Frontloading - My Financial Aid Nightmare

<p>Upperclassman, what has been your financial aid experience at Vandy? Specifically, did your financial aid decrease after your freshman year, even if your financial circumstances remained unchanged? How much did aid decrease? It's a big concern of my family and myself that my top choice school might "front load" my financial aid package and then in latter years I will be unable to pay for my undergraduate degree without unexpected loans. I'm really hoping that this will not be the case at Vanderbilt.</p>

<p>In my experience, financial aid has been uniformly formulaic-- that is, the same formula applied each year. When income went up, we saw a decrease in aid. When income went back down, we saw an increase in aid. My family’s finances were pretty different each year so It’s difficult to be 100% certain, but it seems that grade year has had no effect on financial aid, and we definitely have not experienced any of the drastic “front loading” that some schools use. The finaid department also immediately adjusted my package when a parent lost their job.</p>

<p>We experienced consistent financial aid each year and even had some pleasant surprises along the way. During both D’s junior and senior years, she was awarded an amount at mid-year to be used for books that was not applied for or detailed in her aid package. During the fall semester of her senior year, the university announced the no-loans program and decided to apply it to the second semester seniors. While this was only a small amount, it was much appreciated. S saw an increase in his aid package when D joined him at VU during his senior year, based on having two kids in college.<br>
Vandy has worked very hard to be a no-loans school, so unless your parents are financing their contribution, you shouldn’t be facing unexpected loans.</p>