D accepted off waitlist 4/22, still no financial aid package and deadline is today

Paying for College
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<p>So frustrating! D was accepted off the waitlist on 4/22. They gave her until May 1 to decide. She got an email saying she was off the waitlist, and the official acceptance was FedExed the next morning. In the folder was the welcome letter, the official enrollment form, and some brochures on how to pay for this school. Not included was any information on a financial aid award, nor any information on how/when/if it would arrive. Not even any info on how to contact finaid.</p>

<p>A key point to remember is that this is the only school she applied to that did not offer any online access to applicants where they could check application and financial status and/or status of documents received and processed. </p>

<p>We submitted Ds FAFSA, CSS, the CSS Business and Farm Supplement as well as hand-corrected mailed changes to the CSS Profile by the required deadlines. In the case of the Business Farm Supplement, which was faxed, a follow-up call to FinAid assured me that it was received that morning. </p>

<p>So the first thing I did on April 23 was place a call to finaid to inquire about D's package, only to be told that they hadn't started working on her offer yet and wouldn't until they received word that she was admitted off the waitlist -- so the first they heard of her acceptance was my phone call, which they confirmed when they checked her applicant status. Oh...as long as they had me on the phone, they informed me they hadn't received the Business and Farm Supplement -- the very one I faxed in January and that I was assured they received. No sign of the CSS Profile handwritten changes either. I offered to re-fax everything, and they told me, no, they'd "find it all." Just hold tight. </p>

<p>May 1st comes (many phone calls in the preceding days) and still no offer, and they still hadn't found the missing financial docs and, no, they still did not want me to re-fax. So I call admissions (this was a Friday), and they gave D an extension until May 6, today. Not much of an extension, esp since two of those days were weekends, but all they would allow.</p>

<p>More phone calls and still nothing. My favorite conversation was the one where they told me they expect to have her package "soon," but won't release it until she submits her deposit. Huh? They keep telling me to check her online status. What online status, I ask? Silence. Apparently, accepted students have access to a whole host of data and forms on the school website. Except nobody mentioned that to D, nor was there any info about this in her acceptance folder.</p>

<p>Fortunately, S is currently a junior at this school. He knew exactly what I was talking about and HE went in and created her online account. Lo and behold, all kinds of info appears -- including the note they made on 2/23 they they hadn't received her Business and Farm Supplement. No phone call, no nothing; just a note about the missing document in an online portal that applicants can't access.</p>

<p>So now I can check her status online, and still no changes. Call today....good news! We found the Business and Farm Supplement! Actually, the word they used was "received;" I corrected her and said "found" was more like it. Still no CSS changes, though. But it will be a few more days, at least, until we get her package done. Sorry about that May 6 deadline -- try calling Admissions.</p>

<p>Which I did. They won't budge on it, despite the fact that EVERYTHING finaid needed was submitted to them in a timely manner; despite the fact that they never called to tell us anything was missing; despite the fact that D was never instructed how or when to open her online portal to the school.</p>

<p>Nope. Won't budge. The only suggestion is to send the deposit to reserve her spot, and then withdraw if she doesn't get the necessary aid. And, yes, we would lose our deposit.</p>

<p>Did I mention my husband and I are BOTH alumi of this school? And my son is a current student?</p>

<p>Now, maybe I'm naive, and this is the SOP when kids are admitted off the waitlist. I promise to calm down if somebody will confirm that most schools expect kids to enroll off the waitlist -- and make a non-refundable deposit -- before they get their finaid package.</p>

<p>I wonder if D would have been better off getting in off the waitlist AFTER May 1; surely then she'd have had more than 7 days (now 13 days) to get her finaid package and make her decision?</p>

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<p>How have things gone with your son’s financial aid? That seems like an easy question for the FA office to be able to answer. Do they take the parent contribution and divide it by two and give the same degree of loans to siblings or not?</p>

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<p>^That would assume a college that meets full need when the vast majority don’t.</p>

<p>There are many people putting in deposits before getting the aid package, something is very wrong with this picture.</p>

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<p>I told them that S was a current student, hoping that would expedite the process, but they replied that they don’t even look at current students’ info until June. </p>

<p>S has never received fin aid from this school, but we’ve always submitted FAFSA because it’s required to renew his merit award. I submitted his '09-'10 FAFSA when we did D’s, so they have it. At least I hope they do. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>We’re hoping he, she or both will get fin aid this year because we’ll have two kids in college. D received fin aid awards from some schools – not much, but all we need is “some.” </p>

<p>D’s already put in a deposit on a school she loves that gave her a fantastic merit award. But she likes this school, was thrilled to get in off the waiting list, and I think she’s at least entitled to make her decision based on a financial aid package. It irritates the heck out of me that she’ll have to decline enrollment w/o ever seeing a package. Hence this thread. :)</p>

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<p>Really, electronblue? It does surprise me that so many kids would plop down good money like that without having a clear picture of what they’ll have to pay!</p>

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<p>My guess is they don’t want to give you FA. I think they are looking for full paying parents.</p>

