<p>Irish not sure if Bucknell is like JMU, where I teach, but are you sure the office is open this week? At JMU all offices, including admissions and financial aid are closed from December 22 to January 5. I hope that this is not the case at Bucknell, but if you do not get an answer tomorrow it may be because the office is closed until after the new year. Good luck!</p>
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We used savings to pay entirely for my sister's room and board, since she got free tuition at her college, and that was sort of the plan for me.
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<p>Another quote from the OP...Just curious...did your older sister get her free tuition using the tuition exchange program? If so, that should and could have been the plan for you as well....assuming your parents are still eligible and you got the application completed in a timely fashion for the schools to which you were applying.</p>
<p>Yes, my sister did get her tuition paid for with tuition exchange. We made it perfectly clear with Bucknell (and I did personally with an admissions counselor) that my admission to Bucknell would hinge upon getting most if not ALL of my tuition paid for. Since they only award 70% of tuition on Tuition Exchange, we were hesitant to apply. Considering the amount left to pay is still more than almost any college on the tuition exchange list, it isn't the amount we feel we need.</p>
<p>I specifically said BEFORE we sent in the application that I would need/want full tuition paid for to go, as my parents and I are trying to avoid as much debt as possible. They said that I could go ahead and apply ED since it was my first choice school.</p>
<p>I understand completely where many of you are coming from with this asking about whether or not I should have applied early, but that fact is that I applied early to get over the stress of applying to colleges and hopefully have somewhere already planned to go. This is something I honestly took very seriously and asked numerous times about with the college. </p>
<p>I did not "take advantage" of the ED agreement. The original point of the thread was merely to see if others were having a similar experience and maybe comfort each other in disappointment.</p>
<p>Yes, tuition exchange played a considerable part, because at most colleges, you get free tuition, and we would never have considered ANY private college without the tuition exchange award. It was clear to Bucknell, as I've repeated many times, that I would really need to get Tuition Exchange and then some, to go. I promise, we weren't trying to swindle the college to get an unfair advantage.</p>
<p>Irish Thund3r,</p>
<p>I believe that most of us here on the board in this thread understand that you wanted to find out early so the "stress" was over. That is not the best reason to apply to a college that is ED, but it is the strategy that you used. Most students want the stress to be over early. It is just human nature. But, the ED contract is clear, and the conventional wisdom that is stated in every college planning book and forum is, DO NOT apply ED if you can't afford it. ED helps the college far more than the student. It is a tool for them to manage their enrollment, and also has them controlling how much aid you get. Some kids get great packages, some don't. You learned the hard way. </p>
<p>This isn't Bucknell's problem. This is your problem. </p>
<p>You say that you repeatedly asked the college if they would meet your need. Avoiding your family's future debt is not Bucknell's problem. They are meeting your "need" - just not all with free money. Meeting your need also means Student and Parent Loans, work study, state and federal grants, scholarships and institutional grants/loans. </p>
<p>Financial aid is not ALL free money. Stafford loans - which was part of your package is a good student loan, that is guaranteed by the federal government. You don't want loans - you don't have to take them, but that is there to help you meet your need. Also, parent loans, which can be taken out, are another option. </p>
<p>News flash: in a market with so many applicants, not everyone will get the aid package that they need to attend. This is tough. I understand and have worked with students who have to make some tough choices.</p>
<p>But there is a difference between wanting to avoid future debt, and what Bucknell expects your family to pay. If it is too much, then move on to one of the other colleges that provides the better aid package.</p>
<p>This is a hard lesson for you, and I know how frustrating it is. You have worked hard and can't understand why this isn't easier for you to attend. </p>
<p>But the reality is, that is the first in a line of hard life lessons. We can't always afford the car, the house, the whatever - and it isn't going to be free. We sometimes have to compromise, find another way to pay for it, or maybe choose another option. Financial aid is to assist you as you achieve your college dreams, but few have full rides! </p>
<p>I do wish you the best.</p>
<p>so the money you are getting from Bucknell is from the Tuition exchange. Also, what you told the admissions officer most likely had no effect on what the financial aid office offered you. They might not even talk about that sort of stuff. 2 different departments</p>
<p>Bucknell figures your EFC of 20K (I'm guessing this is about right, not sure if you confirmed that) makes up the difference btw COA and EFC. It is not Bucknell's issue if your parents can't afford their EFC. I don't understand why you think they would give you free money to cover the EFC. Very few colleges do (IVY's being excluded and I'm sure there are other schools that will give a merit based award that covers all or part of the EFC, but these are far and few between.</p>
<p>from the tuition exchange website
What Is the Dollar Value of The Scholarship?
