<p>I just found out I was accepted to BU and I really want to go there, but they gave me no financial aid, except for 3000 in loans. </p>
<p>According to my FAFSA, my EFC is approximately 23,000.</p>
<p>Shouldn’t the school theoretically cover the difference between my EFC and the cost of attendance.</p>
<p>Is there a way I can appeal their financial aid decision. Other schools have given me upwards of $30,000/year in financial aid.</p>
<p>Yea there’s an appeal process, but it may take a while.
And you may have keep appealing too. However, it’s worth it if it’s your number one choice.</p>
<p>Not sure if BU does this though, but they may offer more financial aid/scholarships to students who they want more.</p>
<p>^BU does not meet 100% of financial need, and clearly states and reiterates that on their financial aid website. That is in response to your theoretical question about the gap. They tend to offer aid based on merit credentials. Example: If you were compared with a student with the same EFC, but that student had stats that were head and shoulders above yours, that student would get the lion’s share of the aid. I’m not saying this to provoke you, I am saying this as an alum, parent, and payer of BU tuitions, and whose kids apply for aid every year, and I constantly remind them to raise their respective GPAs. BU’s endowment, roughly $1 billion, is not very large in relation to its overall student body. As a result, the university depends on full-pay students, as much as its endowment, in deciding on how much aggregate financial aid it can offer. BU often draws those full-pays from certain colleges (and professional schools) where little aid is available, or student need exists. I can offer you some thoughts about the appeal process, via a PM. Good Luck, Mr. VC</p>
<p>I’m surprised because I too was accepted this morning and received very very close to 100% of what I “need”. I was also surprised to see that a lot of it is in the form of grants and there are some loans but not too much.</p>
<p>My school doesn’t rank, but I’m somewhere at the top with a 3.8 GPA. Also, I got 2110 on my SAT.</p>
<p>According to this: [Freshmen</a> Who Received BU Need-Based Scholarships Financial Assistance | Boston University](<a href=“http://www.bu.edu/finaid/apply/incoming/freshman-receiving-scholarships/]Freshmen”>http://www.bu.edu/finaid/apply/incoming/freshman-receiving-scholarships/)
Almost everyone who has grades like mine get financial aid.</p>
<p>Even if my parents made over 120,000, the middle 50% of students receive $10,000-23,500 in BU grants alone…</p>
<p>I really wanted to go there, but I can’t afford to pay 60k/year for college. Does anyone know who to talk to in order to begin this appeal process.</p>
<p>I got nothing. A crappy $8,700 in aid, and majority of it being in loans…$2200 with the pell grant. Why? According to ^that site, I should have earned a lot more… I had an okay 1880 SAT and a 3.88 weighted GPA, (4.78 weighted out of 5). I’m so puzzled and disappointed because it seems that all the schools that I applied to are awarding me with pocket change essentially. Is this a joke?</p>
<p>^That’s why the BU yield is so low. The scenarios they present on the website about percent chances of who will get aid, and how much don’t match up. Critically think here and check out the Common Data Sets, section H for who, how much and what gets provided in aid. Not sure how transparent BU’s stats are, but google other schools to see theirs. Schools that meet 100% of student financial need are quite transparent. Google Princeton’s for example, who takes pride in not offering loans as part of their financial aid awards - just scholarships, grants and work-study dollar aggregate smallest of the Ivies. Work-study last year: Princeton $585K - Harvard $2.5 million.</p>
<p>I see, honestly though, its confusing for the average person and definitely misleading. I would have applied to other schools instead if this was what I was going to have to face. I guess I just got to cross my fingers for Syracuse then and hope for the best. :/</p>
<p>I got $35,000 for my freshman year from grants alone so I can’t complain too much</p>
<p>I’m in the same situation as you describe. Only received about $3,500 and a loan of about two grand. I’m glad that I got in but their financial package is holding me back considerably.</p>
<p>If they have a work-study thing for me, will I still have time to get a part-time job around the city? is it recommended? I guess what they gave me is not bad compare to FerrariEnzo and eric1018, but I am basically paying for myself and I don’t want to take out a 40,000 loan ]:</p>
<p>Literally the ****tiest financial aid package I have ever seen. I can’t believe it.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat. I was accepted without any grants from BU, just a Pell grant and lots of loans. I should have received at least $31000 according to that chart. BU was one of my top choices but there’s no way my family can afford it now. If I want to appeal, where should I begin?</p>
<p>I just posted on the RD thread. My son got accepted to the CAS but had no scholarships or grants, just Stafford subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Our EFC is under $7,000. There’s no way he can attend without a grant, and he’s been offered sufficient grants elsewhere. After reading all the posts here about people not getting any need-based aid, I wonder if there might be a problem with the email notification? And if not, why admit people if the university thinks their stats makes them undeserving of aid? </p>
<p>Did anyone receive need-based aid that was listed in the email?</p>
<p>Everything is online, not in email, so I assume that’s what you meant. Yes, institutional grant money was in my daughter’s aid letter. She came out pretty well at BU (and very well at full-need Wellesley) but Northeastern was a complete shutout for institutional financial aid. I’m concluding that schools that can’t afford to meet full need (and don’t claim to) have a category one step above wait list, which is admit without institutional aid.</p>
<p>I got $43,300 in aid. I’m pretty sure BU is merit based. They gave me a lot in the BU grant for merit. You can try appealing if your credentials are up there. </p>
<p>I got a 2120 on my SAT’S and a 3.9 UW GPA.</p>
<p>I don’t think the BU grant is entirely merit-based because my GPA is 3.1 UW. SAT score is 2250, but grades are much more important.</p>
<p>I received $32500 in just the BU grant, and my total gift aid is $42000.</p>
<p>1950 SAT and 4.0 UW
I got a 30,800 grant from BU and about 4,000 outside. </p>
<p>It seemed strange that people who had higher SAT scores than I did got barely anything…</p>
<p>Not complaining, though.</p>
<p>27 ACT
3.9 UW GPA
2/335 rank
08664 EFC
48k financial aid award
8k in loans</p>