Chapman Financial Aid: How good at meeting your need?

<p>Hi! My daughter was accepted to Dodge College and needless to say is thrilled, as am I! She received the Chancellor's scholarship of $20K but that still leaves $36K which is still a lot for us to cover, especially being a single parent. We've done the FAFSA and submitted my 2012 taxes and have a fairly low EFC and expect to get a Cal Grant and a Pell Grant. Can anyone tell me how good Chapman is at meeting our financial need without taking on much in loans? I've read a few threads about how good they are, but no specifics. Does anyone know details on the Chapman Grant and how one would qualify? Other than outside scholarships, is there anything else we can do to help our situation? Who can I beg, borrow, cheat or steal from? (Okay, maybe not that last one!) Any advice appreciated!</p>

<p>Hi Artsymadre, </p>

<p>Your daughter’s Chapman U aid package will depend upon your FAFSA information you have submitted and will cover this cost of living on campus with a full meal plan. It is very important that if money is a concern that your FAFSA expresses/showed this need and that all the paper work and forms in connection with the FAFSA were turned in as early as possible (need to complete the 2012 income taxes first) to maximize your eligibility for aid. Just to let you know untruths on the FAFSA are a Federal offence not just a problem/ramifications for a student/family at the university level.</p>

<p>I just found this info that might be of help to you regarding the FAFSA:</p>

<p>[FinAid</a> | Financial Aid Applications | Maximizing Your Aid Eligibility](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Maximizing Your Aid Eligibility - Finaid)</p>

<p>The Chapman grant comes in your Chapman aid package. By turning in the FAFSA you have automatically applied for the Chapman grant.</p>

<p>Information of Financial Aid at Chapman U data from past two years:
Students Receiving Aid at Chapman 84%
Receiving Federal Grants 17%, $6,782 on average
Receiving Chapman Grants 79%, $20,136 on average per year
Receiving Student Loans 57%, $6,705 on average </p>

<p>This Chapman U aid package is in addition to the Chancellors Scholarship for $20,000 that you already received.</p>

<p>There are too many variables to guess what your daughter’s Financial Aid package will be in advance. Once your daughter receives her financial package she can try to appeal it if the money is not enough so that she can attend. She would need to contact the Chapman University Financial Aid Office and determine the correct procedure for this appeal and do it as soon as possible. </p>

<p>An article on appealing financial aid packages:</p>

<p>[Families</a> Appeal to Colleges for Extra Aid - WSJ.com](<a href=“Families Appeal to Colleges for Extra Aid - WSJ”>Families Appeal to Colleges for Extra Aid - WSJ)</p>

<p>I hope this information is helpful to you Artsymadre.</p>

<p>Thanks for the wealth of information, sukahjoy! I really appreciate your input on the CC board in general as well. We’ve finished FAFSA and my tax return (no untruths necessary!) so I guess it’s just the waiting now…does anyone know when folks are notified of their financial aid packages? I just don’t want to be dumb about the whole FinAid process and not get money when we can since it’s a struggle as it is without factoring in college costs.</p>

<p>Hi OP, our S is a current Chapman freshman. I think we knew all the financial aid by late March, if memory serves. FAFSA was due March 1 I think, and we didn’t have to wait more than 3-4 weeks (we were surprised how fast it was). Chapman is very generous and made the difference for us in terms of the final decision on S’s matriculation.</p>

<p>Thanks for your input, LongRangePlan- the waiting is difficult, but glad to hear about Chapman’s generosity as we’ll need it. D has been accepted at a few other colleges but we haven’t heard from any UCs yet. Chapman’s still her first choice though!</p>