Being a low income student, a huge deciding factor for me when applying to colleges has been the price. I have religiously used net price calculators to help with this whole process. I know the net price calculator is not 100% exact and I don’t expect it to be. However, I have found a stark change between the results from one I took in October and one I took recently, using the same information. In the October version, I was estimated a total grant/gift aid of $63,865. This left me with a net price of $2,041 and, after self help, a remaining cost of $0. I applied to Boston University before December 1st because of this. I took photos of all of the results of the net price calculators from all of the schools I applied to to compare. I decided to recheck the calculator to see if anything would change and was shocked by how much it did! This time around I was only estimated $5,464 in grant/gift aid (Pell Grant). This left me with an estimated net price of $60,441. After self help, it would be $49,941. I guess the point of this blurb is that I am confused about how a calculator’s outcome could change so much in a short period of time. I have read that BU’s calculator is pretty transparent, but it hasn’t seemed to work out for me all that well. Has something like this happened to anyone else?
@itscourtneywow I have read that before. See post #27070 below.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20302434/#Comment_20302434
I went to BU’s website and there is a document “compare your chances of receiving aid” and I notice on the top there is a note that says “% OF ON-TIME APPLICANTS WITH BU SCHOLARSHIP* .” It got me thinking that both you and @botcom first ran your numbers before December and then re-ran them after December and got drastically different results than you did the first time. Maybe that is because they don’t want people who are applying after Dec to have false hope since many of their scholarships have a 12/1 deadline. In any event, things worked out for @botcom’s daughter so hope things go well for you too. Good luck!
https://www.bu.edu/finaid/aid-basics/cost-of-education/net-price-calculator/
@itscourtneywow as @paveyourpath stated above the same thing happened to us our EFC was estimated at $8,000 in October and In December $55,000. D had applied early decision. So we hoped for a good aid package.
She was accepted with an aid package that put our EFC above the original $8,000 but way below the $55,000. I think they really look at the CSS profile to determine aid. I believe too that my D got a lot of grant aid because they wanted her as a student.
Did you apply for any of the Scholarships, Presidents or Trustees?
If you applied regular decision are accepted and you don’t get the grant aid you need you can file an appeal. Good luck.
@paveyourpath Thank you very much for your help! I am hoping you are right and they give me around the amount of money from my first estimate. It would be a shame to have put in all that work into an application to not be able to attend solely on financial reasons!
@botcom This is definitely a huge relief for me. Of course, there is still a lot of uncertainty with financial aid and I won’t know how much I get until I see it. I didn’t specifically apply for the Trustees scholarship, but did apply before the December 1st deadline to qualify for other scholarships. In terms of stats, I am above the 75th percentile and have quite a few hooks so hopefully that makes me a little more “desirable”. If not, I have offers from other colleges and will be fine no matter where I choose to go. Thanks for the help!
@itscourtneywow let us know how it works out with BU. Glad you have options.
If you are a high need student, BU isn’t really a good choice. They practice “admit-deny”. There are similar to NYU in this regard. Be prepared for a bucket load of loans, including parental and unsubsidized ones.
@botcom @exlibris97 I received notification of my acceptance today and was surprised to find an amazing financial aid package along with it. I received the Richard D Cohen scholarship for $57800 per year, Federal SEO Grant for $2500 per year, Federal Pell Grant for $5570 per year, and Work Study for $2000. All of this totals up to be $67870, which is more than what the calculator estimated. I am relieved!
@itscourtneywow That is fantastic news! Congratulations Is the Richard D Cohen the Trustess scholarship?
@botcom Nope, I didn’t even apply for Trustees. This is what my letter says: “You were selected based on your financial need and your academic achievement. As a Richard D. Cohen Scholarship recipient, you will receive a financial aid award that meets your full eligibility for need-based aid, without loans, as calculated by BU Financial Assistance.”
@itscourtneywow thanks for the iformation. Congrats again and GO TERRIERS!
Yay, Courtney! Your hard work and caution paid off.
Congrats!!! That package is amazing and means BU really wants you on campus. If you have any questions, re: attending, feel free to PM me. I also attended BU on generous aid (though not a full ride like this, which is a GIFT and means you are really awesome :D).
@itscourtneywow The fact that you won that scholarship means that you are a highly prized applicant. As I said, BU gives strong priority to people like you. Congratulations! That’s quite an honor and distinction. You have every reason to be proud.
@itscourtneywow I’m so happy for you! Congratulations!
@lookingforward @proudterrier @exlibris97 @paveyourpath Thank you all very much! (: