How generous is Boston University? I’m hearing mixed opinions…
Not very generous at all.
Run the net price calculator to see how it works for your situation
Domthe net price calculators. BU is an expensive college that doesn’t meet full need. How much can your family pay?
BU is not that well endowed (<2B) and has a rather large number of students (>30,000). Thus, financial aid is generally limited.
As a BU grad, I received a generous package based on need. However, I did work (via workstudy grants) to pay for books and spending $. Please know that financial aid lowers each year, so have a four year plan on financial aid and look for external scholarships (needs/merit etc.)
@BlackInTech when did you graduate? This is From the current BU website “The BU Grant Assurance enables you to plan for the cost of your entire degree. The Boston University aid offered in your first year is guaranteed for each of your undergraduate years.” Did you have a need based grant that was lowered eveery year? Or Was it the federal student loan ammounts that changed due to refiling FAFSA every year? I am asking because my D has been accepted and we are gathering as much Bu financial information as posssible.
If your kiddo was accepted alteady to Boston University…I’m thinking that is an ED acceptance. You should HAVE your financial aid award. Did you get that?
@thumper1 yes, we do. BlackinTechs post makes it sound like his Grant aid amount was changing each year. If that was the case I was curious as to how much of a difference. Just want to plan ahead for any additional cost we may have to factor into the financial spread sheet.
This in not the case today and I do not believe that it was true in general in the past.
I personally would not read too much in to this.
I just take it to mean for example if you are given 25k in BU institutional aid freshman year, you will get $25 all 4 years.
Does it mean you may pay more year? Absolutely yes, simply based on the following premises:
BU does not guarantee to meet 100% demonstrated need.
Your child’s federal loan amount will change each year based on your students ability to borrow more
$5500 freshman year
$6500 sophomore year
$7500 junior senior year
There will be increases in tuition (calculate between 3 & 5% each year), on face it seems like you will not get increased grant aid in proportion to the increases each year.
Your EFC will change every year based on fluctuations on your family’s income and assets.
ETA: you need to ask BU clarifying questions about how the policy will affect your family.
Just a simple word of caution. The lessening in need based aid could be perceived to go down if one considers the annual COA increases. One can fully expect a private university to increase COA each year by $4-5K. So although you have a fixed need based aid amount, you will need to come up with the additional 5k the next year, then an additional 10K for the year after that, and …you get the picture.
Make sure you have plenty of extra cash in the tank to handle the additional 5+10+15 for the fours years your child will be at BU.
Good luck.
My kid is a BU grad class of 2007. He received a great merit based award. He received NO need based aid at all. Cost of attendance went up about 4-5% a year while he was a student. His merit award remained the same.
When his sister was a freshman, he was a senior,somwe completed the financial aid forms…fafsa and Profile…again because our “situation changed” (we had two in college). The BU kid’s EFC per fafsa dropped from over the cost of attendance to $22,000.
The school increased his merit aid by $250 for the full year. He received NO need based aid. Ever.
Oh…and we got selected for verification annually as well…because our kid took out the unsubsidized loan…so completed a fafsa.
BU is a great school, and our kid is a proud alum. But really…it’s not a bargain. They do NOT meet full need for all. Lots of students with gaps between aid and cost of attendance.
I agree…have money in the bank…because it is highly likely you will need it.
I know several kids who went to BU, had the time of their lives, graduated, now have the loans to pay and are wishing they had just gone to UMass. Look at your packages carefully.
Thanks for all the great advice. We have a very generous Grant aid package from BU that will help us manage the cost.