<p>How were your financial aid packages? I was a little disappointed with mine.</p>
<p>We have not yet received the final package. My daughter was awarded the full trustee scholarship amount which we had hoped for and are really thankful for. The early estimator indicated 2 other small amounts of money but we have not received a formal offer of that yet. Have you received a formal aid package? If so, when did you get it and how did it come? How big of a role does this play in your decision and if you don’t mind saying, how much debt are you willing to take on for your bachelors degree?
Thanks for the post. I am looking at Allegheny posts at least twice/day. March has become a huge month in our house and this is actually the most solidified thing on the agenda. We are waiting to hear from one other school for our daughter, although Allegheny has stayed at the top of her list so I know she is OK, also waiting on competitive grad program answers for my son who is a very different student than our daughter, also waiting to hear about a final clearance from the Peace Corp for a friend of our son’s who has been staying with us since November while he completes the application process.</p>
<p>We received our financial aid package today. Although we are not overly surprised, we are disappointed. We only qualified for the 5,500 loan and D trustee scholarship, which was not the full amount. I’m guessing that will pretty much be what we can expect from any other financial aid packages from other schools. Allegheny is still at the top of our D list so we will just have some calculating to do if that truly is her final decision. She is still waiting to here from another school as to whether she won additional scholarship money from a recent competition she was in. Good luck to all!</p>
<p>:( here too. </p>
<p>Again, we are so thankful for the trustee scholarship but really there is nothing more, only an unsubsidized loan offer. We can’t take out much loan $$, we are really not anywhere near where we should be for retirement and this would only further hinder us. Not sure what will happen, probably end up weighing this against the state flagship school to see how it washes out. We are in MA and there is a small scholarship available to students who do well on the MCAS tests (the tests that resulted from no child left behind). SO, we will wait to get their final package to see what the difference is. The gap will be narrowed by the Trustee Scholarship and the fact that the honors college in now charging to attend. We are also waiting to hear from one other school that “meets need” but we have a high efc, falling into the middle class section of people who make too much money for help but not quite enough to actually pay these prices without massive debt. I remain opposed to the large debt concept. Also waiting to hear from Northeasten but they seem to have a reputation for not being too generous, so I am not expecting much from them. All along it had seemed as though Allegheny was the best shot and since it was actually her first choice, I kept my fingers crossed. Well, we’ll wait until she can compare all the packages and see what happens.</p>
<p>They mailed my FA package Monday. I have yet to receive it as I do live in Georgia. Allegheny is really beginning to become one of my top choices. But I did do an early estimator before I applied and it was too much. Financial aid is the determining factor in my decision. I will be visiting during spring break to all the affordable colleges. I hope Allegheny is one of them, but it doesn’t look too good based on everyone else’s package. I applied to 16 schools and have been accepted to 13 so far, and I’ve received 6 fa packages thus far. Only two are affordable. If Allegheny doesn’t give me a good package, I’m hoping Juniata will. These two schools are very similar IMO. I actually have trouble differentiating the two. Good luck everyone!</p>
<p>My D1’s FA packages are also starting to come in. We are in the same boat as icebat, as we rate a fairly high EFC but cannot reasonably accept the debt load proposed. We must look ahead to caring for aging and ill parents and D2’s college expenses (in two years!), as well as our own retirements.</p>
<p>Allegheny is one of D1’s top choices, and she received the Trustee’s Scholarship too. As the FA packages from her colleges come in, they are looking very similar. Every one provides help up to our EFC, even though we are talking about “need-blind” scholarships, not FA. I ask you, how need-blind can they be, if every scholarship just happens to fall short of our EFC? ;-)</p>
