<p>What kind of financial aid do freshmen and sophomores recieve? Is it a good amount freshman year- if needed? And does it shrink dramatically sophomore year?</p>
<p>Dartmouth gives need based financial aid and will meet 100% of your financial need. There is no set amount because everyone has different financial situations.</p>
<p>Basically need is calculated as </p>
<p>Cost of attendance
minus Expected Family contribution (what your parents are suppose to pay based on the FAFSA /CSS Profile and the amount you are suppose to contribute through summer earnings)
= need</p>
<p>The cost of attendance is approx $42,000/ yr</p>
<p>the school as a financial aid calculator which you can run your numbers through and it will be pretty close.</p>
<p>I have had sooooo many problems with the financial aid office. So much red tape. And the thing about meeting 100% of your "need" is very misleading, since it's need as determined by then. Basically they shake you down for every imaginable cent. I had to try to find ways to hide money! I kept all of my summer earnings in cash.</p>
<p>But the cost is worth it.</p>
<p>Yes, there can be a big difference between what you determine your need to be and what the school determines your need to be.</p>
<p>Well it really depends on your FAFSA and CSS. They will give you as much as the FAFSA and CSS tell them you need. I think that the real issue is that there are a lot of hidden fees that aren't reflected in the tuition/room and board that add up to be a lot.</p>
<p>like what? And how much do they usually add up to?</p>
<p>When we did the calculator, there originial package came out pretty close to what they estimated. However D was also accepted at Williams who gave her a better package which Darrtmouth matched.</p>
<p>I haven't found there to be a lot of hidden fees, as so far everything seems to be in line (the estimated cost of books, the computer etc), but this is just our first term. My daughter has been given a budget for the term and has really done better than I have expected because whitht he exception of the cost of her ticket to come home for thanksgiving, I have not needed to send her any additional monies. Her biggest complaint is that I placed money on her Dash and she said that there is really no place to spend dash with the exception of her laundry and cereal is $5 a box. </p>
<p>Athena, my question would be is there a big gap between the award given in freshman year and subsequent years? Thanks</p>
<p>Well my case was sort of unusual in that my dad had retired the year before I started, and once he started working again our situation was different.</p>
<p>There was a slight decrease, but I think that had more to do with my dad's employment situation.</p>
<p>One word of advice is that while financial aid is not very flexible with their aid package, the cashier's office (student accounts) is flexible about payment plans if you are patient and willing to work with them. Just work it out in advance, or else you'll have a situation where your daughter can't check in for the term. Which I can tell you from first hand experience is a NIGHTMARE of anxiety; not a good way to start a term.</p>
<p>Oh, about Dash. Dash is good for buying non-essential items in Topside like magazines, blank CDs, stuff like that. Also, the vending machines in Novack use Dash which is good for late night studying since that area is open 24 hours. And after awhile you'll notice that if you want to buy things like tickets to events/concerts, or if a group is selling t-shirts or something, they all take Dash. If she joins a sorority, you can even pay sorority dues in Dash. So trust me, it will be used eventually! I used very little my freshman fall.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the insight</p>
<p>The financial aid package seems to be pretty much in line with expectation, online calculator and FAFSA/CSS Profile and every other schools of equal cost that promised to meet a substantial portion, if not all, of financial need [as they determine it]. The CSS Profile takes into account much more in the way of assets than the FAFSA and can cause some surprises. Calculated family expected contribution is pretty set - Dartmouth will meet the difference with a package made up, in varying proportions of: outright scholarship (ie grant), work study and student loans. To the extent you recieve outside scholarships, Dartmouth first applies them to reduce the loan portion of your package, then the workstudy portion and only after that, the grant portion. This is similar to the general practice of need blind schools. For our family, the cost of attending Dartmouth did not amount to vastly more, out of pocket, than that of attending our slightly expensive state schools. We have found the financial aid office very open and cooperative.</p>