ED Financial Aid, REALLY?

<p>Can't believe how far off their calculator is compared to what they awarded. Has anyone else experienced this?</p>

<p>Yes, we were shock that it was so low. Fordham and Drexel actually offered us more in need base aid. When we looked at their npc and their brochure the amount quoted was 2.5 times as much as what they offered in their financial aid package which included work study. My D is set at going to University of Pennsylvania but unless they increase the financial aid I doubt she will be going. Fordham did offer her a full tuition scholarship. So basically, Fordham is willing to give her $44,500 to attend while UPenn wants us to give them $47,000.</p>

<p>How could your kid apply to Penn ED and other college at the same time?</p>

<p>Simple-UPenn was early decision and Fordham and Drexel were early action not binding. As long as it not binding you are allowed to apply.</p>

<p>Hmmm. Something might be up at the UPenn fin aid office, as that has come up a few times this year. Though not the most generous among the full need met schools, it’s not that bad Are you sure that you are not mixing merit with fin aid from Drexel and Fordham? Fordham tends to give a lot of merit along with fin aid. It’s not an apples to apples comparison, when merit money is in the mix.</p>

<p>UPenn total PENN grant is 8000 plus a 6000 scholarship and 2300 work study. Fordham offered 16000 grant and later a full tuition scholarship. I do see Drexel scholarship is for 14000 plus loans for total of 18000.</p>

<p>If a kid needs more than $25,000 in FA then he/she should not apply ED. FA calculation is complicated and it is not one-size-fit-all. </p>

<p>I hope you can work out with Penn in your case.</p>

<p>Whatever it is called, it does make a difference as to whether it is financial aid or merit money. Penn gives Zero merit money. It’s all need based awards, not a penny for merit. Soy Gymratjudy got $14K in grants from UPenn in fin aid. Drexel gave $14K in grants (need or merit, who knows?) and Fordham gave $16K in grants. If the costs are all equal, then Penn gave a workstudy option in lieu fo the loans that Drexel gave, but most anyone can take out DIrect Loans up to $5500 as a freshman, and if there is need involved, the loans can be subsidized, so the WS and can swapped out for the loans,and then the student can find his own job. One can find a job at Drexel and be in the same position.</p>

<p>Fordham straight out gave more, but whether it’s fin aid or merit is the question. Are you a NM finalist? FOrdham does give most NM scholars a full tution award, but it 's merit. My son had no fin aid but nearly a full tution award from Fordham.</p>

<p>Gift aid from Fordham $16200. Semi finalist scholarship=full tuition. </p>

<p>Here is where I have an issue. On UPenn brochure:</p>

<p>family income 100,000-129,000 median award 41,480
130,000-159,999 median award 33,780
160,000-189,999 median award 26,230
190,000 and up median award 21,825</p>

<p>We are around 129,000 so how does that amount to just an $8000 grant. I didn’t expect $41000 but I also wasn’t expecting $8000. Oh, and originally the grant aid was only $5200, the $8000 was after we called the financial aid office inquiring as to why it was so low. We will be calling them again on Monday.</p>

<p>Assets can make a difference as well as holistic factors in the PROFILE. Also, the word Penn is using is award, not grant. lso look up the definition of median. </p>

<p>I think you should call them and ask, but bear in mind that Penn’s offer is about the same as Drexel’s and Fordham does mix merit and fin aid awards. This is, by the way, the reason those wanting fin aid should not be applying ED. If you had not gotten other awards yet, you’d have no basis for comparison. You can see what a big difference in costs and awards that can end up on the table. You may well get even more from some RD considerations that do not have EA. You just don’t know about them and may never find out.</p>

<p>You have $8,000 grant and $6,000 in scholarship. That makes $14,000 in free money. Without high asset values, savings, and with high family expenses,… some people may get a lot more. But with $139,000 in income, it’s hard to get more than $14,000 from other colleges similar to Penn.</p>

<p>You should understand how you got the award and make sure that something was not overlooked. So definitely call and ask. </p>

<p>Be aware that long term board members have reported $10K differences in aid from like schools. THat’s a reason why ED is not a good idea if you are looking to maximize your financial aid.</p>