<p>Now we are looking for about $5,000 in additional scholarships so we can manage that EFC without borrowing. With college costs rising at about 4% each year (based on what D1’s schools are telling us), we want to avoid debt as long as possible. I hope we’re successful – and I wish you all the same success!</p>
<p>My son also got a very disappointing fa package. He got the full trustee scholarship, but only a few loans after that. It’s just not possible for us to pay that much. We were really hoping for a great package there, but it didn’t happen. They said they are rewarding students with an academic scholarship but it appears they don’t offer financial aid if they get trustee scholarship. So is it really a scholarship?</p>
<p>I just got my FA package and Allegheny wants us to pay $21,150 a year VS Knox College who wants my family to pay $6,900 a year. BIG DIFFERENCE!</p>
<p>There is no way we can afford Allegheny…</p>
<p>My goodness. So many of us are in similar situations with the FA packages being offered. It looks as though a question I had has been answered----it does seem that different schools can offer very different packages/assistance. Can anyone else speak to this?</p>
<p>Although our D received the full Trustee scholarship she did not apply for F/A. I sympathize with those of you trying to balance your EFC with costs of parental care & budgeting for retirement. Our D received not one thin dime from Pitt (she is a PA resident) nor from my alma mater, GA. Tech - this makes Allegheny the cheapest relative selection for her. </p>
<p>Has everyone explored work-study options?</p>
<p>additionally, unless a student is accepted to an ivy where they promise 100% of freshmen will be enrolled no matter what, it’s my belief that the F/A package is inversely related to the prestige of the school.</p>
<p>As for Allegheny College, consider the following from the student newspaper: <a href=“http://alleghenycampus.com/2012/03/09/college-searches-long-term-balance-tuition-discount-rate/[/url]”>http://alleghenycampus.com/2012/03/09/college-searches-long-term-balance-tuition-discount-rate/</a></p>
<p>YellowJacket,
Allegheny is cheaper than Pitt? Here it is still more than our state flagship, Umass Amherst even with the $20,000 trustee scholarship. Not sure exactly how much yet as UMass has not yet published rates for the next year, but somewhere between $3000 and $5000 I expect. That really doesn’t sound like much and I think Allegheny is worth it, but still, you have to remember that $5000 becomes $20,000 over the 4 years, no drop in the bucket in our household.<br>
BTW, thanks for the link to the article.</p>
<p>Icebat,</p>
<p>2011-12 in-state Pitt tuition varies by College (Gen.Studies @ $15,272 to Nursing @ $19,226) when fees, room & board and an estimated 8.5% increase is factored in, 2012-13 total costs will range from $27,430 to $30,405. There has been a huge battle brewing in PA over state support levels which may lead to a much larger increase in tuition than 8.5%:</p>
<p>[Pitt</a> trustees remain critical of Corbett’s budget cuts](<a href=“http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/12056/1212561-298.stm]Pitt”>http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/12056/1212561-298.stm)</p>
<p>Allegheny has already posted their 2012-13 tuition & room/board fees:</p>
<p>[Fees/Charges</a> 2012 – 2013 Financial Services | Allegheny College - Meadville, PA](<a href=“http://sites.allegheny.edu/finserv/feescharges-2009-2010/]Fees/Charges”>http://sites.allegheny.edu/finserv/feescharges-2009-2010/)</p>
<p>In an attempt to compare with Pitt (assuming the Minimum size meal plan, adjusted for differences in meals and debit-card funds), I came up with a total of $47,528 for Allegheny.</p>
<p>Deducting the $20k trustee scholarship award we will be out-of-pocket $27,528 which is slightly more than Pitt’s College of General Studies but less than the Nursing School. However, Pitt is still fighting with Harrisburg over support & hasn’t announced their 2012-13 rates yet. Of course there are other costs (travel, books, parking, etc.) I have not included.</p>
<p>I know this doesn’t help your situation but if your DD really feels Allegheny is a better fit for her maybe the school can find a way to arrange a work-study plan that would ease the burden for her. At least interest rates are low now (but trending higher) if you decide to go into debt to finance the shortfall.</p>
<p>Good Luck!
