financial aid for the next 3 years

<p>Hi. My son was accepted to NYU Stern School with a very good financial aid package. Does anyone know if all things stay the same financially and with other kids in college if NYU offers the same package? I know someone who attend U of Chicago and the amount offered every year goes down even though his finances haven't change. I'm afraid that he will go the first year and then he will not be able to afford it the next 3 years.</p>

<p>You may want to ask this question in the “Financial Aid and Scholarships” section as well to get additional responses/insight.
I’m glad you asked this question, because I have been wondering the same thing as well.</p>

<p>And congrats to your son on his acceptance!</p>

<p>The grant aid can go down as the student loan limit rises. Freshman can only take out 5500 dollars in loans but that goes up to 6500 Sophomore year and then 7500 for junior and senior year. I can’t speak for NYU but I know that D’s financial letter from her top pick says up front that the “self-help” portion of her aid package does increase along with the student loan cap. For us, that is OK as the overall package is strong enough for us to limit her loans in general but it is something to consider.</p>

<p>Also consider how they handle outside scholarship money. At D’s future school, that money is first credited towards the “self-help” portion. That can help keep any needed loans or loan increases down to a minimum. </p>

<p>Thanks for the information. My son received 2 scholarships in his package - Stern and Robert Klein. I’m hearing different information about the scholarships automatically being renewed regardless of financial changes in family. The admissions counselor said they were renewable automatically for 4 years, but then sent me a link that said they should be, but might depend on financial changes. Some people have posted that they had to keep calling the financial aid office to get them renewed. Why do they call them scholarships instead of grants if they are not automatically renewed like other schools?</p>

<p>Scholarship and grant are the same thing. Need-based aid is also called scholarship and grant (a surprise to many people). They are all free money. Some specific scholarships require students to maintain minimum GPA. Need-based aid does not.</p>

<p>My S was accepted in WashU with a very nice Scholarship ($40K) per year. However, this scolarship is need-based and is not guaranteed in the same amount every year, if at all. When I talked with the financial aid officer, I was informed that the high $ amount of my scholarship was due to exceesive medical bills I had during the year. She also informed me that when my D (a college senior) graduates in 2015, my S’s scholarship will be greatly decreased if I do not have other kids in college. </p>