<p>So I'm in a somewhat unusual situation- this year, I applied to and was accepted to Interlochen Arts Academy for the 2011-2012 school year as a Comparative Arts major. The thing is, at the time I applied, my parents' financial standing was very good- both of them had well-paying, upper middle-class jobs. However, after I sent my application out with the financial aid forms (I didn't apply), my dad lost his job.</p>
<p>The tuition comes up to around 50k after fees, and while I really want to go to Interlochen, I don't want to use up my parents' life savings. They're first-generation immigrants and have no inheritance. It's been my dream to attend Interlochen for a while and I worked extremely hard to get in; however, I don't feel like any child should be such an enormous financial burden on his or her parents. I was wondering what my chances of getting some sort of financial aid or payment agreement were at this point even though the acceptance decision has already been made.</p>
<p>To be honest, you’re in a very tough situation. At many boarding schools, they do not like to give financial aid out to student’s they’ve accepted as full-pay students. My dad said that this was something that the Dean at Phillips Andover talked about during a Day with Andover. </p>
<p>If I were in your position, I would contact the financial aid office at Interlochen and ask them about the possibility of receiving any sort of financial aid. Also, keep in mind that Interlochen does not award full tuition scholarships. Interlochen only awards 80% need-based scholarships. The other 20% you have to make up in merit scholarships, which I doubt you could receive this late in the game. Good luck, and if you wind up at Interlochen, send me a PM. One of my close friends is really interested in Interlochen.</p>
<p>i think pittsburgher is implying that OP is planning to do this next year, and is vetting out what’ll happen. idk if this is the case or not, but either way-- if you applied as a FP applicant and you suddenly apply for FA, i highly doubt this’ll be a pleasant surprise for admissions officers. i’m not sure what the outcome would be, but i doubt it’d be good…</p>
<p>Since your financial circumstances have changed since you first applied, I think that’s at least worth mentioning to Interlochen at this point. It’s certainly a justifiable reason to apply for financial aid. I have a child attending IAA, and they worked with us even after we contested the first financial aid offer. We did not even apply until last June and still had it all worked out just in time for the school year. I feel that they were fair in considering our circumstances. If it’s not too late and they’ll let you, it would be worth filling out that financial aid application. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies. I spoke to Interlochen and they were extremely helpful- they extended my admission acceptance deadline and allowed me to re-apply for financial aid. I’m currently waiting for a decision.</p>
<p>Just checking back out of curiosity, I noticed your last response. So did the financial aid come together in time for you make it into Interlochen for this school year?</p>