<p>@cptofthehouse Excuse me but I know the definition of median. My point is, that what is reflected on their brochure is a lot different than what is being offered. I am not the only one complaining about their low financial aid. My husband was on hold for a half hour when he called the financial aid office. They told him that was because everyone was calling about the financial aid package- “that their was a lot of joy because they were accepted and a lot of tears because of the cost”</p>

<p>If I was looking to just maximize financial aid I would push my D to accept Fordham’s offer. Unfortunately, her heart is set on UPenn.</p>

<p>Did you try the net price calculator?</p>

<p>10 chars…</p>

<p>I guess we will count our blessings that we were only off a couple grand from their net price calculator. But that does add up to over 10K after 4 years, which is too bad. I thought the whole purpose of the NPC was to clear up what the approximate costs were and wondered if others found it to be off. In our case about 15% more. We assumed going into ED that there would be other schools who would offer more money, if we waited to RD. Although we don’t know what the starting salary differences would be between a Wharton grad and the highest aid school would be, we are willing to take the chance it is worth it. The bottom line is that Wharton is the best business school and she is very lucky to have been accepted.</p>

<p>^ reel - You should consider yourself lucky. Only 10k over expectation in 4 years. I had to pay a lot more than 10k over my expectation for my son to go to MIT (no ED binding). Penn FA award to my D is a little better than MIT award to my son. Fortunately things work out for me. I did not have to borrow so far.</p>

<p>@gymratjudy, I know the retirement 401K, 401a, 403b, and other 2013 deferred tax deductions are added back to the total family income to determine the financial aid amount. This could be one of the reasons that the awarded number is different from the Penn examples.</p>

<p>My daughter was also just accepted to Penn ED, and she received some financial aid with Penn grant, scholarship and work study. I have questions about financial aid and hope someone here can help to clarify:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Is the scholarship renewable? or is it for the first year only? I called Penn but they weren’t sure about this.</p></li>
<li><p>The school said that they use the same formula for everyone so the financial aid amount should be no different between ED and RD, am I right? Why does someone keep saying that if the students need more financial aid, they should not apply ED? </p></li>
<li><p>If the ED and RD students’ have different financial aids under same income/assets when being accepted, would the amount for the ED and RD students still differ from the second year and above? </p></li>
<li><p>I know if students apply RD, they can ask Penn to match other schools’ offers. However, if the financial aid amount is increased by matching with other schools, will this “matched amount” be the same in later years?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks for the reply.</p>

<p>“Why does someone keep saying that if the students need more financial aid, they should not apply ED?”</p>

<p>Because the expectation from parents is sometimes different from the actual award from colleges. Parents use the NPC to get some estimated EFC. But colleges use a lot of details from each family to determine FA. Those details are sometimes overlooked or underestimated by parents. I think if parent income profile is simple (having W-2 income from work and having no complicated assets, retirement resources,…) then the FA award will be close to the NPC estimate.</p>

<p>@zoo2013</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The reward is not renewable per se, but it should be a good indication of financial aid over the four years your daughter is at Penn provided your financial situation doesn’t change much during that time period. Near the end of every school year, your family will apply for aid for the next year. The previous years award will essentially be an informal reference point for you throughout the process. If there are discrepancies year-over-year, you will want to take Student Financial Services. I believe most peer institutions also handle financial aid in this manner.</p></li>
<li><p>Students who need financial aid are encouraged to apply RD solely for the benefit of comparing offers from different schools, since the financial aid determination/methodology differs by institution. That way, you can choose the best offer (provided money is the most important determinant of school choice).</p></li>
<li><p>I am an not sure I read your question correctly, but if two students and their families (one ED and one RD) have different assets coming into Penn and those differences persist during their tenure as undergraduates, it should reflect in their aid packages over the years as well.</p></li>
<li><p>This is tricky, and I can see many schools (Penn and peers) who match one year to get a student to matriculate, but afterward, it’s not so clear. In such a situation, it is always important to refer to the previous year’s aid. After all, once you are a Penn family, it’s not the end of business for the university. From that point on, they are supposed to make sure you are a satisfied customer, otherwise, they risk being unattractive to future students.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Just as a personal anecdote, I applied ED and also for aid. Received a package (grants and student contribution) that accounted for over half. Financial circumstances changed (for the worse), and I received additional aid the following years. It took working with Student Financial Services, but we got it done. I made it through Penn with two degrees from two different undergraduate schools and was employed full-time after graduation.</p>