<p>According to college board's financial aid calculator, the amount of money that my family would be expected to pay is more than we can afford so if I got accepted( if I got the amount that college board says i will) i will not be able to attend </p>
<p>I was just wondering about the scholarships given by Rice and how stingy or not they are in giving money. How accurate is that calculator compared to the actual scholarships given?</p>
<p>I would say Rice is fairly generous in their financial aid offers (more so than schools like WashU, Duke, Emory, Vandy, etc.). If they do not give you enough fin aid, then explain your family’s situation and they will probably increase it. Also, it appears that Rice is good at matching other schools’ offers too.</p>
<p>Rice is doing lots more merit aid, so you could probably apply for scholarships from Rice.</p>
<p>^Clarification, everyone is automatically considered for their merit scholarships so that there is no separate application for them.</p>
<p>I got extremely generous aid. In fact, I am paying about half of how much a couple other schools I was considering wanted from me. Of course, the specific amounts will vary by situation, but they are very generous.</p>
<p>The College Board web site has some basic statistics about financial aid at Rice. I think these statistics are for the class of 2012. (You should compare these numbers with other schools on the web site.)</p>
<pre><code>* Full-time freshman enrollment: 789
Number who applied for need-based aid: 679
Number who were judged to have need: 275
Number who were offered aid: 275
Number who had full need met: 275
Average percent of need met: 100%
Average financial aid package: $31,863
Average need-based loan: $896
Average need-based scholarship or grant award: $28,392
Average non-need based aid: $9,589
Average indebtedness at graduation: $11,108
</code></pre>
<p>Our experience was that financial aid calculations by colleges were consistent. If you have used a financial aid calculator that indicates a high parental contribution, that’s the reality.</p>
<p>There’s built-in financial aid at Rice because the tuition is lower than other top private schools. Beyond that, don’t assume too much about academic scholarships, financial aid, and matching offers from other schools. Rice attracts outstanding students.</p>
<p>There are some good rules-of-thumb about financial aid at top schools. One is half the students typically pay list price. Another is that many of these students could get academic scholarships at lower ranked schools but choose to attend top schools.</p>
<p>[Financial</a> Aid at Rice University](<a href=“http://financialaid.rice.edu/main.aspx?id=62]Financial”>http://financialaid.rice.edu/main.aspx?id=62)</p>
<p>Merit aid at Rice is generous – you don’t apply for it, it’s assigned by the
admissions office during the selection process.</p>
<p>Son (now happily ensconsed in state flagship) was offered very generous merit aid at Rice, his first choice. Unfortunately, it still left us wondering how we would pay the remaining 50% COA over four years. We were also aware that while the merit aid was a fixed, renewable amount, the remaining costs would continue to rise.</p>
<p>I have no idea how others’ awards may or may not have been negotiated but I can assure you that Rice did not budge while we tried to negotiate. Son was offered the Cornelius Vanderbilt full-tuition + scholarship at Vandy, yet Rice did not attempt to match/come close/modify their original offer at all. Vanderbilt was just not the right fit. Son (and us) did all but beg Rice for reconsideration, corresponding with anyone and everyone that might have had influence but it was to no avail.</p>
<p>My advice is to give it your best shot. You may get everything you want/need, or you may not and there will be other options. In the interim, it would be good to look for outside scholarships that could supplement any potential school-based merit offers. We will always take pride in the offers son received and we now also take great pride in him as he is “blossoming where planted” and taking full advantage of all the wonderful opportunities at his current school.</p>
<p>it says on the web that rice will meet 100% need for families whose income is less than 80k. does it apply for international students?</p>