I was just accepted 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.
You can ask them to look over your financial aid information and again and request more. Don’t be nervous to make these kinds of demands, it’s not like they will rescind your acceptance. The worst they could do is tell you no.
From what I understand, they’re very lenient in their FA practices. My friend last year didn’t submit any of his financial aid documents (except for the FAFSA) because he didn’t think he would get accepted. Once he was, he freaked out and sent them an email explaining the situation. They were basically like, “It’s cool, just send it to us.” He did and got full aid without any penalties for late submission.
You should at least inquire - it might be a mistake. 'Amherst’s FA package for us was unbelievably generous. The COA is literally less than the University of Toledo as a commuter student.
Worried as well about this financial aide package. Younger brother was accepted and the EFC was $18k according to the FASFA form we filled out ( we haven’t received the FAP yet ). We don’t have anything close to $18k to contribute and this worries me because he really wants to come here. At this point, as a family, we might have to make a harsh decision which is in the best interest of our regular financial health.
Hey all,
Please call the financial aid office. If you can come down in person, do that. I had my aid package revised, and many of my friends did, too. They are humans here, and they want you to come to Amherst if you’ve been accepted.
The FA package should be available on your on-line portal. I am also pretty sure that the EFC on our official FA award was almost 50% less than what was calculated by the NPC on the Amherst website.