Financial aid - BEWARE out of state applicants.

<p>William and Mary's financial aid for out-of-state applicants is VERY different than in state.
If you are not a VA resident, call Mr. Irish to find out the "un-published" out-of-state financial aid policy.</p>

<p>This isn’t sketchy at all.</p>

<p>Who is Mr. Irish? And did he kill Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with a candlestick?</p>

<p>Mr. Irish is head of Financial Aid at William and Mary. The post is not meant to be sketchy, it’s just based on the personal experience.</p>

<p>Oh, ok! Sorry for the joke :)</p>

<p>I am an out of state student, but I do not qualify for aid, much to my parents’ dismay.</p>

<p>Can you please share? What did you find out Chessie?</p>

<p>I thought it was common knowledge that OOS students get much less aid? I went in not expecting much, so I wasn’t that surprised when I found out I couldn’t afford to attend.</p>

<p>There isn’t an unpublished policy for out-of-state students. It’s not a secret that some of the grants W&M receives are from the state and therefore can only be given to VA residents. That’s why we can generally meet 100% of an in-state student’s demonstrated need but only 80% of an out-of-state student’s need. Both the Admission and Financial Aid Offices fully disclose this when asked.</p>

<p>Don’t forget that since the state is contributing less and less to institutions of higher education, W&M needs to charge higher tuition and give less aid to OOS students so they can give in-state students better financial aid to satisfy the state politicitians who cut that funding in the first place.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that higher tuition is being paid by both in-state and out-of-state students. Yes in-state students pay considerably less but their tuition is on the rise also.</p>

<p>And it’s not that we are now giving less aid than we formerly did to OOS students, it’s simply that some of the resources we have cannot be allocated to out-of-state students. We are certainly aware of the disparity in availability of need-based aid to OOS students and scholarships to all students in general and that is certainly a focus of this institution as we move forward with fundraising efforts and our new strategic plan.</p>

<p>In my experience, as an admitted student, W&M did not even come close to 80% need. The policy cited by admissions would be more believable if some student who actually received the published policy came forward and posted on line.</p>

<p>Chessie, what are you talking about when you say “need”? There is often a huge gap between what families believe their level of need is and “need” as defined by colleges. Is your family able to pay its EFC, as determined by the FAFSA?</p>

<p>also, not very many W&M applicants out of the 11,000 post on this website, so I don’t think you can get a representative sample here.</p>

<p>frazzled makes an excellent point. The FAFSA is a federal government form that determines what your family’s EFC is and what your demonstrated need is. Oftentimes what the FAFSA determines a family’s need to be is different from what the family believes it is (that’s because the federal government doesn’t incorporate personal choices into need calculation) or hopes it will be. </p>

<p>Once the FAFSA calculates a family’s EFC, we subtract that from the cost of tuition for W&M and that’s the family’s need for W&M. We try to meet 80% of that demonstrated need as calculated with the help of the FAFSA for OOS students. That doesn’t mean that every OOS student who applies for aid gets that full 80% just like not every Virginian gets 100% of their demonstrated need. Oftentimes additional verification and documentation might provide the Financial Aid Office with additional information that helps to shape an aid package.</p>

<p>Out of State “0” EFC’er here… got about 25% need met, though verification form shows close to a million dollars in family debt. The Financial Aid office said my parents could borrow $30,000+ to cover the gap…</p>

<p>'twas really excited about putting down my deposit this weekend when another OOS’er with a similar EFC had much more need met, so I figured I might be in good shape. I realize now that aid packages can’t be compared.</p>

<p>It saddens me to say that I will not be attending my dream school after all.</p>

<p>Good luck to the rest of you OOS’ers.</p>

<p>I’d give you my grants if I could, lol. I still can’t afford it!</p>

<p>All students should keep in mind that Financial Aid is not simply formulaic. There are a lot of factors to consider and unfortunately, many things that prohibit a family from financing a college education are not expenses the federal government allows us to consider when putting together an aid package. Many are considered choices or personal responsibilities and not things we can consider when awarding aid. We realize that that still doesn’t make paying for college easier but sometimes are hands are tied just as yours are.</p>

<p>Godric, again we’re sorry that W&M did not end up being the best financial option for you and your family and we wish you all the best.</p>

<p>The college stalled me for a month about how my FAFSA form had a single mistake and it took around a month for me to find it and correct it. They also told my parents to visit the US Embassy where I live to fix the problem (the problem was about social security numbers) - even though the solution had nothing to do with the Embassy. No other college gave me this problem.</p>

<p>Then, after assuring me that they had every information needed, they asked my parents for additional information a day before the deadline.</p>

<p>A week after the deadline and a day before the enrollment deadline, they finally decided to give me my financial aid information and it was only a 3000 dollar grant with around 6000 dollars of loan. My parents make around 30 thousand a year so there’s no way in hell I can afford it. Maybe if we would have been able to fix the problem earlier, I would’ve been able to come.</p>

<p>Now I have to go to UMass Amherst even though I don’t really want to go since it’s not a very good school. It really hurts to know that I can’t attend a school just because the financial aid office is incompetent.</p>

<p>you put the wrong social security numbers on your application?</p>

<p>No, turns out I just missed my father’s first initial. It could’ve been solved in a single moment if they just told me that.</p>

<p>Don’t feel bad about UMass. I was close to going there as an in-stater because of money but W&M gave me enough that I have what is essentially in-state tuition there. Initially I just thought of UMass as a safety that was totally undesirable, but after visiting and reading and talking to people, I realized it can give you opportunities just as good as anywhere else can and I was becoming very excited about it before I got the aid from W&M, and even then it was tough. I got into 5 great schools and I don’t think any less of UMass than I do of W&M, or even Carnegie Mellon. There are people from my HS going there who also got into Tufts and WashU. There are plenty of smart people, both students and professors, and a massive alumni network that will help you out later on. Plus, if you take advantage of the Consortium, you can take classes at Amherst and 3 other great schools.</p>

<p>If you go to UMass thinking it will suck, it will suck. If you go in with an open mind and a positive attitude, you can find a great education and overall experience right there in front of you.</p>