<p>Has any continuing student or parent heard anything about their financial aid package for next year?</p>
<p>Alternately, Stacy or any other junior/senior, do you recall when the packets for the upcoming year went out for continuing students? </p>
<p>I'd like to be able to plan for next year, which is coming all too quickly.</p>
<p>In theory, if you got all your forms in by the early date your daughter's aid package should be up on their bannerweb account. If you didn't make the early date, I have been told we should hear by the end of June. (We sent all our forms in on time, but they never arrived or got lost once they got there. I didn't find that out until early May so we are in the late June, early July camp. Oh well.)
Ellen</p>
<p>I applied for financial aid by the early deadline. My award was on Bannerweb before I left campus (I worked Reunion, so I think it was around May 16th or so) and an award letter arrived at my house within the past week.</p>
<p>Thanks, I'll have D check BannerWeb.</p>
<p>Okay, D got her offer from BannerWeb. Now to call Student Financial Services for a frank and comradely discussion. The second-year offer isn't <em>bad</em>, it just isn't completely reasonable...the joys of when you have tax returns that are open to interpretation.</p>
<p>mine came today.</p>
<p>Stacy, how has you financial aid been, qualitatively, relative to your first year's aid? This is something I've never seen discussed anywhere. E.g., how's the amount of grants relative to loans or the amount of aid relative to changing circumstances & increased tuition?</p>
<p>i don't feel that comfortable talking about my particular financial aid package publicly (it does include a variety of sources, including merit and outside aid, and i work on-campus).</p>
<p>however, i will say that Smith, like nearly every college, seems to "front-load" their aid packages, so while students' demonstrated need is met each year (so if the family's income and general financial situation remains constant but tuition goes up, the total aid will increase to meet the greater need), the combination of grants and loans shifts more to loans as the student advances in school. </p>
<p>Part of this is due to federal methodologies that Smith uses--these give less debt to beginning students in case they drop out, so they won't be so saddled. But I think part of it is also that Smith wants the package to look as good as possible to admitted students and their families, and they know you're less likely to leave later on. </p>
<p>I'm not slamming Smith in particular for this--I don't know of any colleges who DON'T front-load aid packages like this. It's just what colleges do, and I have no idea whether Smith does it more or less than other schools.</p>
<p>Thanks, Stacy. I would expect you divulge any of your specifics. And I do expect that Smith, like other schools, front-loads their aid. The amount of Stafford Loans that the student is expected to take goes up every year, for instance.</p>
<p>I suspect that my income situation and tax returns are enough off the "normal" parameters that I'm going to have to take my own advice and just call the FinAid office. I sent an e-mail on Thursday...if I don't hear by tomorrow or Tuesday, I'll give a call.</p>
<p>It's not even that I can complain a <em>lot</em> over their take, it's just that my seat-of-pants approach suggests that my D would get about another $3K in grants over and above what she has. Otoh, $3K isn't chopped liver and I need to follow up. </p>
<p>Of the whole part of the college shtick, Financial Aid is what I feel least comfortable and knowledgeable about.</p>
<p>I've got to agree with the front loading comments. My aid amounts stayed the same my four years at Smith but after my first year, most of the aid was comprised of loans and less grants. I'm sure many other schools do it too but it irritated me when I would qualify for a Fed or State grant and then Smith would lower the grants I received from them. Instead of paying less because I qualified for another loan I would pay the same amount because Smith would "balance" out the grant by reducing another.</p>
<p>Oh, Fin. Aid. one thing I will no longer miss about Smith</p>
<p>I got a letter Monday with a form where I could decline or reduce my daughter's scholarship. Bet they don't get many takers on that.</p>
<p>Front loading seems to be a problem at many schools and perhaps there should be some form of disclosure or rating system on how severe it is.</p>