FA at Art Schools/Not Merit

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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<p>I’ve been looking at other threads about F/A which is a similar issue whether it is art school or regular college/university. I was a beneficiary of lots of financial aid and the basic principles have not changed much, at least after reading in CC.</p>

<p>The EFC is a single number for the student, then this is compared to the cost of attending (COA) each school. Then, the gap is analyzed. certain federal programs immediately kick in (ie everybody is eligible for basic loan) and then the pell grants, federal work study, etc. depending on the size of the gap and the family EFC. Still there is often a remaining gap even with gaps and loans. So…schools with big endowments can offer to meet the gap (full FA met) or try to meet the gap with school grants, loans, work programs, and tuition reductions…schools without big endowments generally try to spread the money relatively evenly but make more of an effort when the gap is large. They know that for some of the families, the EFC, underestimates what they actually can pay (certain assets don’t show there…such as 529 plan set up by grandparents, and savy parents who have hidden savings in mattress). On the other hand, some families look to be able to contribute more on paper than they really can or will. So…it is very imperfect and crude system. That is why most of the threads point out that if your student is very good fit with the school and there is a substantial “gap” talk to the school now, explain why the gap is large, ask about alternatives to federal loans… It is not really that different a strategy than the merit aid issue…schools try to spread their funds out in a way that maximizes their intake of students AND intake of tuition and since they know the FA system is imperfect, only the richest schools will offer to meet the gap fully…the schools with moderate endowments (ie prestigious art schools) hope if they offer FA that meets part of the gap, the student will find the remaining money==take it out of the mattress, gramps will contribute, families will take a second mortgage…and…the students that really can’t close the gap between EFC and FA but really want to come, those students will try to make a case for themselves and ask for a review of FA and merit aid awards.</p>

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<p>FAMom: The last part is what we’ll almost certainly be doing. We’re waiting for the acceptances and the aid packages, and then we’ll almost certainly have to follow up with polite requests to get rid of any gap in the best package. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, daughter cannot accept any FA package that includes PLUS loans.</p>

<p>Is it bad to think of Merit scholarships as a measure of the school’s interest in her? I mean, one of the schools has provided what is for them a very generous merit award, but the rest of the package has only $1400 in need-based institutional grants.</p>

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<p>prize up to 250K anyone over 18
<a href=“http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=37555[/url]”>http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=37555&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;