I saw this on the Boston University website and wondered if anyone had more details. It sounds like BU is meeting full need (as they calculate it to be) for all students!
This would be terrific!
This thread discussed some details:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/boston-university/2167114-financial-aid-troubles-help-p1.html
The appeal outcome was good for the original OP. But, someone else posted this:
So BU’s institutional need formula seems to be more stringent than some other meet need schools.
http://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/bu-boosts-financial-aid/
Here is the article from the BU magazine. I feel badly that the aid didn’t work out for the poster above…and that their appeal was denied based on the special circumstance of having a sibling with special needs. It appears this student was accepted ED…and applied based on what the NPC indicated they would receive. We don’t have all the details…so it’s hard to say why this happened.
I’m wondering how this will play out for other applicants this year.
@Mwfan1921 in the thread you noted, the OP actually had a successful financial aid appeal…and is heading to BU.
The poster who highjacked the thread did not…and mentioned two things as issues…home equity and sufficient retirement savings. I’m going to say…many colleges use some to all of home equity. We have no way to know how much home equity this family actually had…and I do understand that the have a special needs child and they don’t feel they can tap home equity for college costs.
I’ll be interested to see how this plays out for other students this year who receive need based aid from Boston University.
I find this statement by BU to be misleading “We’re offering expanded financial aid packages that will make up the difference between the cost of attendance and what you can afford.”
I believe it would be more accurate if it was worded as “We’re offering expanded financial aid packages that will make up the difference between the cost of attendance and what WE THINK you can afford.”
This is true of every meets full need school. In no circumstance that I am aware of is the student or parents able to dictate what amount they can afford and voila, that figure becomes what the student pays.
I understand that all meets need schools determine what they think you can afford.
But I was specifically reacting to BU’s wording of their announcement about their new approach to their financial aid program. It just feels like they are going out of their way to not be transparent about this. And again I understand they are certainly not the only university that communicates this way about need-based financial aid.
BU’s net price calculator is here:
https://www.bu.edu/finaid/aid-basics/cost-of-education/net-price-calculator/
“Meet need” promises do not mean much when the college can define “need” however it wants. The college’s net price calculator is generally a better way to estimate affordability, but accurate financial information needs to be known and used.
I believe most (all?) meets-full-need schools define need as they see fit. I do believe one can have a good feel using NPCs and reading up on the schools (ie., whether they use home equity or not). To be honest, the two items mentioned for BU above - home equity and enough retirement savings - seem reasonable to throw into the equation. Just based on those two items, I wouldn’t have a negative view of the school.
BU saying they meet your full need is… interesting. Most people don’t get money, and god knows I needed it.