Here is dilemma
Husband lost job, found new one, but our income dropped; appealing FA offers. Comparing sizable merit offers from two schools that won’t change over the 4 years v. mix of merit and need based grants elsewhere. If income goes back up, we’ll lose the need based aid.
DD offered 30K -4 year science scholarship from Oberlin, 25K merit- 4 years + 5 K need from Mounty Holyoke, 18K-20k from St Olaf (jealous of you 30K st olaf recipients), and Lewis and Clark. Sadly Colby and Tufts less then 10K in grants/loans. BUT Smith gave 10K scholarship and about 20K in need based grant so out of the gate same amount of money as MOHO and Oberlin but not guaranteed for 4 years. Of the three MOHO is $5K cheaper. We are visiting St. Olaf, Smith, MOHO, and hopefully Oberlin.
Any insights into pros/cons of these schools and the risks of accepting an offer that is mostly need-based v. a 4 year scholarship appreciated.
http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml Here’s a calculator that might be helpful for you.
The merit money is locked in provided the student meets the requirements for keeping that scholarship. So ask. Sometimes the GPA requirement is pretty high. Also, ask what happens if the GPA drops, but later recovers. Will the scholarship be reinstated at that time, or is it lost forever.
How much can you continue to squeeze the family budget to pay for your share if/when your family contribution goes up or down in the future? Ask the financial aid offices about the specific formula they are using, so that you can make your own best guesstimate of the affordability of that place given possible changes in your family income.
Never thought to ask about the calculation…thanks for the suggestion @happymomof1
@wetsunshine Did you run the NPC for each school? We are looking at an increase in income for 2016 over 2015. In addition, we have two in college for 2016, and then only one in college for 2017-20.
I ran the NPC for different income scenarios and # kids in college at a meets need school. Only the first year was remotely affordable, and even that was going to be a stretch. The net COA for the last three years, according the school’s NPC, was going to be completely out of reach.
We ended up taking a generous fixed merit award to get our net COA below our EFC. It’s the only way for us to be able to afford it.
I hope that helps.
@Midwest67 - thanks have run the calculators and will do so again. It is a gamble. I may also rephrase my post because also interested in thoughts comparing schools in general given those terms
I like MHC and Oberlin best of those choices anyway. 
I’d go with the sure money and pick one of those two.
@intparent thanks for weighing in - if you have time to elaborate on why Oberline over St. Olaf and why MH over Smith when not considering money…
Rather than look at it in terms of merit or financial aid, compare bottom line prices after the aid. I really don’t fell like googling all the schools you’ve listed to do that. The other thing to consider is your FA will only go down if your family income increases. Overall I don’t think that’s unfair.
Can you list your net price* for each school, with the amount of merit and the amount of FA for each? It’d make things clearer than listing amounts of scholarship.
Do you anticipate a much higher income two years from now (due to the change in FAFSA submission date, you’ll keep the same FAFSA with 2015 income for two years, I believe)
**net price = (tuition+room+board+fees) - (grants+scholarships)
Also, don’t forget to factor in tuition increases over 4 years (if the tuition cost is not frozen for 4 years).
@MYOS1634 Basically the schools listed all have a net price of $36K with the exception of MOHO which comes in at $30K. So we are looking at a $24K difference over 4 years. Our income unlikely to go up this year or next unless there is another job change of I get an amazing job or we open an AirBnB in our basement!
@txstella - hard to imagine tuition at these schools going up even more but good point.
@ErinsDad - learning how to provide info appropriately on this forum - and yes, understand net price concept very well. Basically MOHO coming in 6K lower per year so maybe that is pointing us in that direction. On the other hand, my husband is loathe to let that much money dictate the next 4 years of her life, but you have to draw the line somewhere!
I don’t know if $500/month would be a major swing issue for me by YMMV.
Do you have that $6K/year? Or would that have to be in loans? If you’ve got the money, I kind of agree with your dh that it’s not that much money on which to hang the decision, if one of the slightly more expansive schools is a significantly better fit or better in her desired major or closer to home so you might save in travel costs.
I’d definitely think about tuition increases. A school that meets 100% of need will adjust for that, but a fixed merit scholarship won’t. If you think your need is going to go down drastically, that’s a reason to pick merit.
Anecdotally, I hear few kids like both Smith and Mount Holyoke. They’re both terrific but they have very different vibes. Your decision may be more certain after you visit them.
If you go to the individuals school boards you’ll see some comparison threads esp. MOHO and Smith.
I think your daughter is lucky to have such great choices. I think she should make the choice based on what is her first choice regardless of the money. The differences you cite will vanish in significance over a lifetime but her happiness and affection for her alma mater should not. That having been said, I would not have given up a minute of my four years at Mount Holyoke for anything and I would go there all over again in a nanosecond. She will love it there!
@intparent I would love your input, as we are making the same decision.