Concerns about Net Price Calculator?

Paying for College
1

I’m currently a first year undergraduate student with sophomore standing (30 completed credits & 16 in progress) – I was admitted to Boston University as a freshman in 2014 and received a rather generous financial aid package (about 40k grant) – but I turned it down in lieu of a full scholarship.

I just ran the Net Price Calculator (the one facilitated by College Board) for BU and indicated that I would be entering as a transfer student and living at home with my parents; my family’s finances have not changed at all and the NPC calculated a BU need-based grant of 51k - 11k more than my original grant.

I have serious qualms with this - for one, the NPC asked quite a bit about my high school stats (rank, GPA, SAT score, etc) and did not ask about my current college stats – but I did in fact indicate quite clearly that I was a transfer student. One of the first questions asked if I’d be entering BU as a first year or as a transfer, and I indicated transfer.

Secondly, I also indicated that I would be living at home with my parents (the options were on-campus, off-campus, at home/off campus with parents, with relatives) - but the grant exceeds the amount that I would be expected to pay if I were to go as a commuter student. I’m pretty sure even the most generous of schools, like Harvard, aren’t going to fork over a grant that exceeds the student’s COA by 5k.

I ran the NPC three times to make sure I wasn’t putting anything wrong. I even sat with my parents and ran it. I keep getting the same amount.

I guess my question is:
Is the NPC reliable for transfer students?
BU put that the NPC can be used for anyone who isn’t a graduate student, international student, or returning student (defined as someone that attended BU for some period of time, left, and is returning) - but first years and transfers are okay. I have always been under the impression that transfers get the short end of the stick in terms of aid since there’s far less incentive to lure in talented transfers rather than freshmen.

2

They usually aren’t designed for transfers because transfer aid is usually ‘not met’, but if it specifically asked, then it should be a reasonable estimate. Yes transfers usually don’t get good aid at colleges that don’t meet full need for transfers (which is most colleges.)

The COA for living at home with parents is shown in the calculator? Then right, the aid should not exceed COA. But the COA for student at home does include some living and personal expenses. All I can suggest is that you print the results and as BU. Or you just apply and see if it is affordable, as they probably can’t tell you much without your full financials.

3

@BrownParents - The COA that is shown at the end (the results page) shows the standard COA (which is ~64k, including tuition, room and board, books, fees, transportation, etc). It says that my net price is 13k (total COA minus grant) but I put that I wouldn’t be needing room and board since I’d be “living with parents.” Perhaps my actual financial aid package would be adjusted to accommodate the lower actual COA?

I was going to call BU on Monday and ask about their financial aid policies regarding transfers. I just find it rather peculiar since the NPC was spot on in 2014 with all of my other schools (it even predicted my current full named merit scholarship).