<p>I know Vandy has a no-loan policy when awarding students their FA, but can I still take out federal loans to help defray the costs even further?? For some reason, Vandy's FA wasn't particularly good (EFC: 20K, Family income: 90K).</p>
<p>Also, how can I appeal my financial aid? An officer told me there should be a "request for reconsideration" tab in my award, but when I looked online at MyApp VU, it doesn't say that anywhere in my letter. </p>
<p>Yes, you can take out federal Stafford loans. Just talk to the financial aid department and the will help you apply and add it to your package. You can take out the maximum (7500 I think for freshmen? Its a federal guideline, you can Google it), or a lesser amount of your choice.</p>
<p>As far as appeals, it has been traditionally done by sending a letter to the financial aid office. I have not heard of an online “request for reconsideration.” In my experience, they won’t make changes unless you expect your 2014 income to be different than your 2013 income for some reason. It’s worth trying anyway I suppose.</p>
<p>Did you receive better need-based financial aid elsewhere? I found Vanderbilt’s offer to be on par or better than every other need-based offer I received.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt’s the ONLY place I received FA from right now. The rest won’t come until a month later at least (I’m a transfer).</p>
<p>I found it really shocking because it was $5000 more than what the NPC showed me. Something MUST have gone wrong, especially when filing the CSS Profile, and I’m not sure when they’ll receive my IDOC.</p>
<p>What’s the maximum for sophomores?</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, its 7500 for freshman, 6500 for sophomores, 5500 for juniors/seniors.</p>
<p>It is possible that you did something wrong. There are so many confusing and poorly worded questions on the CSS. </p>
<p>@Juvenis that is only their estimate, though! After you send in the tax forms, it’ll be clear how much you have to pay. That way if you messed up on the CSS, they’ll notice it in the tax forms. :)</p>
<p>For my son, our EFC was exactly, I mean to the dollar, as the FAFSA. Excellent aid at Vanderbilt. The Netprice Calculator was the same. But yours does look high to me… Unless your parents own a second home or something…</p>
<p>$5500 freshman, $6500 sophomore, $7500 junior/senior years. </p>
<p>If one or both parents are self-employed, the NPC can yield a result that isn’t representative of the award the student will receive. This is due to the fact that deductions taken on the tax form may be added back into income. </p>
<p>You can always call to find out why your package is different than you thought it would be. They will be honest with you.</p>
<p>Ah, sorry for the bad information-- I had the loan limits backwards. Always verify with Google :P</p>
<p>My parents don’t own a second home.</p>
<p>My dad has a full-time job, but he’s also self-employed on the side, but it’s a tiny business at home and he only makes about $1000/year doing it.</p>