<p>I recently got accepted to dartmouth but coming from a middle income family my parents' contribution is supposed to be 47k per year. There is no way my family will be able to pay that amount, but the more I look at the school the more I love it. Is there any way to negotiate having a more generous package? My final decision may have to come down to what I'm offered.. I can either go to a state school for free or an institution that could offer me everything I've wanted in a college. Is it possible to negotiate a better package? If it would still cost around 20k per year compared to free tuition at a state school do you think it's worth it? Any advice? I'm thinking of pursuing a career maybe in the peace corps or something to do with travel, learning languages and studying abroad. </p>
<p>Dartmouth’s FA is very generous. If your EFC is $47K, it must be because of high income OR some kind of assets beyond the family home and retirement savings. </p>
<p>A true “middle income” in the US is roughly in the vicinity of $50-75K–the national median income by state–according to the latest census figures. It is highly unlikely that D would expect a family near that income level to pay $47K per year. I know from personal experience that it is possible for an asset that may not be translated to $$ to skew FA awards. I would strongly suggest that your parents contact the FA department and make their case.</p>
<p>If, however, your “middle income” is in the neighborhood of $200K, they may have difficulty making that case. College funding is assumed to come from a combination of savings, current income, and future income.</p>
<p>Here’s my question: What do you have to lose by asking. Here’s my answer: Nothing. Unless you ask, you will never know what the answer might be. Dartmouth is not going to rescind your acceptance because you have the temerity to ask for more aid. Are there expenses that don’t show up in the standard forms? My approach (admittedly before the changes for middle income types like usuns a few years ago) was to show exactly how much was left each month after mortgage/property taxes/insurance/food/utilities and ask where they expected that money to come from. They may now expect it to come from loans – and I’m not sure any school is worth going into large debt. I can’t answer your question whether it would be worth 20K a year as opposed to a free ride at your state school. Compared to some state schools, maybe not. Compared to others, maybe yes. </p>