Scholarships cover full tuition, or a rate set by Tuition Exchange, but not special fees, course overloads, or room and board charges. For 2008-2009, institutions that charge more than $26,800 for tuition are permitted to award less than their full tuition, but not less than $26,800. Some colleges cover other expenses, such as room in their awards. The "Conducting a School Search" page contains information indicating which schools offer more than basic tuition. Some member institutions reduce their scholarships by the amount of federal and state grants awarded to a student, whether or not these are based on financial need. The Application/Certification Form notifying you of your award and award letter should provide specific details, but if you are confused, seek clarification by asking questions before you accept the scholarship.</p>
<p>OP, I understand you are upset. I feel your pain. However, if Bucknell met your need ... that is, if they offered a package of grants, work study, and loans that totaled the cost of attendance less your expected family contribution ... then they DID do what they indicated they would do. The disconnect is that your family does not seem to have understood expected family contribution. Colleges do not provide need-based aid money to cover what is calculated as the family's contribution. I realize that the contribution is ridiculously high ... it is 1/4 gross income as an average. But financial aid calculators are widely available. A quick calculation would have revealed to your family that their expected contribution would be too high to handle. You are not alone ... and I do agree that it seems like more students than usual are being surprised by ED financial aid ... but those of us who have posted on CC for a long time warn of this regularly. I wish people would pay attention.</p>
<p>The best advice is to look into schools where you would be able to get LOTS of merit aid. My EFC is in the neighborhood of your family's EFC ... and the only school where my kid would be able to go for $3000 is the local community college. D's merit offers still left us with a lot more than $3000 to pay. You will need to choose some alternative schools carefully in order to avoid too much debt.</p>
<p>I have applied to other colleges, to those who were wondering. I'm not sunk in terms of college options. We've had other applications done for a while in case things didn't work out.</p>
<p>Also, I'm fully aware of what the EFC is, but I thought I would qualify for some merit aid as well. My stats were high enough for Bucknell's merit aid, so I thought I stood a good chance of earning some. I went to two separate campus visits and talked about financial aid at each one, PLUS one on one phone conversations between my parents and the financial aid staff. We felt the EFC was too high from the get-go, especially considering how many schools I can get free tuition at, and we told Bucknell about our opinions of our EFC. </p>
<p>We asked many questions and still applied ED. We made sure it was okay with the Bucknell staff. They said it was, so I applied ED.</p>
<p>I don't blame Bucknell for a moment. Until any school sees the actual paper work , they cannot shut down possibilities. I am surprised that they encouraged you to apply ED, however. </p>
<p>Their package is exactly what I would have expected them to give. If they have merit money to give out, it would have been possible for you get more than their EFC entitles you to get, IF you meet the criteria for merit money. I don't even know if Bucknell gives merit scholarships, but if they do, they are not plentiful in large amounts. As I said earlier, to get a lot of merit money is very difficult. More difficult than getting into the most selective schools. To get a lot of merit money from a selective school is like a grand prize lottery ticket.</p>
<p>Then go to one of the schools with free tuition. You will still need to come up with room, board, books, etc money. You should assume that you will be taking out a stafford loan of 3500-5500 for your freshman year added to your parents 3000 and that might come close to covering your costs.</p>
<p>Irish, I'm sure that something will work out for you. </p>
<p>To others who might be reading this thread...if you want to apply early to a school just to release yourself from the "stress" of college choices...find a school or two that have early action (EA) which is non-binding or rolling admissions. Neither of these plans is a binding thing but both offer the bonus of having an early acceptance WITHOUT the headache of dealing with a release of an early decision acceptance. AND both still give you the chance to compare financial aid packages.</p>
<p>Applying ED on a wing and a prayer for financial aid is not the best plan, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Gotta wonder if those tuition exchange schools share information about those who do not accept enrollment after ED acceptances.</p>
<p>After reviewing the Bucknell website, I see tuition that has to be at one of the highest levels of any of the private colleges out there. Many LAC's tuition ranges from $25-$35,000 per year, yet Bucknell has a tuition cost of $40,800. Before room, board, books, fees, transportation, etc.</p>
<p>They also use the CSS PROFILE which will take into effect a family's home. If the OP's parents own a home, the college assumes that the family can tap into home equity or other avenues to help fund a student's education.</p>
<p>There is often a huge gap between a school that uses only FAFSA, vs the ones that use FAFSA and CSS PROFILE to calculate an EFC. The number of students in college at any given time, asset valuations, age of parents, etc can also create any one of a number of scenarios that is absolutely impossible for a FA office to know about until they have crunched the numbers.</p>
<p>Many students find a better aid package with FAFSA only schools. Is this the case with the other FA offers, with you, IrishThund3r?</p>
<p>I assume you have excellent stats and want Bucknell.
