I was just accepted to Amherst college today, which I’m absolutely over the moon about, but the financial aid package is alarmingly small. According to the letter, I would have to pay $48,000 a year.
The issue is that I really don’t have that kind of money. My family put down that we estimated we could pay $24,000, thinking that if the price was as much as $25K+, we would find a way to pay for it (via loans and whatnot). But Amherst is asking for twice that!
I was also accepted to Kenyon and Occidental, and the total family contribution required to attend those schools worked out to $26,890 and $$27,930. There’s just such a huge difference between Amherst’s aid package and the aid at Kenyon-- and I was under the impression that Amherst has some of the best financial aid in the country.
Is there any way that this is a mistake? And do any of you have any suggestions as to what I should?
FYI: I’m from Canada, so I don’t qualify for American federal aid.
These schools are private universities. I believe they all use the CSS Profile for determining need based aid. And rhey all have their own formulas.
You can contact Amherst and ask…explain that two other schools have family contributions that are $20,000 less, and you wonder if they could check your award.
That is certainly unexpected as Amherst is generally known for giving the best aid. So the other awards are need awards, not merit awards? Also did you run the NPC for Amherst and does it match the award or not?
The student is from Canada,so the NPC probably won’t be accurate.
Amherst is one of the six schools that is both need blind and meets full need for international students, isn’t it?
You absolutely should contact financial aid ASAP.
Both Kenyon and Oxy award merit scholarships. I’m guessing that is the difference and Amherst won’t adjust their award since they do NOT award merit.
Amherst, generally speaking, tends to have the best need-based financial aid in the nation. I would contact them immediately. There may have been a mistake.
What’s the downside of asking?
This is surprising from Amherst. A mistake could have been made. Also, keep in mind that FA is based on what your family can actually pay, not on what they state they are willing to pay. Just because your family stated that they can pay $24k per year doesn’t mean this is what they can actually pay per FA formulas.