Financial Aid strategies

Parents Forum
1

<p>First post ever. Our child has received a few solid offers of merit aid plus small loans and work study. Can we use those offers to leverage schools which do not have merit aid? Two schools offered almost no aid whatsoever (just loans), one being Johns Hopkins which was a big hit with our child. We are visiting the schools which offered the merit (for the first time). Has anyone had any experience dealing with their financial aid office?</p>

2

<p>If they do not offer merit money and you don’t qualify for need based aid, I think that would be an uphill battle! Generally, the schools must be similar caliber and the student an attractive (upper range stats for the school) candidate for this type of reconsideration to happen. Finally, your child should be the one contacting them, preferably in writing, specifying what the need is, and any extenuating circumstances, and expressing her willingness to enroll if the financial dilemma can be resolved.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>^^^</p>

<p>the above post is correct.</p>

<p>It’s likely that the merit schools are lower ranked than JHU. Therefore, JHU isn’t going to care that you got merit from them. All highly ranked schools know that their applicants can get big merit at lower ranked schools. That’s just the way it is. </p>

<p>If you can’t afford JHU, then your child will need to go to an affordable school. That happens a lot. Many kids love their merit aid school. </p>

<p>Which schools gave your son merit money?</p>

4

<p>I would like to stress few important points:

  1. FASFA - even if family is nowhere near to receive any need based FA. Some schools use it to award full range of MERIT scholarships
  2. While in college, work hard to get as high GPA as possible and APPLY to Returning student scholarships (available at some schools). Most kids do not apply. Awards could be very significant at some schools.
  3. While in college, apply to Departmental (mostly available to Juniors and primarily to Senior with high GPAs) Awards are very good.</p>

<p>We have been doing all of the above with results that are beyond any expectations.</p>