<p>Has anyone received a tentative FinAid Package? Was it better/worse than you expected?</p>
<p>I got mine today. It was good I suppose. No idea how they calculated it but my parents are okay with it. I don't particularly enjoy the prospects of earning but 2.6k this summer but it'll be worth it.</p>
<p>Joey,</p>
<p>It is not personal, every one has to earn a student contribution (it will be adjusted junior year to reflect sophmore summer). Glad that you parents can live with the package.</p>
<p>Was your EFC on the package higher than that on the FAFSA?</p>
<p>Higher on the Dartmouth one but that's because I think they used the pre-corrected version of my FAFSA maybe? Not sure. It's not final though</p>
<p>Should we wait until we receive the final package in April and packages from other schools before calling to "deal"?</p>
<p>One question... why does dartmouth send out tentative fin aid packages? It seems that such a package would be the same thing as notifying applicants early... Congrats to everyone who received it though!:D</p>
<p>Another question, does the tentative package take into account Section P of the CSS? My family's unpaid medical expenses for this year is almost as high as my EFC on the package, and was higher than my FAFSA EFC...</p>
<p>Hi dyx,</p>
<p>this is going to be long so hang in there...</p>
<p>As you know, Dartmouth uses a combination of FM (federal methodology) and IM (institutional methodology) in calculating your EFC</p>
<p>Differences between the IM and FM models include:</p>
<p>IM collects information on estimated academic year family income, medical expenses, elementary and secondary school tuition and unusual circumstances. FM omits these questions.</p>
<p>IM considers a fuller range of family asset information, while FM ignores assets of siblings, all assets of certain families with less than $50,000 of income, and both home and family farm equity.</p>
<p>FM defines income as the adjusted gross income on federal tax returns, plus various categories of untaxed income. IM includes in total income any paper depreciation, business, rental or capital losses which artificially reduce adjusted gross income.</p>
<p>FM does not assume a minimum student contribution to education; IM expects the student, as primary beneficiary of the education, to devote some time each year to earning money to pay for education.</p>
<p>FM ignores the noncustodial parent in cases of divorce or separation; IM expects parents to help pay for education, regardless of current marital status.</p>
<p>FM and IM apply different percentages to adjust the parental contribution when multiple siblings are simultaneously enrolled in college, and IM considers only siblings enrolled in undergraduate programs.</p>
<p>The IM expected family share represents a best estimate of a familys capacity (relative to other families) to absorb, over time, the costs of education. It is not an assessment of cash on hand, a value judgment about how much a family should be able to use current income, or a measure of liquidity. The final determinations of demonstrated need and awards rest with the University and are based upon a uniform and consistent treatment of family circumstances.</p>
<p>Except in the most extraordinary circumstances, Colleges classifies incoming students as dependent upon parents for institutional aid purposes, even though some students may meet the federal definition of independence.</p>
<p>Students enrolling as dependent students are considered dependent throughout their undergraduate years when need for institutional scholarships is determined.</p>
<p>For institutional aid purposes a student may not declare independence due to attainment of legal age, internal family arrangements, marriage or family disagreements.</p>
<p>Your COA (cost of attendance) is tuition, room board, books travel expenses and some misc. expenses associated with attending Dartmouth.</p>
<p>While you may have had unpaid medical expenses (were they also reflected on your parent's recent tax return?) you may have a lot of assets as far as savings, stocks, investments, or equity in your home as the reason you may not see it reflected in your EFC. Given those same assets, had your family not had these unpaid medical expenses, your EFC may have been higher.</p>
<p>I am attaching the link to Dartmouth Financial aid handbook</p>
<p>If you and your parents truly beleive that Dartmouth have not considered these expenses, when you get your package, request a financial review explaining your situation.</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>sybbie719, thanks for the LARGE, but helpful, amount of information. The unpaid medical expenses were not reflected on the tax return (but indicated on corrected CSS), both my parents and my savings accounts do not even amount to 5000, we still owe about 30000 on our home, and we have no stocks, investments, etc. When the loans, student employment, parent contributions, etc. are added up, they amount to double my FAFSA EFC, and about 5 times as much as the calculator on Dartmouth's website (which uses the IM so that prob. doesn't matter)</p>
<p>Should I wait until I receive my final package in April before calling, esp. if I get lucky enough to be admitted into another school of D's caliber with a better package, and see if D will match it. (I sent in my corrected CSS in late Feb, and the aid letter is dated 3 days ago so I'm not sure whether the package takes into account the changes on the CSS)</p>
<p>senidng you a PM</p>