<p>Just want to say that I am touched by their aid: 49K! No loans at all - except 2.5k workstudy. Impressed and grateful!! </p>
<p>This did ease the pain of failing at IVY's.</p>
<p>yay1 I got 56k</p>
<p>prjiki
your sentiments are sincere I am sure but you didn’t “fail at the Ivy’s”…you won the lottery. Please factor in that thousands and thousands of students with your wonderful resume in the USA and internationally, didn’t get into the Ivies but most importantly, they didn’t get into a college with a Need Blind No Loan All Grant Financial aid program. </p>
<p>Many people on the waitlist now would like to be in your shoes at Vanderbilt or Duke or Wash U. Vanderbilt’s selectivity level is almost as difficult this year as Duke’s. You have a fantastic opportunity. </p>
<p>I hope you choose Vandy and that you make lifelong friends and meet wonderful academic mentors there as my son has in his short two years on campus. </p>
<p>Nice of you to compliment Vanderbilt’s financial aid publically! You must be a great student so best wishes in your dreams and career.</p>
<p>^Thank you for your post and kind wishes! Yes, I have wanted to express my gratitude since last night, when I got the package by Fedex and had to check the aid numbers again and again, to be sure. It was unreal. lol Vandy! Vandy!! Vandy!!! :D</p>
<p>You won’t believe how really lovely Nashville and Vandy are as a team re town/gown. No school is perfect and neither is Vanderbilt but it is a great institution that makes a huge impact for good in its region of the USA and beyond. And you enter Vandy when the student body is incredibly talented. The waitlist looks so much like the admit list, so count your blessings and make it sing for you.</p>
<p>I was stunned with their financial aid as well. I meant to call them today and ask a few questions, but I had to go to work unexpectedly.</p>
<p>WHY is it so high? If it’s need-based, why were they so much more generous than the other schools? NOT that I’m complaining! :)</p>
<p>The questions I’m going to ask:</p>
<p>If I take a second job to help defray the remaining cost, will the grant amount go down? </p>
<p>And, when my other kids graduate from college, will the grant amount go down? If so (and I expect it will), will it go down by exactly each kids’ FAFSA EFC?</p>
<p>Anybody know the answers to these questions already, from their own experiences? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Several years ago, Vanderbilt decided to end all need based loans and replace them with grants and scholarships. So that’s part of the reason why Vanderbilt’s financial aid package is so big. In addition, Vanderbilt has a long history of being one of the most generous upper tier schools when it comes to financial aid.</p>
<p>As far as your other questions, I’m not certain. It probably depends on how much more you will be making. I feel like it also depends on what grants were received. I’m almost positive the amount will go down when your other children graduate.</p>
<p>Their financial aid is truly amazing. They went above and beyond meeting my demonstrated need and their grant is at least $11,000 more than anywhere else. Now the hard part is deciding whether Duke is worth that $11,000 more.</p>
<p>Can anyone here compare their aid at Vandy to aid at Notre Dame? I’m still waiting on financial aid packages from both schools, and they’re my top two choices (of the schools that accepted me haha).</p>
<p>Notre Dame was my first choice back when I was applying but Vanderbilt gave me about twice as much. Even though I got a more prestigious scholarship from Notre Dame.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is a class act, and a godsend to many middle-income kids. I could not be more impressed.</p>
<p>^^Thank you dtotheustin09. Hopefully financial aid packages will decide for me; because at this point, I’m going to have a tough decision between the two.</p>
<p>London Gentleman, you will be happier in football season at Notre Dame but your class at Vanderbilt is truly amazing! Admission rate of 15% includes ED 1 and ED 2 so that means really much lower RD admission rate and off the chart talent in your class. Vanderbilt has made leaps in just six years since my eldest applied. Big Leaps. Awesome leaps. I hope you are visiting to make final decisions. Is Vanderbilt going to expose you to more international students, varied religions and more national based students? Does Notre Dame also offer No Loans All GRants for finanical aid? </p>
<p>I haven’t looked at the demographics at Notre Dame myself. Do you like the idea of graduate schools of law, medicine, business and education on campus? Do you like an early spring and a warm long fall?
Do you like a lot of rain and the risk of tornados? Just kidding but Nashville did get tornados a couple of times… :)</p>
<p>Calibration
Is Duke worth another 44 grand total. That is a tough one. OK…if you are in Biomedical Engineering with a double major in Economics, Duke has a definitely better program…number two ranked in the nation.<br>
Duke may have a few stronger departments. Vanderbilt’s larger classes are still smaller than the larger classes my Duke son had. Vandy is rather intimate in the classroom.</p>
<p>My Vanderbilt son didn’t like Duke enough to apply. He is non Greek and realizes that Nashville offers TONS more for independent students to do on weekends and a lot more to do and see around town or for local internships.<br>
My Duke son went Greek which did define a lot of his weekends in less exciting Durham. He also is a sports aholic so he wouldn’t trade Duke sports for anything. He also actually got to play in the Duke Symphony for four years and frankly, he wasn’t good enough for the Vanderbilt Symphony Orchestra which features more conservatory quality players from Blair.<br>
Both Duke and Vanderbilt mean the world to the regions of the USA they serve and make big impacts locally employing thousands of people and making a big difference in health care.
Congratulations on your wonderful “problem”. Go to Accepted Students days and go with your instincts</p>
<p>Does anyone know how to check the amount of F/A? I cannot find any info about mine. Thanks!</p>
<p>International here - given $50,000 grants. No loans. No work-study, even! I don’t know what Vandy’s policy is for internationals who want a job, but I’m very grateful with free money ;)</p>
<p>I am encouraging all international students who need a significant amount of FA to apply to Vandy as their reach school!</p>
<p>Now if anyone here could explain why their COA is apparently $60,000+? They included an engineering allowance of more than $2,000 - does this include the cost of a laptop?</p>
<p>D also received awesome $49K grant plus $2.5K work study. If she is successful in getting in outside scholarships (she is applying to lots) they will replace work study, up to $2.5K before reducing grant.</p>
<p>We are a middle class family with long commutes for both parents - most of our monthly budget goes to gasoline at this point. This grant is certainly a godsend for us. $8K a year is doable, especially considering the quality of the education.</p>
<p>After seeing this board I am thoroughly dismayed. I received only 3000 dollars of federal grants and 3000 of work study. I got zero grants from Vandy. My family’s total income is 35,000. Has there been some sort of mistake, or is there any explanation for this?</p>
<p>kaitlin01,</p>
<p>The COA includes the laptop and software. I think it may also include money towards other miscellaneous engineering fees. Some of the software is upwards of 10 grand if you’re an individual or small business!</p>
<p>aleader,</p>
<p>It sounds like you only filled out the FAFSA and did not fill out Vanderbilt’s supplemental financial aid form(s). Is this the case?</p>
<p>The other possibility is even though your family has a low total income, they have large assets which is factored into financial aid.</p>
<p>aleader, I suggest you call the financial aid office and ask why your award is so far off what you expected. It might be a question of assets, or maybe a form was mislaid and the award actually is wrong. It is worth a call.</p>
<p>@kaitlin01</p>
<p>Though i’m not sure exactly how it works, there IS a $1,500 allowance for an engineering laptop within the fees.</p>