Extremely low financial aid offer?

[collegedad333]

Hello–did anyone else receive very low aid from Midd this year? Our son received good aid packages elsewhere–he is fortunate to have some choices–but Midd’s was about $20K less than anyone else. I plan to call and ask about it. Any advice/comments on working with Midd’s financial aid office?

[OldbatesieDoc]

We had zero luck getting anything changed…but you can try!

[GiveOrTake]

I was admitted with a $660 grant… I don’t know how Middlebury calculates financial need, but my expected contribution represents nearly all of my family’s disposable income. I plan on calling the financial aid office tomorrow to see if anything can be done.

I don’t know if being a Canadian student affects anything, but Midd does guarantee to meet all financial need for admitted students. It’d be a shame if I cannot go for financial reasons as Midd is one of my top choices.

[collegedad333]

Thanks for the responses. I wondered if they are just less generous than other schools or if there was a mistake somewhere…sounds like Midd may give small packages. Oldbatesiedoc, did your child attend – and if so, do you feel it was worth it?

[arcadia]

It would be helpful to know which other colleges you’re comparing aid packages with. Did you use the EFC calculator before applying? Middlebury does not offer merit awards, and takes home equity into account when determining EFC. Here is an interesting article about how Williams calculates financial need:

http://williamsrecord.com/2014/10/01/investigating-the-inner-workings-of-the-colleges-financial-aid-program/

The College places a higher value on home equity than a few other schools. Harvard, Princeton and Bard, for example, do not consider home equity at all in their consideration of a family’s financial need.

The CSS Profile calculates the expected parent contribution by including home equity and other assets, savings, investments, other real estate and business equity, by asking parents to contribute approximately 5 percent of their total net worth each year. The College does modify the home equity calculation in some instances to reduce it to 1.2 times the parent’s total income, thereby reducing the parental contribution. This is done in cases where annual family income is less than home equity. For example, if a family has a home valued at $300,000, and an income of $150,000, the College multiplies their total annual income by 1.2, which comes out to $180,000. 5 percent of $180,000 is $9000 – less than the original $15,000. Many of our peer institutions, including Amherst, Haverford, Middlebury and Vassar, also use this same calculation.

[CrewDad]

Ouch!

Amherst gave me more financial aid. Williams gave me less, but also gave me the book grant. I went to previews for both schools. When I was at Williams, my mom came with me and went to the financial aid office and asked them to match Amherst’s offer. They [Williams] took a look at my numbers and discovered that they had given me ‘too much,’ and took away both the money and the book grant.”

http://williamsrecord.com/2014/10/01/investigating-the-inner-workings-of-the-colleges-financial-aid-program/

[SoundCheck1]

I called Middlebury and asked. I was disappointed that Misdlebury was the lowest package. You can always appeal but we haven’t had any major changes since we completed all the financial forms. I am not sure what to say in the appeal. Also, say they up the grant … What happens in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year?