Financial Aid (help!)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wellesley College
1

<p>So...Wellesley is my ABSOLUTE favorite school right now. I'm sure you have picked up on this by reading my daily posts gushing about the beauty of Wellesley's campus, Mona Lisa Smile, etc. etc. </p>

<p>Anyways, I am really concerned and frankly quite upset right now because my parents received the results of our FAFSA form the other day and we are royally screwed for need-based aid. By this, I mean that we will have to pay full tuition, room, AND board to a private institution such as Wellesley. </p>

<p>Is the FAFSA the only thing that the financial aid office uses to gauge a family's demonstrated need? From talking with several other middle-class families, I have noticed that nobody has received help from filling out the FAFSA but can still receive help from private schools, such as Wellesley since it is a private school with a large endowment. Does the financial aid office take pity on middle class families by giving grants and work-study arrangements? Or is it pretty hopeless?</p>

<p>Is there anything at all that I can do at this point to help achieve my dreams of going to Wellesley? I have been filling out numerous scholarship applications, but have been VERY unlucky in that department. As you know, national scholarships are very difficult to obtain and local scholarships are way too narrow (i.e. must want to study law enforcement!) Therefore, I cannot say that this will be a major source of income for my tuition.</p>

<p>WendyMouse, elizabeth22, and any other Wellesley girls out there...what should I do? I love the school but have no money!</p>

2

<p>Did you fill out a CSS Profile? There is a section on it that allows you to explain your circumstances, so that might be a bit helpful</p>

3

<p>My dad filled out our CSS profile...hopefully he did a good job explaining that we are unable to shell out $160,000 a year just for my undergraduate college education!</p>

4

<p>Most private institutions such as Wellesley will run you only 40k-45k a year. 160k over four years.</p>

5

<p>LOL, that's what I meant...160,000 a year would be inconceivable!</p>

6

<p>i'm in the same niche. middle class with no aid at all.</p>

7

<p>Do you have any siblings? Will they be in college at the same time as you?</p>

<p>The FAFSA, the CSS Profile, and Wellesley's supplemental application are the basis for financial aid decisions.</p>

<p>I don't remember what my FAFSA numbers were in college, but the CSS Profile was far more specific about determining actual living conditions ($60,000 a year in income goes a lot further in rural Nebraska than in New York City, for instance), and it helps explain special circumstances. </p>

<p>My biggest words of advice for anyone struggling to help with educational expenses: outside scholarships. Register with FastWeb, see if your parents work for companies/institutions that offer scholarships to the children of employees, talk to your college counselor, enter essay competitions, the list goes on and on. Apply for everything, regardless of your perceived chances. (Don't apply for anything you have to pay for, and all you have to lose is postage.)</p>

<p>If you find renewable scholarships, that's fantastic, but don't dismiss an opportunity just because it's a one-time $250 grant. That would pay for books for a semester (or a year, depending on your major).</p>

<p>Apply apply apply. Little things help defray costs just as much as $20,000 grants--you just have to work a little harder. Speaking of working harder, get another job, if money is still an issue. Baby-sitting pays well in the Wellesley area, and you can generally find as much work as you want. I knew several students who held full- or nearly full-time jobs while at Wellesley. Their lives were no breeze, and they had to manage their time with an incredible amount of precision, but it's an option.</p>

<p>If Wellesley is right for you, you -can- make it financially feasible.</p>

8

<p>What's the possibility of saving $$ by graduating a semester early? Many Wellesley students come with IB/AP credits, but does it work out practically so that they can graduate early (or take a semester off on a leave of absense) and save $20k?</p>

9

<p>Graduating a semester (or even a year) early isn't all that uncommon. You have to schedule your entire Wellesley career pretty tightly, and you might not get to browse around the departments as much as you might like, but you'll still end up with a well-balanced education. It's a big decision to make, but a manageable one.</p>

10

<p>Most of what everyone else has said covers what I am going to say.</p>

<p>Wellesley does factor in the CSS profile as well as the FAFSA. It also adds in travel expenses when considering you for finacial aid making the amount they know you need to pay to the amount your family has ratio higher. Keep your fingers crossed. You can call the finaid office to appeal if worst comes to worts.</p>

<p>Ringer05's right about the babysitting. I don't do it myself, but my friend who does makes ridiculous amounts of under the table money babysitting for rich Wellesleyites who shell out 12 to 15 bucks an hour to babysit kids that are fairly well behaved. I'm not kidding about those rates either.</p>

<p>On campus jobs are available to non work-study students after a two week waiting period in the beginning of the semester and pay from minimum wage (museum security guard) to 10 dollars (food service). Carrilon instructor and art department nude model pay more than that.</p>

<p>Also, do well on your AP exams. I know Wellesley has tightened the policy since I came in, but I walked into Wellesley with a full year of college credit from AP exams. Wellesley treats AP credits like blank classes that don't count for major or distribution, but do count for the diploma.
Unlike high school, where they rig it so you are stuck there for four years, Wellesley lets you use the extra credits you accumulate from summer school, APs, taking five classes and Wintersession for graduating early. I know people who are accelerating for a variety of reasons, one of which is to save 40k.</p>

11

<p>Wait, you got fin aid info from Wellesley?
Or what is "results from FAFSA"?</p>

12

<p>I am going crazy waiting to see the financial aid package. I am trying to breathe and stay calm - it's not working well. The FA package will determine whether my daughter can go to Wellesley or not. This stress is worse than waiting for the 'likely' letter. Will someone pls post as soon as a 2006 FA letter is received?? Then I can just sit by the mailbox until my daughter's FA letter arrives here.</p>

13

<p>new/old man, I know what you mean!</p>

14

<p>*mom, sorry! Ahhh...the stress is really getting to me! haha</p>

15

<p>WendyMouse, were/are you a carillon instructor? I was for a few semesters, and it does pay fairly well (but you don't get many hours [under 3 a week], and you have to pass an advancement exam).</p>

<p>Work-Study jobs are excellent since they aren't taxed and you won't have a ridiculous number of hours. But, even if you don't qualify for work-study, you can still find jobs on campus. Take a look around the Ville, too.</p>

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<p>No. I'm new to the guild actually. At the beginning of the semester, the president did mention that the student instructors got paid more than Sodexho student employees, so I figured it was inaccurate to advocate nude modelling as the only high paying job. I can't imagine the nude models getting too may hours either.</p>