Financial Aid from Tulane

<p>Max, you should call them about that! When we noticed that one of our items was marked “received, review pending” I was never sure if it actually had not been reviewed, or it had been reviewed and just not marked reviewed. Have yet to hear about Tulane need-based aid. Now I am wondering if there will be any. My son got nothing but loans from Umass as an in-state student, though he would probably have qualified for a tuition scholarship (Adams, Koplik & there may be others) If you are considering UMass Amherst you should check into those. You may need an SATII or AP test score to satisfy the requirements, so you might want to check soon.</p>

<p>Alright yeah I left them a message today and they’ve yet to call back just wondering if anyone else expireced the same thing. And with Umass, I did get the Adams scholarship but I have no intentions of going there. Tulane’s my first choice. I was just shocked that I got almost identical need badsed grants at my instate (actully got a few hundred more from Umass) versus Tulane. I’m hoping they didnt see my CSS and its an error on their part and my aid will go up.</p>

<p>max310…My son did have a problem with his css profile being reviewed. After calling and emailing we found out that his social security number on his css profile did not match all the other documents and that was what was delaying his aid to post. As soon as we gave them the correct social his aid posted the next day. I went back and checked the css profile on college board and his social was entered right so it was just a mistake when someone at Tulane entered the data. You should definitely keep contacting them about this.</p>

<p>I promised to keep you posted. Today I received an email and we were told that they will not be able to change my son’s FA package. FC as you said it was worth a try.
We are off to Cornell tomorrow…
My son has not made a final decision, but my hunch is that Tulane has fallen to second place. I will miss being able to visit NO several times a year…
He will miss NO too.</p>

<p>That’s a shame, but I guess (well I know) there are only so many FA $$ available. I am sure sometimes they want to do it but just can’t.</p>

<p>Have a great visit to Cornell. Remember the weather isn’t usually as good as it will be when you are there, lol. Hey, I am trying everything.</p>

<p>Seriously, whichever way it turns out, I am sure he will be very happy. Best of luck.</p>

<p>We finally received the financial aide package. I feel the offer is extremely generous with the majority of it being need/merit based scholarship. I guess it was worth the wait. Hang in there everyone.</p>

<p>That’s great, Josief. Worth the wait! You must have gotten one of those awards or scholarships. Congratulations and thanks for posting.</p>

<p>Hey everyone. I am wondering if the scholarships I got are four year things or just freshmen year. (Academic Achievemt and Tulane Scholarship are the names of the two)</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Academic Achievement is 4 year. [Academic</a> Achievement Award](<a href=“http://www.tulane.edu/~finaid/idxacademic_achievement_award.htm]Academic”>http://www.tulane.edu/~finaid/idxacademic_achievement_award.htm)</p>

<p>I am not familiar with the Tulane Scholarship, so I am guessing that is grant aid based on your need. If I am correct about this, and it is just a guess, then it can vary with your family’s financial circumstances, both up and down.</p>

<p>Those names don’t exactly match what is on Tulane’s website. If you look here: [Tulane</a> Admission: Scholarships & Aid](<a href=“http://admission.tulane.edu/aid/index.php]Tulane”>http://admission.tulane.edu/aid/index.php) you may be able to figure out what you have.</p>

<p>mommybird - I originally thought the AAA was a mistaken name too when I first heard about it a few months ago, because as far as I know they didn’t give any last year. Maybe it got funded again by an alumnus (no, not me) since then. Anyway, as you can see by the link, they do have it again and it was usually $15,000 although I think there may have been some $7,500 ones too.</p>

<p>Is it possible to get the deans scholarship as a sophomore? My daughter got the president scholarship this year but did not apply separately for the deans.</p>

<p>Yea i’m not sure what’s going on with the Tulane Scholarship. The AAA was 15 and the Tulane Scholarship says 13, i’ll keep looking into it.</p>

<p>weismom - sorry, the DHS application is for incoming freshmen only. Congrats on her President’s though!</p>

<p>murphy - yeah, keep checking but given that odd amount ($13,000) I am pretty sure that is the grant portion of your FA.</p>

<p>We’re a bit on the fence too with our FA package and options. DD received a Presidential Scholar, Tulane Scholarship, NOLA Award and other grants, an $8500 loan package and expected family contribution of approx. $4500. I know a lot of families would gladly trade places with us, but we’re finding it a bit hard to swallow. She was accepted into the Honors Program and we loved loved loved the City on our visit. Our other best option is a fully-funded guaranted 4 yr. (with book stipend!) ride at a state university two hours from New Orleans. Her dual enrollment credits will transfer, plus she’ll directly receive $ from the state for her high academic and ACT scores. So what’s holding us back? It’s the battle between heart and head. I just reviewed the 10 year tuition and fee history at Tulane; it’s an eye opener and we can anticipate things to only get more expensive each year. Grrr! Is it truly worth being poor as a mouse and go to Tulane, or “settle” for a public university in the Deep South with no financial worries? Grad school is definately in the picture, so that millstone of student debt will only grow heavier. . .</p>

<p>I can see why you are on the fence, but as much as I love seeing top students go to Tulane, $34,000+ in loans is too much if you feel like it is really putting you in a bad position. There could be one factor to consider that might soften the blow. What area of study is she considering that she would presumably also study in grad school?</p>

<p>She loves math and has also done work in molecular biology but prefers math. Grad school study area is not yet defined, she knows she needs at least a master’s degree to entertain decent job offers. She may try accounting but who knows?</p>

<p>OK, because most grad schools waive tuition for science and math grad students, and even pay a decent stipend for being a TA. But it sounds like she isn’t decided enough to play those odds.</p>

<p>I definitely understand how hard it is to not be able to give something this important to your child, at least not without incurring a lot of hardship. But $34,000 over 10 years at 5% is about $360/month. Since you don’t start paying that until she is out of school, and you are paying about that while she is in school (your $4500 EFC), you could look at it as an extended time period where that money remains out of your non-school related budget. Also she could share in the payments once she is out and working. These are just rambling thoughts on how you can rationalize taking on the loans. I don’t know your personal situation of course, and whether that fits in with your thinking at all. But if Tulane is really where her heart is, then maybe that helps with how to make it work. In the end, there is no question that coming out of undergrad debt free is a wonderful thing, but not at the cost of being someplace you really don’t like. Which state school is this that offered her the free ride?</p>

<p>There are options for plus loans where the payback time horizon can be far greater, possibly 25 years. Of course the interest will be far greater as well.</p>