I got into Northeastern early action, and in January I received my financial “aid” package. I was given nothing other than the merit scholarship for $20,000 that I had already earned. This is extremely upsetting, because Northeastern is by far my first choice, but I am unable to afford the remaining $47,000 per year - this is over double my expected family contribution. I am confused because Northeastern, as far as I knew, meets 100% of need and its average gift aid is around $40,000. I contacted my financial aid rep, who said this was the best they could do, but that I could fill out an asset form and be re-evaluated. I don’t think my father has sent that in yet, but regardless, I know it won’t help because my assets are not the issue - there are other unaccounted for expenses that would make this impossible to pay. I was thinking of having a guidance counselor with Northeastern connections at my school contact the financial aid office, but is there a better way of getting any more aid? At this point, if I could get about $20,000 more per year, I would readily attend the university.
A couple thousand maybe. $20,000 no. Where did you read that the average gift aid was $40,000? That is not true. What was your NU NPC EFC? The FAFSA EFC is irrelevant at a CSS profile school.
I agree it’s unlikely that a college will give you an additional $80k. Do you have any acceptances from affordable colleges?
@TomSrOfBoston I’m not sure, but as I said I have extenuating circumstances that would not have been taken into account by that anyway so it wouldn’t have been a reliable figure with regards to how much I need. As for how much aid they give, I stand corrected. It’s about $32,000 in gift aid for freshmen. But it still does say 100% of need is met, and another school I got into that used the CSS profile was about $12,000 cheaper.
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=456
@austinmshauri
And yeah, I figured they wouldn’t give me that much. I guess I was hoping that someone on here had an inside scoop and knew how I could make that possible. I do have acceptances from somewhat affordable colleges, but they were last on my list and I’m kinda depressed about the whole situation
It would depend on the extenuating circumstances. Uninsured medical expenses is a valid deduction. Paying private high school tuition for your siblings, a mortgage on a second home, legal expenses etc. will not be valid. Investment real estate also hurts your ability to get aid. These circumstances are normally included in the CSS.
There is no inside scoop or magic. Northeastern and other colleges that meet 100% do so using their own calculations.
A large part of the extenuating circumstances is almost $20,000 in medical billls. I did report that, but I’m not sure if I can emphasize that in another way
@TomSrOfBoston On the subject of “extenuating circumstances” do you think an un-reported family disability could lead to a large increase in financial aid? I have a sister with medical issues and a learning disability who can’t support herself and as a result my parents have to contribute to her, but that wasn’t included on my CSS.
@noochilised , If these costs are documented, I would definitely talk to your FA counselor.
Who should be having such discussions with the University? The student or a parent?
Parent in my opinion.
As @tomofboston mentioned. NU, like many schools, that purport to meet 100% need do so by their own calculations. they determine your need. Many times it is in conflict with what you perceive your need to be.
I think you are an exceptional candidate to 1) get accepted, and 2) receive an $80K scholarship to attend. You got a great package from them but I totally understand your inability to pay. My son is in the same boat at Bentley. We as a family just cannot pay what they want us to pay. I agree with Tom that they might throw a few thousand more your way but I highly doubt they will toss another $80K. NU has thousands of kids lining up to full pay on the wishlist’s. Not really an incentive for them to give you more aid. Personally, I think you got a fantastic package. That is close to 1/2 tuition no?
@MassDaD68 it’s close to half of the tuition, but it’s less than a third of the total cost of attendance. It is a good package relative to what others might be getting, but considering the fact that my family can’t even meet my fafsa efc (my parents met with a financial advisor on Thursday, who said we could pay max $6,000 per year) it is both unwise and impossible to pay the remaining amount as is. I am willing to take out loans, but the cost would need to go down substantially
NU is very expensive. Just the way it is. Your right when you compare the 20K to the COA. It sure does shrink in comparison.