<p>I was just wondering whether it is easier to get FA at certain schools than others. As I will need a lot, this is something I have to seriously consider. Thanks :)</p>
<p>I know Andover offers a lot of students FA, around 40% i think</p>
<p>doesn’t exeter do like 47% percent or something like that?</p>
<p>Most schools will offer significant aid if you can show them that you have the demonstrated need and they have the funds available.</p>
<p>Offering 40% of the student population is as relevant to you individually, as some of those awards are as little as $1000. A lot of schools publish a table of their financial aid awards by the actually amount awarded, how many they awarded, and what the incomes of the recipients were. This way you can specifically compare how many awards each school gave for your income level and the amount you hope to receive. I hope this helps!</p>
<p>Thank you everyone - this helps a lot :)</p>
<p>At both Exeter and Andover, I believe the average financial aid award is well over $30,000.</p>
<p>Wyoming Seminary also offers merit based aid in the form of tuition scholarships. They give a scholarship exam every winter. My son took the test this year and received a tuition scholarship. He will matriculate in September. Some scholarship winners also receive financial aid to cover the boarding costs.</p>
<p>From my experience exeter,Andover, and choate gives great financial aid! Exeters average grant is 35k for almost half student body</p>
<p>FA isn’t about who offers the most - because those schools are also the most competitive (have the most students needing it and have the lowest acceptance rates).</p>
<p>Many good candidates have been declined for FA at some schools with high rates of FA and accepted at other schools with low rates.</p>
<p>So don’t focus on FA. Focus on which school “fits” you in terms of academics, culture, personality. Those schools are the most likely to give you FA because they really want you as part of their new student body.</p>
<p>It’s hyper competitive out there - cast a wide net and don’t let “rankings” on these boards sway you from pursuing lots of options (regardless of the FA percentages).</p>
<p>Because the reality is - for FA if a school only grants 40% of its students FA and let’s assume that it takes 100 freshman each year. Then that means only 40 students will get full or partial aid (mostly partial) and if you assume it’s split evenly by gender, then only 20 girls and 20 boys will get any type of aid. Most schools grant less than 40% aid/</p>
<p>The odds are pretty tight no matter how you slice it.</p>
<p>The top schools with larger endowments that financially support a higher percentage of their student body are indeed giving out more money to more students. However, admission to these schools are more competitive. On the other hand, the “less generous” schools often only can afford to fund theri top candidates, but you may have a better chance to be among the top candidates applying to these schools. Neither route would be easy. That’s why it’s recommended that when you have heavy financial need, apply to more and a wider range of schools.</p>
<p>Peddie has a 228 million endowment, awarding 40% of the student body FA. This year they awarded 5 million dollars to students. Another plus is that it has a higher acceptance rate, although it is less than 25% acceptance rate. Check it out. I got a lot of my tuition paid for, and they have also been very helpful with my sibling, who required FA in the beginning.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone :)</p>
<p>You might want to also look at St. Andrew’s. It’s need blind, which means that the admissions committee doesn’t consider your financial status while making their decision. About 45-50% of the student body (53% for this incoming freshman class) is on FA. The average grant is well over $30,000. The education quality is as good as the top NE boarding schools (Andover, Exeter, Groton, St. Paul’s et al).</p>
<p>Good advice above. I agree that you shouldn’t limit yourself to need blind schools or schools that have huge endowments. However, you don want to go to each school’s FA page and look to see how FA is awarded. Some school offer only grant-based aid; others expect parents to take out loans. I found that it was pretty clear after browsing the FA info. on individual sites which schools weren’t really worth applying to FA-wise.</p>
<p>Hi, futureboarders, I’m also looking for a school with big FA.
Hockday and Cranbrook offer hald aid~</p>
<p>May be a dumb question, maybe not but does financial aid lower your chances of being accepted? Just curious…</p>
<p>Yes, especially for international students. However, there are schools like St.Andrew’s and Andover which are need blind. This means that applying for financial aid will not lower your chances whatsoever.</p>
<p>I go to St. Andrew’s school and receive nearly full financial aid. Around 50% of the students are receiving some kind of financial aid. Once you are accepted, they will get you there, no matter what. And it is an amazing school, I adore it. I am going to be a senior, and I would do it all over again if I could. </p>
<p>Honestly, they make it easy for me to go there, and I thought it would be impossible, especially since I live several states away. They have amazing FA.</p>
<p>Oh, and it is 100% boarding and the teachers live on campus. Do some research, you might really like it. And visit if you can. The campus is beautiful!</p>