Just saw an article about front-loading in some Colleges so just curious to know if anyone has experience or know of some private schools/Bording Schools that has a reputation of throwing financial aid at students as a freshman to the point where they only pay like 25% tuition and then not giving squat to the kid the following years? Do this happen a lot? Or does it ever happen?
Thanks.
This does not happen with boarding schools. The FA awarded to incoming students (regardless of grade) is guaranteed through graduation unless there is a drastic change in circumstances that would affect the amount. FA is reviewed annually, but no student has the FA rug pulled out from under them. Assuming the family’s financial circumstances don’t change significantly, any student accepted with FA will continue to receive that finding through to graduation. In the case of a significant negative change, schools will work with the family to meet the demonstrated need.
Appreciate the response. I asked because I was worried that we say yes this year and then FA is gone the next year. Thanks again.
You’re fine if you applied for FA and received a sufficient amount to make attendance do-able. FA is reviewed each year to ensure the initial award doesn’t need adjustment, but unless you win the lottery (nice problem), it won’t be taken away and, as I said in my first post, it could increase.
The only problem that results with FA is applying and accepting a spot as a full-pay for the first year thinking you can apply for FA for subsequent years. That is not the way it works. If you are accepted as FP, every school expects you to be FP the entire time your child attends. There was a sad thread a few years back where a family had somehow cobbled together first-year tuition so they could apply as FP to better the odds of their child’s admission only to find out after the fact that the school would not reward that tactic with any FA for subsequent years. This issue hasn’t come up again on this board, but it may be worth mentioning if anyone is wondering.
(This is not to be confused with a legitimate FP family that suffers a catastrophic permanent event, such as the death of the primary earner, where the financial need changed based on an unforeseen/unpreventable event.)
I just wanted to add that schools will review and consider any significant change of situation for a family that entered as FP. An additional child starting at BS, for example.