<p>So I got into Boston College today (and the Honors Program), which I’m really excited about, except the problem of tuition has come up. Basically, my family would most likely have not qualified for financial aid, so I didn’t apply for it, but because my parents are retiring in the near future they don’t really want to pay the $48,000 or so that BC tuition is running these days. </p>
<p>I’ve heard in the past that people who apply for financial aid can sometimes convince colleges to increase their aid awards if they’ve been accepted to other competitive colleges, and especially if they’ve been offered larger awards from those colleges. But even though I didn’t apply for financial aid, what I was wondering is whether it’d be possible to talk to BC as a student whom they’d probably want to attend (since I got into the Honors Program, and I also got accepted to UNC Chapel Hill OOS, if that’d help), and try to negotiate a lower tuition cost. If I could hypothetically talk them down by like $10,000 to $15,000, I’d very possibly go, while otherwise I’d most likely go somewhere else. Is this even remotely possible?</p>
<p>I think you're pretty much out of luck without applying for financial aid. They can't just lower tuition. Instead, they could have increased your aid, but I really don't think they'll just lower tuition because you ask.</p>
<p>no probably not. BC is a bit stingy with their aid also according to a friend that attends. She got in on a softball scholarship, but the tuition keeps increasing and her scholarship hasn't.</p>
<p>not going to happen, unfortuantely. I really dont know what BC does with the 1.3 Billion dollar endowment we have, but it certainly isnt used for financial aid often enough</p>
<p>yeah you won't get anything. I applied for financial aid...got nothing....then sent a revised application because one of my parents was going on half-pay for a year. the only difference was that they changed a loan from "unsubisidized" to "subsidized". BC financial aid is not very generous... One of the reasons I won't be here next year. ^^. Good luck w/ it though!</p>
<p>You are out of luck and should have applied for aid in the beginning if it could have been an issue. Look at their numbers and the amount of kids on the waitlist, do you really think they will negotiate a lower tuition for someone who doesn't qualify for aid with everyone they have waiting in the wings?</p>
<p>BC is not a "bit stingy", BC is very stingy. They have always been that way and don't need to change. With that many applicants, most who can pay full freight, they don't need to change.</p>
<p>BC financial aid is not like NYU where everybody is on their own, nor is it like BU where merits, and not need, matter. BC's finaid is a love-hate thing. If you are really poor, you will practically go here for free. If you have some slight hints that you are in anyway financially secure, then a $40,000 bill will drop on your door in August. </p>
<p>I got the chance to meet BC's president last year and asked him about BC's unbalanced finaid and his reply was this (paraphase):</p>
<p>"If we want to be really competitive with our finaid policy, we need a billion dollar endownment JUST FOR finaid alone. But with the new constructions and expansion, most of the fundraising will target BC's progress and unfortunately, not finaid."</p>
<p>Many of the older alumni are not pleased with BC's ever rising cost and reputation; it's a double edge sword. The more well known you are the more competition you will face. Since BC is now the "25 new ivy," "top 40 colleges," and blah blah, it is facing a lot more competitions, and therefore needs more money to compete. The rise in reputation works wonders for many BC alumni looking for jobs, their degree really rises in value. Unfortunately, many, whose have family members going to BC for generations, can't send their kids to BC anymore.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that even if you have to pay full tuition for this coming year, you can apply for aid for the next year. You can figure out your family EFC on line and most colleges will try to meet that amount. Also, in meeting that amount, most will use a combination of grants, work study and loans. The loan amounts can be pretty signifcant by the time you graduate.</p>