I got in to Mount Holyoke, my dream school! Yay, I am so excited!
However, I need a little bit more aid to actually be able to attend the school… I was awarded a $10,000 grant, which brought down the total cost of attending to $49k, according to the MHC financial aid portal. Ideally, I would have liked the aid to have brought me down to $36k, the cost of the most expensive state school in my state, but I understand that the odds of that happening are slim to none.
I really need to get my total cost down to $40k to be able to attend, so that means I would need an additional $9k worth of aid from them to attend. I did not qualify for a work study program, but this is something I would really like to do… seriously, I would scrub toilets if it meant I could go to Mount Holyoke. What should I do? Has anyone had any positive experiences “haggling” down their aid cost? Any tips? Should I contact the financial aid office, or should my parents (I don’t know much about our family finances, but I am a good self advocate and prefer to do things on my own). Should I email them, or call? Any tips or hints are appreciated
You can definitely call them: they will out you in touch with the finaid officer for your case. But don’t expect too much. Still, it CANNOT hurt at all to discuss with her. Explain your situation and extreme desire to attend. Ask about campus and on-campus jobs and whether you might get one even as a non-work-study student. (Though I can tell you that the menial food-service jobs are in high demand even for work-study students: my D did not get enough shifts her first semester to make her work-study allowance!) But they might have some ideas of ways you can come up with the money.
I hope you’ve applied for all of the local scholarships in your state. Some will have April deadlines so if you haven’t researched those start now. Like Lions club and things like that. Ask your school guidance office and spend a long time searching online. Most will only be $500 or $1000 for only one year, but it can certainly help reduce your loan load.
Did MHC figure the federal student loans into your package?
@staceyneil has your daughter had other problems finding jobs for work-study? I know it maybe doesn’t seem like much, but that $2100 is going to make a HUGE difference in affordability. If jobs are hard to find and very competitive and I won’t be able to earn at least near that amount, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to attend…
I don’t have any experience with this, but I seriously think that if an amount as (relatively) small as $2100 could be the difference in you getting to go or not, they will compromise to help you as much as they can.
@GB1904 Generally the college expects that the work-study money will cover what they’ve estimated for your books, laundry, toiletries and general pocket money. The money is paid to you like a regular job paycheck, to do with as you see fit. It isn’t paid directly to the school for tuition, room/board, or fees. So, when my daughter’s work-study last semester did not equal the $1050 she’d been “allotted” it wasn’t the end of the world, she just had to be a lot more careful about her weekly spending on coffee or snacks, and not go to the mall with her friends! I also think she probably could have been more aggressive about finding more shifts, but she had a lot of other stuff on her mind. (Second semester she was able to find a campus job in her department to complement the food service shifts.)
My advice is to be VERY proactive about applying for jobs. Read the web pages and Moodle instructions carefully and note all the dates. Figure out which job levels you qualify for, get your resume ready, and apply as soon as you are able to multiple jobs. My D had a food service shift (all first-year work-study students must take one) and a job as a note-taker in one of her classes. It still wasn’t enough hours, but I think if you prioritize this and plan ahead you’ll be OK.
@TiredQuibbler I wouldn’t be too sure about that. We had an unforeseen medical issue in our family after D was accepted and our financial situation changed. We, too, needed a few thousand more to make it work, but they were unable to adjust my D’s award. We had to borrow the balance. That being said, it certainly doesn’t hurt to try. You’ve nothing to lose!
Ok. Thanks… not feeling very hopeful about it. It said I did not originally qualify for work study… ugh Do you know if off-campus jobs are hard to get? There isn’t much in the surrounding area, am I right?
Call the financial aid office and ask them what your options are for working. I believe there may be some on-campus jobs available for non-work-study as well as off-campus. I’m sure they can give you the best information about how to proceed. I know that the local elementary school hires MHC students as tutors, and there are probably other opportunities… good luck!
Stitchpony, for on-campus jobs there are four levels. Level 1 generally doesn’t require much previous experience (secretary, note-taker, dining hall, etc.) but those are for ONLY work-study recipients. Levels 2-4, though, everyone can apply to (even work-study). These generally have previous requirements, like an Italian tutor or a chem lab assistant, etc.
Stichpony. MHC has an on campus job board. You’ll need to apply. I think life guards make $10 per hour. There are also babysitting jobs posted. You need a student sign in to access the job postings.
I remember you live in CA. Please keep on mind how impacted the CA state system is and the grad rates. 5 years at a C a state school is more $$ than 4 at MHC. MHC offers funded internships and study abroad. MHC meal plan is all inclusive. Pretty much all your fees are all inclusive. Cal states and UC are famous for tons of added fees. Plus MHC gar enters housing all four years–a big savings.
@stitchpony hey did you ever end up asking them for more aid? and if you did, do you mind letting me know what their response was? even though i got into mhc, i want to go to smith more and smith did not give me a penny of financial aid. i want to ask smith to reconsider their decision but im kind of scared to ask. i spoke to current students about asking for more aid and they told me that smith is willing to work with my family to pay for tuition. on the other hand, others have told me that smith stands firm on their initial decision so i dont really know what to do.
^^
How much aid did you reviewed from MH? Was it merit aid? FA can vary between MH and Smith but usually nothing significant. When there are major differences, it can be because the student is full pay, or close to it, and received merit aid from MH but not Smith.
Hey @crewdad and @ems124. I had my conversation with the FA office yesterday- they did not budge on the price at all. However, we didn’t qualify for much aid to begin with. We did get a $10k Tuition Assistance Grant, but no Merit Aid.
But my parents are still really considering letting me go… should know in the next few days or so…
@crewdad both MH and smith did not give me financial aid or merit aid. they both suggested that i take out a federal loan. smith is my first choice and my parents really want to send me there but we cant afford the $64k+ tuition. my parents financial advisor says that the only way for my parents to afford sending me to smith is to take out a private loan of $25-$30k per year or take money of their retirement savings.
Considering that both MH and Smith determined that you don’t qualify for aid, I doubt asking Smith for a review will accomplish anything. Even if Smith was offer 5K or so, would that make any difference? Did you use the NPC before applying to your colleges?
I asked for more aid under ED2 and they gave me another $3,500 (not so much, but definitely more affordable). I recommend you to apply to outside scholarships. You can find a whole section on outside scholarships in MoHo’s website (https://www.mtholyoke.edu/sfs/resources/outside_scholarships). There are tons of scholarships available, but most of the time, students are not even aware of their existence. You should also check U n i g o’s essay contests, the topics are easy and you can at least $2,000 from them.
Do you know if off-campus jobs are hard to get? There isn’t much in the surrounding area, am I right?