<p>Great info to take in Voss, Mom. Thanks. Mom, would you say the loans provide enough for you daughter to live off of off-campus?</p>
<p>Yes, they just adjust the amount down by how much you need to live off of campus. Ie; if you can find housing for $8000, they would use that amount for the housing portion of the student budget. My daughter lives on campus though. You’ve got to take into account food, utilities, transportation, parking (ugh), etc. She was fortunate enough to get an apartment for next year, so she is on campus. But this is how it would work if a student would like to live off campus. My oldest son is actually a senior at USD. LMU has been much better with their financial aid. They don’t meet 100% of your need but that have been very generous in that they have not adjusted their aid downward as my daughter has advanced in her schooling. Both USD and LMU are great schools by the way. :-)</p>
<p>A school that does not provide 100% of need for 100% percent of its students may provide 100% of need for SOME of their students. If you are a top pick for the school, you will get a fatter financial aid package, maybe with some merit money tucked into it that could well meet 100% of your need. However, the average kid applying to such a school is not going to get that. And some kids are going to get below that average that is given , since there are those 100% getting money and lowering the amounts available to everyone else. So kids who are in the top 5% test scores of certain schools might well get some generous packages from them. If you are within that 50% mid group, unless you have something outstanding that the school wants, you will probably get close to the average package listed. </p>
<p>But it’s really even trickier than that since each school defines need itself. You can get a different need amount from each college. Then some schools load that package with loans rather than grants. So a school that meets 100% of need may not be a good deal if the 100% is comprised of the federal loans, work study, a small grant from the school and the rest more loans that the school is offering.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Very true! </p>
<p>And, it’s easy for a school that doesn’t meet 100% of need to do so for a student who doesn’t have much need. </p>
<p>But it’s really even trickier than that since each school defines need itself. You can get a different need amount from each college.</p>
<p>Very true. We’ve seen some wildly different packages here for the same student from schools that claim to meet 100% of need. And, of course, “determined need” may be wildly different from what the family thinks its need is.</p>
<p>That’s why kids who need aid should have a variety of schools on their list. School A that meets 100% of need may not be need blind, and you may not make their cut. School B in the same category may accept you but may define need far lower than your feel is acceptable. School C, again in that category, may define need more generously, but pack your aid with mostly loans. Also one of the above schools could accept you, define your need as you think it should be and give you a nice package with minimal or no loans. It’s a crapshoot. </p>
<p>The schools that don’t meet full need could also take a number of courses too. You could get a better package from such schools if they want you enough to meet full need and if they are light on self help in their package.</p>
<p>Since you don’t know the outcomes of any of this upon application, the best bet is to tuck a few of each type of school that you like on your list, keep a couple of your “lottery ticket” school, and make sure that most of the other schools are such that they will want you. Also, most importantly have some financial safeties, like maybe the local state school. You don’t want to be asking for admissions at the end of the season when your choices just don’t pan out financially. You’ll do better applying up front to them and maybe getting a sweetened package if it is a safety school for you academically. </p>
<p>I know in our area, Lehman College, a CUNY has some great offers for commuting students within a certain SAT threshhold and a B average. LIke a full tuition, books, supples package including summer and/or year abroad. I’ve known kids who put their nose up at this option only to find that at the end of the year all of the schools on their list are just too expensive to swallow without taking a huge amount of debt. But that offer is not on the table if the application was not made by the deadline. There are many such alternatives like that for kids.</p>
<p>Hi. US News & World Report has posted a list of private colleges that claim they don’t consider need when looking at admissions. It’s a pretty safe bet that other private colleges do at least consider it a little bit. Publics generally dont consider need at all for in-state students. [Chart:</a> Generous Colleges That Claim to Admit Only on Merit - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/paying-for-college/2010/03/22/chart-generous-colleges-that-claim-to-admit-only-on-merit.html]Chart:”>http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/paying-for-college/2010/03/22/chart-generous-colleges-that-claim-to-admit-only-on-merit.html)</p>
<p>^ More info is always good, but students shouldn’t (IMHO) consider the issue when applying to schools. Their chances of acceptance might be lower at need-aware schools, but they should still apply if one or more of them is otherwise a favorite.</p>