead of saving up to pay for your school. </p>
<p>Put it this way, your parents probably could afford to pay the adjusted amount they gave you, they just chose to invest in what is considered a “luxury” item instead. I’m surprised their financial advisor didn’t warn them about this.</p>
<p>boots2, I know other families in this situation, and you can’t assume that the family purchased a “luxury” item. The second home could have been inherited, is jointly owned with other relatives and almost impossible to sell or borrow against. </p>
<p>enigma: If you are planning on going to ADOCH I don’t see the harm in setting up an appointment. It depends on how much info they’ve given to you, and whether you understand their position – and whether they understand your financials. However, as sad as this is, it might be time for you to move on. </p>
<p>@BrownParent ; They didn’t respond to that bit, about why it was do different from the calculator, so I guess that’s a question to ask in person.</p>
<p>With regards to the second home, my dad owns it for work related reasons, so we can’t really do much about that. At any rate, all my other FA offers from CSS Profile schools seem fine with it/accurately reflect their calculator, it’s just Brown that’s giving me a less generous package.</p>
<p>Just received my package after my second appeal, it matched the calculator exactly (~30k in grants)! This is wonderful news, and I have committed to Brown!</p>
<p>To the future admitted students:
If your package is so far off the calculator, definitely appeal; I sent in my first appeal (email) the day after I received my package/acceptance (also submit all your financial aid documents on time such that you get your package with your admission).
I had other need based institutions to show them, but not Ivy-caliber, but still ask them to review with those in mind.
I received my first reevaluation before ADOCH. I definitely recommend going in person, as the office is so much more direct with you in telling you what’s stopping you from getting more aid, etc. Then I sent in a final appeal email, and they promised they would get it in before May 1st (decision day), so hold out.</p>
<p>What great news! I’m so glad it all worked out for you, and that you’ll be at Brown in the fall. And thanks for updating this thread, so it is useful for students in the future. </p>