<p>So I'm applying Early Decision to Darmouth but I will need a lot of financial aid (my family makes <50,000.)</p>
<p>For students at Dartmouth or friends of students at Dartmouth how were your aid packages?</p>
<p>Any advice is greatly appreciated. Is it wise or unwise to apply ED to a school like Dartmouth if I'm an FA applicant? Since ED is binding and all do you think the school will make me pay a little bit more than I should?</p>
<p>Dartmouth finaid is excellent. No college is as good as Harvard and Yale, but D is up there with the most generous of colleges. Since Dartmouth does not offer merit aid, it makes no difference if you apply ED or RD.</p>
<p>I would have no problem recommending ED to Hanover if you need finaid.</p>
<p>I definitely think it would be wise to apply ED if Dartmouth is your first choice. I thought my aid package was very generous; it was more than my family had estimated. One of my friends who already goes to Dartmouth says that he has had to ask for adjustments from the financial aid office, and they are very easy to work with.</p>
<p>Oh, the only caveat I have though is that the financial aid packages have changed a little bit for the class of 2015. I think that they no longer have a “no loan” guarantee or something. You might want to look into that. If you don’t think the changes in the aid policy will be a problem, then by all means apply ED.</p>
<p>If your family makes <50K, then Dartmouth FA is guaranteed to cover 100% of your tuition, the cutoff for that is 75K. Additionally, you will not have any loans, as loans have been reinstated only for families that make upwards of 75K.</p>
<p>So … I hope that helps. The awards Dartmouth gives out are generally pretty generous.</p>
<p>Make sure that you your numbers through the financial aid calculator. If you use the college board use the federal and institutional methodologies. If you use the dartmouth calculator make sure that you have put in all of the information that they ask for. </p>
<p>There is a big difference in Financial Aid of a family that makes 50k totally from income and a family that is self employed, or owns a business and says they made 50k. If your parents are self employed, own a business or a farm many of the expenses that they write off are added back in for financial aid purposes.</p>
<p>Is this the income of both of your parents or just your custodial parent?</p>
<p>Is there a non custodial parent? If yes, their income and assets count in determining your financial aid.</p>
<p>Are there stepparents? If yes, their income and assets count in determining your financial aid.</p>
<p>alright, I was looking on college board and their financial aid calculator for private institutions told me my EFC would be $0
Do you know if Dartmouth’s calculator is a lot different?</p>
<p>i don’t know how big the difference will be between ED and RD.</p>
<p>but coming from a dartmouth likely letter recipient, with my family income less than 40k, dartmouth gave me 51,500 out of 56000, which was very close to the fin aid princeton ultimately gave me. so dartmouth’s fin aid can be considered one of the best in the nation.</p>
<p>On this same topic… Do you all know when accepted ED applicants would discover their awarded financial aid? Also, if it is possible to get out of the contract if it is just not enough? I know my parents are worried about that, especially if they find out about the aid after regular decision applications are due for other schools.</p>
<p>From what I’ve seen, you are unlikely to get significantly more regular need-based FA from another school. (By “regular” I mean leaving aside the remote possibility that you might win one of the few named scholarships at a few institutions that really are full rides, plus all sorts of additional perks. I say “remote” because those scholarships are a remote possibility for everyone, due to their scarcity.)</p>
<p>So what does “just not enough” actually mean? That probably depends on your realistic alternatives and your EFC. If your family is unwilling to meet the Dartmouth EFC, then whatever you get from D isn’t going to be “enough.” Especially if the alternative is in-state COA at a place like U VA or the University of Michigan. On the other hand, that means that what you get from any other need-based school is also unlikely to be “enough.” That leaves you with the option of applying to some merit-based schools probably somewhat lower in the pecking order where you might be offered substantial money because your stats boost their profile.</p>
<p>I would suggest that you ask your parents to run their real figures through the D calculator and see what comes out.</p>
<p>If you apply ED and if you submit the Profile in a timely manner (i.e., at the same time), Dartmouth will give you a preliminary award at the time of acceptance (mid-Dec). But note, that the preliminary award is just that, preliminary, because it will be based on last year’s tax returns (2009) and the estimates that you provide to Dartmouth. If any of the numbers change significantly, your final award may change as well. The final award would be based on 2010 tax returns and then current assets.</p>
<p>Also, yes, if you tell Dartmouth that their aid award (prelimary at acceptance) is not enough for you to be able to attend, they’lllet you out of the contract</p>