BREAKING NEWS: Yale to offer massive financial aid to families making up to $200,000

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
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<p>Yale</a> U. Plans to Increase Student-Aid Spending by $22-Million - Chronicle.com</p>

<p>What the London Times calls "the two greatest universities in the world" continue to duke it out. It looks like Yale will match or exceed Harvard's financial aid move, especially when looked at on a per-student basis.</p>

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<p>Yale U. Plans to Increase Student-Aid Spending by $22-Million</p>

<p>8:08 PM, Tuesday, January 8th</p>

<p>Yale University plans to raise spending on financial aid by about $22-milllion per year, Bloomberg.com reported on Tuesday.</p>

<p>In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Richard C. Levin, Yale’s president, said the university would announce a plan next week to enhance its financial-aid packages for families whose annual salaries lie between $120,000 and $200,000, as well as for those with lower incomes.</p>

<p>On Monday, Yale announced that it would increase its endowment-spending by 37 percent to finance a “dramatic” expansion of its financial-aid program, among other goals. (see <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/446169-yale-will-increase-spending-22-5-billion-fund-update1.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/446169-yale-will-increase-spending-22-5-billion-fund-update1.html&lt;/a> )</p>

<p>In December, Harvard University unveiled a new tuition-assistance program designed to help families who earn between $120,000 and $180,000. Harvard officials said the university would spend an additional $22-million annually on financial aid.</p>

<p>“I think when this is all over,” Mr. Levin said, “money will not be a consideration in choosing Harvard over Yale or Yale over Harvard.” — Eric Hoover</p>

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<p>cool...to bad they waited until now and i didn't apply lol</p>

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<p>Yay free market capitalism. Don't you just love it when competition occurs?</p>

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<p>im glad they annouced this after apps were in.</p>

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<p>^^^ yea it ****es me off to</p>

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<p>I love Yale.</p>

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<p>Dude...this is amazing!</p>

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<p>Wooohoooo! Yay middle class! Rise up from the downtrodden state of college debt!</p>

<p>Will Yale's aid be all grant aid, then?</p>

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<p>It is great... only if you get accepted :(</p>

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<p>Questions: During the early app process, we did not submit any forms for financial aid (checked the NO box on the common app) </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Is a CSS form REQUIRED for Yale from accepted students, if you guess you will not qualify for aid, even with this new help from the finaid office?</p></li>
<li><p>If it IS required of all accepted students, what is the deadline for CSS filing?</p></li>
<li><p>If income falls above the upper limit, and it turns out that CSS is not required, is there ever a reason to do a CSS for Yale anyway?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I've asked these questions of the Yale finaid office, and haven't gotten a clear answer. They may be a little busy this week :)</p>

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<p>riverrunner - I'm a novice at this FA stuff, but my understanding is that you don't need to do a CSS profile if you are not applying for FA. Maybe Yale's different, but I don't see why you would do one, unless you're hoping for aid. If you are hoping to get aid under the new plan, I suggest contacting them to explain why your daughter did not check the box on the common app. I think Yale's CSS is due March 10.</p>

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<p>thanks, rain. Yale finaid basically said the same thing, I guess: because the formula would be changing, it would be fine to consider sending CSS even though NO box was checked on initial app. I'm just fishing for insight about applying even if all formulas look discouraging when it comes to qualifying for aid. I'm posting this publicly, because others may have the same/additional queries since Yale finaid is in flux.</p>

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<p>We also haven’t really looked at finaid, but maybe it's worth considering. For a newbie, can a knowledgeable person answer any of the following?
1. Does anyone know if there is any estimator or guidelines to determine if one qualifies before going through filing all the forms? I know Princeton has an estimator, would that work or does Yale have something similar?
2. Is there a hard cut-off for income, meaning if you are over some level then you won’t get anything? Is the $200k a top level? Is it just income or do assets come into play?
3. It sounds like finaid if granted is always a blend of 1) student work/earnings, 2) federal grants/loans, 3) Yale aid. Is work always involved?
4. If work is involved, what is typically required, both during the school year and summer?<br>
5. If you are at the high end of the range and qualify for limited aid, is the work requirement less than if you are at the low end?
6. Is there any good starting point for information on finaid that might answer some of these questions?
Thanks all..............</p>

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<ol>
<li>That estimator might give you a rough idea for now but it's hard to say. Yale is announcing a new financial aid initiative next week so all of those estimates may change. Ultimately, of course, you can't get an exact figure until you actually go through and apply.</li>
<li>There's no hard cut-off. The $200K (or $180K for Harvard) is just a guideline where families with incomes below that level will see much better financial aid than they have in the past. Lots of things come into play.
3-5. I can't answer that, because Yale's new program hasn't been announced yet. If there is a suggested contribution from student work, it is relatively small in the scope of things. If you would like to earn income during the year, Yale student jobs are much higher-paying than jobs on most campuses.</li>
<li>You can also contact the financial aid office, but it might be worth waiting another week until Yale announces its new policies.</li>
</ol>

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<p>The College Board has an EFC calculator that's helpful. It gives you both the estimation calculations for FAFSA (federal) and the private schools' own system (institutional).</p>

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<p>Is Yale's aid all grant aid, or is some of it loan "aid"? I know this was on the petition for financial aid reform, so I'm wondering...</p>

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<p>Last year's packages included loans as did Harvard's. Princeton, as I'm sure you know, did not. Looks like Harvard and Yale will now follow suit.</p>

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<p>cool :D</p>

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<p>I'm watching this unfold, too! I also contacted Yale Financial Aid office and they replied that it would be fine to submit the CSS and send a 2006 tax form to their office even though D checked "NO" on application. Fingers are crossed.</p>

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<p>thanks, mammall. I will do the same.</p>