<p>My daughter is only a sophomore in HS, but she's already enamored with Whitman and is talking about applying early decision if she feels the same way in another year and a half. My question is purely affordability. I have an older daughter who's a freshman at Lewis and Clark this year. L&C offered excellent financial aid -- both a merit scholarship and a good needs based grant. We are not poor, so we don't qualify for complete aid, but we're solidly middle class and everyone knows tuition and costs are absurd, especially with two kids in school. Does anyone have experience with Whitman's financial aid, particularly the possibility of a merit scholarship? How does early decision affect that? I know things might be different by the time my younger daughter applies, but I'd like to start planning a bit now. Thanks.</p>
<p>According to Whitman’s Common Data Set, approximately 30% of the student body has a non-need based scholarship, with an average award of $10,686.</p>
<p>Usual calculations (FAFSA) for EFC take into consideration the number of family members in college at the same time.</p>
<p>Hope this is helpful.</p>
<p>My son loves Whitman and applied E.D.II and was admitted. We are in the position of being too wealthy for help this year, but not wealthy enough to afford it without substantial pain. My son received no aid other than the possibility of a $2,500 loan. While a strong candidate, he was not a strong enough student for any form of merit scholarship from Whitman. He did receive a substantial merit scholarship offer from another school listed in Colleges that Change Lives that pursued him after he visited the campus last fall. Basically, my understanding of merit scholarships is kind of common sense, i.e., the more selective the school, the better the student must be to obtain an academic scholarship. We opted for the higher level school rather than money to attend a solid, but lower level school.</p>
<p>I spoke to the admissions officer at Whitman who said that the picture would be different once my other child starts college two years from now, but then there are no guarantees as what the different picture might bring in terms of aid. In the meantime, I am simply preparing to bite the bullet for the amputation of my extremities (the arm and the leg) that it will cost to send my son to Whitman, and will do what I can as long as he truly loves it. However, if he is not in love with it after his first year, we may be looking at transferring to a UC because we cannot afford the cost for a casual relationship with the college. That said, my hope is that he will love it - my financial suffering will be somewhat offset by his pleasure in the undergraduate experience at Whitman, which appears to be a perfect fit. </p>
<p>Also, while we do not plan to back out, I understand Whitman’s E.D.program acknowledges that the acceptance of the offer of admission is contingent upon the applicant’s financial need being met; i.e., if the financial aid is not sufficient you can back out and pursue other options. We applied E.D. because we did not anticipate that the financial aid picture would be substantially better at other LAC’s of Whitman’s caliber and wanted to enhance his chances of admission. </p>
<p>I also understand that my alma mater, Yale, and some of the other Ivies, Stanford and so forth have much better financial aid for middle class families. However, my kids do not have a shot of getting into those Universities (nor would I if I were applying today). </p>
<p>Anyway, I feel your pain and good luck with daughter number two.</p>
<p>Great response, Bogney!</p>
<p>We are also in the middle ground of making too much for need-based aid, but not so much that costs don’t matter. DS, a freshman at Whitman, received similar merit scholarship offers from all of the LACs that he applied to, including Whitman. Any differences seemed to be due to the selectivity of the school (as Bogney mentioned) and the “geographic diversity” he would add to the campus.</p>
<p>ETA: Just last week we received a letter from Whitman reminding us that we could reapply for need-based aid this year even though we didn’t qualify last year.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your replies. We wouldn’t be able to afford Lewis & Clark for my older daughter if it weren’t for the meirt aid. Other schools, though perhaps more prestigious, didn’t offer anything equivalent. I’m already dreading the thought of two tuition bills, but as you say, we do whatever we can – and Whitman really does sound lovely. (It’s ironic that I turned Whitman down for Carleton 30 years ago, but now I wouldn’t be able to afford Carleton. Yes, they give need based aid, but not enough.)</p>
<p>Westcoaster:</p>
<p>Had I heard of Whitman back in the day, and had I been more interested in education than prestige back then, I would have applied. After visiting, I joked with my son that I wanted to join him there next year, but I have to keep working to pay the bills. We inquired about Lewis and Clark too, and it is a very good school in a nice city, but they did not have the tennis team that my son wants. </p>
<p>Now, the tennis plan may be in jeopardy because he hurt his hip two weeks ago and will be seeing the doctor tomorrow. He had been playing great. We have no idea how serious it is or how long he might be out of tennis, but he already missed 16 months from late sophomore year through his junior year with growth related shoulder and elbow issues followed by mashing his big toe, so we are concerned. He’s grown 8" in the last year and half and he towers over me now, and I am a bit over 6’ tall. The health issues wiped out his plans for D-I tennis because he couldn’t play enough to earn a top ranking because of all of the time on the shelf. The silver lining was top academic performance his junior year and first semester senior year - a clear upward trend from freshman year.</p>
<p>Now, for all we know, the new injury could jeopardize his tennis plans at Whitman. Part of the reason we were willing to pay a premium to go there was the excellent D-III tennis program to go along with the top notch academics, and small classes. The way I look at it is that even if the tennis at Whitman is delayed, two out of three ain’t bad! I hope that Whitman will be a good investment of a huge chunk of money in my son, but time will tell and may show that we should’ve taken the money offered by the other college. The bottom line is that we can do our best to project, but we can’t foresee. </p>
<p>Anyway, it is good to hear from others struggling with similar issues on the theory that misery loves company!</p>
<p>We received a very generous financial aid packet from Whitman - no merit aid. Our F/A covers our kid’s tuition (not loans). Obviously we had a great deal of need, but that’s the beauty of a need blind school as they didn’t hold it against us.</p>
<p>Another advantage to Whitman: set out there in the wheat-fields, there is less to distinguish a kid with less money from a rich kid. My Whittie has friends with parents with zero EFC, and parents with family names you would recognize. Doesn’t make much difference on campus.</p>
<p>We received a package that combined merit awards and some loans. My daughter is now a senior about to graduate. We have always found the financial office to be reasonable and willing to talk or make adjustments. Last year my husband lost his job and Whitman gave her a really generous package. She has worked on campus all four years, about 10-15 hours per week as part of the deal. One advantage to going to school in WW is that the cost of food and housing is substantially lower than in many big cities. Living off-campus after her first two years (one in the dorm, and then one in an interest house) she has been able to actually pay her own rent. She has had her own room both years. Her rent is less than half of what friends pay in comparable places in Santa Cruz ($6-700), and one third of what one friend pays for a room in a house in Brooklyn ($900+).</p>
<p>There is no question that if our daughter had gone to a UC school (we are in the East Bay) her education for 4 years would have cost us more.</p>
<p>My D aplied to many colleges, and has narrowed her decision to 3. Of the three, Whitman offered the least aid and would be the most expensive (by more than $10K). Nonetheless, there is a bright side to the fin aid package. All of the money she has been offered is in the form of merit aid, and is renewable. This is an important consideration, at least for us. While I’m not ecstatic about the total amount of the offer, I like Whitman enough that I’m trying to justify paying the extra $40K over four years. Ultimately, I’ve told her that we will do whatever is necessary to send her to the college of her choice. If she chooses Whitman we will be very proud parents, but I will also contact the fin aid office to see if we can make it a little more affordable.</p>