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<p>That’s pretty messed up. I had my aid package for my first choice school before I even had my acceptance letter</p>

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<p>Oldfort,</p>

<p>Then they should just tell us that! But they need to do it the right way: as a package. If they only offer her unsubsidized Stafford Loans, fine, at least we’ll have the answer we need and she can decline the offer an move on. Every student who applies for financial aid at a college or university gets an offer, even they expect you to pay full freight.</p>

<p>Actually, I don’t think this school is doing that. More like they received many more applications and fin aid documents than they’re staffed to handle. I imagine floor-to-ceiling stacks of paper that need to be constantly filed and tied to individual students, and they can’t keep up with it all.</p>

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<p>You have every right to be frustrated. If FA is very important to me, then I wouldn’t give them a deposit. But if going to the school is more important than a little bit of FA, then I would go ahead (it doesn’t sound like you are expecting much). At the same time, your daughter seem to have a nice merit aid and it would be a shame to throw it away.</p>

<p>No, I think for the number of students they are taking off the WL, they could have easily worked on your package right away. I think they are stalling. Maybe waiting to see if more full pay students would accept their offer.</p>

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<p>What I meant was that it shouldn’t be a difficult question if they wanted to give you an upfront answer. I wouldn’t deposit here without the numbers.</p>

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<p>Oops…I meant to respond to hmom5’s comment, not yours Electronblue. I understood what you meant. :)</p>

<p>Rest assured: no package, no deposit.</p>

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<p>It’s a reasonable assumption that the longer they take the more likely a family will be to accept the package. By the time you get it you’ve given a deposit and the family has become emotionally attached to the school.</p>

<p>I think this year it depends on where the school ranks. If it’s a strong school where people are lined up to pay in full I agree with Oldfort. But many privates will have a hard time filling up this year so the ‘merit’ discounts at these schools will have to make them in range of state schools.</p>

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<p>hmom5, I think the schools are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They may not be filling up, but they have only limited $$ left to give out. I think it is wrong to stall parents. The other alternative is to look at whether someone can pay in taking them off WL – that at least is honest. </p>

<p>One or two of the adcom people here commented on another thread that they were suprised of some of hard feelings, bordering on animosity, of parents. This is the type of situation that breeds these feelings. And particularly with another child at the same school, the parents aren’t likely to complain.</p>

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<p>They are definitely looking at who can pay, but it’s an enrollment management game. There needs to be a somewhat attractive value proposition. Many schools have increased the FA budget this year with that in mind. If the spread is too big between the private and a public, they know many will have to choose the public. Filling up with those who can pay $30K of a $40K COA works for most.</p>

<p>When the good time were rolling and families could tap the home equity without worrying about retirement, paying $40K or more for a second tier private was something many didn’t hesitate to do. They are, however, hesitating now.</p>

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<p>They wonder why there is animosity?! How could a school demand a deposit without full disclosure of what parents are signing up for. They have clause on acceptance, “you are accepted pending on your final grades.” Why shouldn’t parents be given the same option without losing 300-800 on deposit, never mind on the emotional ups and downs of an already distressed 18 year old. It has been a seller’s market for so long, some of those schools need to take some sensitivity training classes.</p>

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<p>This is a private school. The COA is $50K+. I think you’re probably right, hmom5. If this is how they treat children of alumni, I can’t imagine how they treat everyone else. Mind you, I don’t want or expect special treatment for her, but is it too much to expect the financial aid process to be honest and above board? Sadly, this school will never know if D would have attended despite a nominal fin aid award offer, because they failed to give her the opportunity to accept it.</p>

<p>So, yeah, I’ll say there’s some ill will at this point.</p>

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<p>Are you going to try to talk them again today?</p>

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<p>Yes, hmom5, we all understand – or at least most of us – enrollment mgmt. But this type of treatment – to an alumn’s child, with a brother there – is arrogant beyond belief.</p>

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<p>Oldfort,</p>

<p>I’ll continue to check for updates on her finaid status page, and I’ll give them a call around 3:30-4, to see if they’ve completed her package. When I called an hour ago to see if I had the correct PIN (there was some confusion as to whether a separate PIN provided by the school is needed – it’s a new system), they told me her package is still in review.</p>

<p>I won’t ask D to send in the enrollment card today. I think I’ll call their bluff and see if they’d accept after the 6th if she gets a decent package by the end of the week. My guess is they would.</p>

<p>The question is would D even want to go at this point. Probably not, as she’s become quite emotionally attached to her second choice school.</p>

<p>The bottom line is that I want her to be treated the same as any other accepted student, and that’s to be able to make her decision based on an offer of financial aid. We paid for the CSS Profile and complied with all of their terms, so they need to give her a package. Again, even if they only offer her unsubsidized Stafford Loans, she’s entitled to make an informed decision.</p>

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<p>If the school sends you incomplete info at the last minute and wants you to hurry up and decide, I think they should do the same: hurry up and decide and send the fa info. Why do schools think they should have your application for 6+ months and then you have a couple of days to decide without full information? It is just wrong.</p>