<p>I found this on Princeton's website. For students who have used this before, how accurate is it?</p>
<p>i don't see any website, however if it was on their website then it is probably preety accurate!</p>
<p>here is a link: <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/main/admission-aid/aid/prospective/estimator/%5B/url%5D">http://www.princeton.edu/main/admission-aid/aid/prospective/estimator/</a></p>
<p>go to the BOTTOM of the page</p>
<p>ya, I was just wondering becuase I thought I would always get wayyy more than what the Estimator indicated.</p>
<p>It's pretty accurate. I used it way back to estimate, was pleasantly surprised, and then more than pleasantly surprised when I got a very generous aid package. It probably helped that I am a twin - they definitely consider circumstances like that. </p>
<p>The way I saw it was: sure, Princeton is expensive, but just as expensive as any private school, and a) the aid is much better than everywhere except maybe Harvard and b) the education is the best (yes, better than UMass-Cambridge :p) </p>
<p>My brother is going to UMass-Lowell and will be paying about the same as me, everything included. Which is pretty incredible considering how great Princeton is. :D</p>
<p>If you dont' mind me asking, how much did you get?</p>
<p>I thought the financial aid estimator was pretty accurate. I was also pleasantly surprised by my financial aid package...definitely the best of the 10 schools I was accepted to. Yale's package was pretty good, but the nice thing about Princeton is that they don't expect you to take out a lot of loans to finance your undergrad education.</p>
<p>Very accurate. Our aid package (from P) was acually better than the estimator. Other comparable schools gave less due to home equity factor.</p>
<p>My package was also better than the estimator said. Considering Princeton was pretty much the only school that offered me more than a small loan, I think that their process is pretty sound.</p>
<p>Actually JTC007, Princeton has the best financial aid period. Don't you love our school?</p>
<p>ok, that's good to know then. It seems like, however, that most people got a little more from Princeton than what the estimator predicated. But same amounts from other schools.</p>
<p>The estimator applies only to Princeton. For me, it was dead on accurate.</p>
<p>You cannot use the early estimator to predict your financial aid packages from other universities. Those will vary widely depending on that school's policy.</p>
<p>I agree with the sentiment that Princeton's financial aid is the best in the country. It's cheaper for me to attend Princeton than to attend my state university! I love that I'll be graduating completely debt free, along with the great majority of my fellow classmates.</p>
<p>The package only includes tuition fees huh? I know someone who got a full ride though.</p>
<p>Let's say you're in the most desparate of financial situations and have a expected family contribution of $0. This generally applies to families that make less than $40,000 a year, and/or have siblings in college, and/or have extrenuating circumstances such as high medical bills. Your freshman year package will be similar to the following:</p>
<p>You pay:
Parental contribution: $0
Summer savings (can be replaced by half-grant/half-loan in case you don't make this much money): $1400
Student's assets: 5% of the money in your bank accounts and investments, if you have any
Work-study (Princeton provides a job for you though you're welcome to find your own): $2000</p>
<p>Your student budget includes:
Tuition: $33,000
Roam and Board: $11,000
Books and Personal: $3,300
Student Health Plan: $1,000
Travel: $700
Other: $3000</p>
<p>Total: $52,000</p>
<p>So, Princeton will cover the ENTIRE difference between the student budget and what you can afford to pay in GRANTS.</p>
<p>$52,000 - $3400 = $48,600 in financial aid (of the grant variety)</p>
<p>Pretty sweet, right? So, any student worried about being able to afford Princeton shouldn't be!</p>
<p>sorry, but no one (especially not Harvard) has as amazing a financial aid program as Princeton. No loan - - ever. Harvard, Yale, and any other school that has "good aid" is usually talking loans...so be my guest and be paying off your education 20-30 years down the line! ha, ya Princeton is awesome.</p>
<p>westcoastlove I got almost 24,000, which is pretty remarkable considering my family makes above 100K. </p>
<p>And yes, abiste, I love Princeton! :p</p>
<p>I love Princeton too!! From day one of college application season/thought (aka like 3 years ago) my parents always said that I shouldn't even apply to Princeton because we would never be able to afford it...and then when my dad got a new job they were like "well forget even more so now, we have too much to qualify for financial aid."</p>
<p>But they gave me a perfect financial aid package and I'm so excited that it's better financially for me to attend Princeton than it is for me to attend my state school!!</p>
<p>This isn't directly related to Princeton, but it is related to what j07 said. I have a friend who applied to a lot of elite LACs (Williams, Amherst, Wellesley, Smith, etc.) as well as UMass-Amherst (she isn't in-state but it was still the only public school on her list). Well, lo and behold, when all was said and done with FA, UMass was the only school she <em>couldn't</em> afford, a completely unexpected scenario! FA at so many of these schools is SO good these days.</p>
<p>Yea the only hard part is getting in :p</p>
<p>haha yup JTC007 I totally agree!</p>
<p>Oh wow, Princeton's aid is like the best then. REALLY REALLY applying now!</p>
<p>Could you guys recommend some other schools that have good financial aid WITHOUT too much loans? I thought Harvard and Yale also have top aid programs, but apparently, they rely on loans more.</p>
<p>buuuummmmppp anyone?</p>