YJ76</p>
<p>WOW, I did not realize that Pitt was so high, I guess I assumed it would be in line with UMASS, they seem to be similar caliber schools. I do not like living in MA and miss Pittsburgh more than I can say. However, I do like the political climate here better regarding this type of stuff. MA is all about education for their kids, even at the elementary level. My husband is an occupational therapist and works in a school system. Here, he is treated like the professional he is, benefited, salaried. We were in Pgh for one year and he worked a school system there but it was very different. No salary, no benefits, more of a contract worker. He would go to school and if half the kids on his roster were out sick, he only received half the pay. Imagine doing that at any other medical provider’s office. Here, the school systems are expected to assist the preschool/elementary kids that need this type of assistance. When we moved back to MA due to this problem, the school staffs where he worked were so disappointed about his departure because he is really good at what he does. But really? Pay the man.<br>
So, I guess the entire education process is viewed differently regarding approach and importance. I feel strongly that education is a public good that benefits society as a whole. If people have concerns about our country now, just imagine things with a majority of our workforce uneducated.</p>
<p>Also,</p>
<p>* We were really hoping for a great package there, but it didn’t happen. They said they are rewarding students with an academic scholarship but it appears they don’t offer financial aid if they get trustee scholarship. So is it really a scholarship?*</p>
<p>Yes it is really a scholarship. </p>
<p>It wouldn’t really be a scholarship if the school promised to meet need and gave your child merit instead of a grant. </p>
<p>However, the stats indicate that this school rarely meets need. So, that means that if your child didn’t get this scholarship, you would have likely be given a big ole gap. You wouldn’t have been given a big grant instead. </p>
<p>It looks like this school only has a few FA tricks to give out…Fed Pell/SEOG to low income, Fed work-study, Fed loans, and merit scholarships for strong students. If you don’t qualify for these things, you’d get even less. The student with modest stats and a $7k EFC probably only got a $5500 loan and $2k in work-study.</p>
<p>Yesterday my mission was to check on some potential aid offers for my daughter. I called Northeastern first because they had sent an email the day before saying to check online for financial aid info specific to my daughter. We could not find anything after following the link, logging her in… Actually I had emailed the student specific counselor regarding another issue, where under the application check you could click on financial aid and it just kept saying that it was loading but never did. I had sent that email on 2/28 and received an email response on 3/13 just saying that our daughter had not been “packaged” yet. SO, yesterday I was looking for info that we needed for local scholarship info. I’m not sure who answered the phone but I was told again that her aid package was not yet determined. I explained the problems we had been having and was told that her assigned counselor would call me during the day.</p>
<pre><code>Flash back to the end of last week, I had called Allegheny and asked about my daughter’s financial aid there. I was told it would go the review committee and that I would get a letter after they met, and that they met weekly. I assumed I would hear from them next week.
So, yesterday late in the AM the phone rings and I assume it will be Northeastern, but no, it was Jonathan Boleratz from Allegheny’s financial aid office. He informed me that the committee had met and that my daughter would be given a little more money. He explained the change on my fafsa that resulted in the difference between the early estimator and the final aid. He answered all my questions regarding campus employment, RA and the availability of both. He was patient, friendly and informative. He wanted me to have the information yesterday but said that a letter will also follow.
So, there are my different experiences. We loved Northeastern on the visit. Beautiful campus, great location for us. But it seems as though from these experiences they are not the easiest to deal with. We understand that this is generally true as institutions get bigger.
BTW, the day closed with no call from Northeasten. If email response time is an indicator, I’ll get a return call in 2 weeks.
</code></pre>
<p>All schools are concerned with enrollment these days and Allegheny is no exception. I am finishing my final term as a trustee of an independent (private) school and even in the college-prep world, enrollment management is no exception. We struggle yearly with tuition rate increases, rewarding educators & staff with competitive contracts, rising costs of EVERYTHING and still providing need-based tuition assistance for strong students. A school’s endowment helps but in the current environment of “financial repression” by the Fed, rates of return are falling which adds to the challenge. A common measure we use is the ratio: endowment ($)/student - to compare with other institutions. The same could be done in the college world to determine the ability of a school to provide tuition assistance. Allegheny is cognizant of this as mentioned in a recent student newspaper article:</p>
<p>[College</a> searches for long-term balance between tuition, discount rate | The Campus](<a href=“http://alleghenycampus.com/2012/03/09/college-searches-long-term-balance-tuition-discount-rate/]College”>College searches for long-term balance between tuition, discount rate – The Campus)</p>
<p>Icebat: keep the pressure on Northeastern & report back your findings. Allegheny may not be able to compete with them but they seem to be responsive & really want your daughter to enroll. Good luck!</p>
<p>YJ76</p>
Our daughter was awarded the full trustee scholarship, which pleases us to no end. She’s also been called by two professors as well as student recruiters to urge her to attend the college. She’s also been accepted to Macalester, a more selective school, but they’ve offered zero aid. We’ve visited Allegheny three times and have grown to like it more each time we’ve gone there. The academics are high, admin is strong and the entire culture is one of caring and nurturing. Overall, we have a very positive impression of the school.
I ran a net price calculator with my 30 ACT and close to 100 000 income between my two parents, it shows scholarships covering for almost 43000. Was your experience with the calculator that it was in accurate ?