apparently they have not shown you the love. Maybe give
them one more chance and if things don't work out,
reconsider your affections and dump them. </p>
<p>"I want you to want me, I need you to pay me...."</p>
<p>The other schools I'm looking at are going to full rides guaranteed due to National Merit Finalist scholarship. I think that is why I was most surprised by a complete lack of any aid to help cover the EFC. Every college that has contacted me or that I've looked at seems like they are dying to have high achieving students and make it a point to pay a little extra for them. I knew Bucknell had a lot of high achievers, but I thought most people got some sort of extra financial aid above their "need", as many seem to do at less selective schools. Obviously, I'm a little naive when it comes to more selective colleges. Bucknell gets many more top echelon students than I initially thought, so naturally the merit aid is much more competitive than I originally thought. </p>
<p>Bucknell is the most selective college I've applied to, so I think was most surprised how different it is from applying to other places. State schools, for instance, don't make nearly as big of a deal out of EFC.</p>
<p>They've shown me plenty of love. I can't fault them for giving me as much as they did. I should have probably dealt with the anxiety and applied RD. Too late now though.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>State schools, for instance, don't make nearly as big of a deal out of EFC.>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Most state schools don't come CLOSE to meeting your full need. They simply do not have the resources. AND for OOS students, this is particularly apparent. I don't know what you mean by this statement. But the EFC IS expected to be paid by the FAMILY at every state school I know of...unless they allow stacking of aid up to the cost of attendance (U of South Carolina does that). Many state schools DO NOT allow this.</p>
<p>We paid part of our EFC with a Parent Plus loan. It was either that, or borrow from our house to come up with that large chunk of money.</p>
<p>Well, the initial reason Bucknell was ever considered was because of the Tuition exchange website. Since the Tuition Exchange award is supposed to be a "1 for 1" deal in that they take in as many students as they send out, I thought an additional $10,000 award (namely the Dean's Scholarship) would not be so insanely hard to come by, since my stats line up well for merit and I bring geographic diversity. If it hadn't been for the tuition exchange, then I wouldn't have bothered applying because I would have been in so much debt.</p>
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State schools, for instance, don't make nearly as big of a deal out of EFC.
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They certainly do when it comes to need based aid. State schools usually offer mostly federal need based aid so they have to follow federal guidelines very closely when it comes to need based aid (EFC + scholarships +need based aid cannot exceed COA).</p>
<p>I think you are getting a little confused between need based aid and merit aid. If a school offers a full ride based on NMF, that is merit aid. If everything is paid for by merit aid then the EFC *can * be covered by the merit aid. It is only when there is need based aid that the complications with the EFC arise.</p>
<p>The schools you are looking at that guarantee a full ride for NMFs are guaranteeing you that based on merit aid - you would get it whether you parent's earned $20k or $200k. The most selective schools that have a ton of NMFs and students with very high Stats so do not need to offer that sort of merit money as an incentive to apply. At these schools they are mostly offering need based awards in which case it matters a lot whether your parents earn $20k versus $200k.</p>
<p>When need based aid is the issue the EFC is rarely, if ever, covered.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>We paid part of our EFC with a Parent Plus loan.>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>A Parent Plus loan is a parent loan. It is not part of the financial aid package for the STUDENT. Student need based financial aid is not used to pay for the EFC.</p>
<p>Unfortunately Bucknell seems to be a dead horse for you. Concentrate your quality thinking time on finding a better package somewhere else.</p>
<p>Tis true. A Parent Plus is often packaged with FA as an additional option for parents to meet costs that aren't part of the student aid package.</p>