Now that Wesleyan has raised millions to put toward financial aid, I’m wondering if the class of 2021 with need can expect better aid packages than they might have gotten before, or will it be more a case of lowering the need threshold? I guess my question is whether anyone knows if our EFC for them (as indicated by their NPC) could improve? I ask because D will be applying ED somewhere, and we had eliminated Wesleyan based only on FA considerations. Wondering if we should reconsider.
To my knowledge, Wesleyan’s FA packages have never been inferior to any of the top LACs. Instead, the University wisely elected to make the final 5-10% of admissions decisions need-aware and, once admitted, those students got the same generous packages as all the other admitted students.
Also, if you are dissatisfied by the financial package, you’re obviously not bound to accept the ED offer.
After running the NPC’s, Wesleyan comes out as less generous than other LAC’s on our list like Haverford, Franklin & Marshall and Dickinson. As for your second point, I don’t know that one can so easily get out of an ED commitment nowadays with the online resources available that will give you a good idea in advance of the FA. Also, if D were to back out, she would have lost her ED advantage in admissions. That’s exactly what I want to avoid.
The few wildly divergent awards I’ve seen posted on this forum have nearly always involved some issue involving a second home or property or a windfall affecting one parent’s income. Generally speaking, I’ve only read positive things about Wesleyan FA. YMMV
No, our financials are very straight-forward. Their aid isn’t bad, it’s just that a $6-7,000 difference over 4 years adds up!
If that’s the case, only the Wesleyan FA department can answer your question. As it stands, it sounds wise to leave Wesleyan off your list. Back in my day and judging from the experiences of younger friends since, Wesleyan had great aid. When I transferred from Bowdoin, the package was nearly identical. My friend turned down Swarthmore for Wesleyan a few years ago because of the difference in aid. Sometimes I wonder if they subtly “send a message” to the applicant about the school’s enthusiasm for the student to attend by offering relatively more or less money.
Hmm. Wesleyan actually is $10,000 more per year, with $3500/yr. more in loans, and $550 more to earn in workstudy than Haverford for example. This is all based on the NPC, as no application has been submitted. So maybe they’d sweeten it a bit if they really wanted her? That’s pretty unlikely.
Why even consider Wesleyan if you’d have to shell out $40,000 more?
We wouldn’t consider it. Here’s the chronology. 1) After college research and campus visits, we determined Wes to be an adequate fit for D. 2) We ran the NPC on all her school options. Based on the FA estimate, we bumped Wes off the list. The inferior aid made sense, since I had read on this forum that one reason for Wes’ decline in USNWR ranking was a problem with their endowment. 3). I learned of their recent, very successful endowment campaign, whose income was to be earmarked for FA 4) I began to wonder if that might mean an improvement to D’s eventual aid, should she apply and be accepted. 5) I posted this thread for discussion, since Wes is being eliminated from consideration mostly for reasons of money.
Again, I think only the FA dept knows the answer to this, and even they may not have decided whether or how to make use of their windfall.
Though I’m fairly confident the only change they would publicize is restoration of 100% need-blind status.
The answer to your question is, “No.” since in each case, the cheaper college (Haverford, Franklin and Marshal, Dickinson) has a lower endowment per student than Wesleyan. Does your family make between $170-190k a year?
No, we make much less than that. For what it’s worth, Wesleyan would also cost us several thousand more, and with a higher work study commitment, than fellow NESCAC school Connecticut College. Since we just have one income and a house, we concluded Wes simply gives less aid.
Does that mean you are a single parent or are both parents living, but only one of them works?
The latter.
My own two cents: I am in great need for FA, and Wes gave me a pretty great FA package. It’s not the most ideal since my mom owns our property, but it’s definitely doable. The FA department is stellar, and in all honesty, I’m paying the fraction of a state-school price for Wes. It all depends on your assets.
Bingo. Depending on how granular each college’s NPC really is, that one little factoid could be enough to throw the results off. A household with two parents making $50,000 a year each is apt to be treated differently than a household with one parent making $100,000 - despite the fact that the total income is the same for each family. It’s also another argument against applying ED anywhere because there is no way of being 100% sure of what your actual award will be until the FA office actually crunches the numbers itself. These NPC results are ballpark figures until you actually send in the paper work.
I know, I wish she didn’t have to apply ED anywhere, but all the coaches are requesting that of their athletes. I know we will be able to get some athletic pre-reads, though, which should help her decide which option makes the most financial sense.
Haverford doesn’t have a lower endowment per student.