<p>Autumncomet, I completely agree that life is immeasurably harder for people who have little money than for people who have a lot of it–in countless ways, a lot of which have nothing to do with college–and I actually believe that Brandeis’ approach is probably more socially responsible after the change than it was before. </p>
<p>My real gripe about Brandeis was that a year ago they still represented themselves as having merit aid, and they didn’t make it clear why they were asking us to file CSS PROFILE, giving away a lot of our financial information, in order for our daughter to be considered for it.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t know anything about that. I’m guessing it has something to do with just the process of getting financial aid in general–</p>
<p>“All students accepted for admission to Brandeis are automatically considered for University-funded merit-based aid if they have completed the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE application. You will be notified at the time of admission to the University if a merit-based scholarship will be offered to you. Under current policy, if you are not awarded merit funds as an entering student you will not be considered for merit funds in subsequent years.” from [Understanding</a> Your Package | Office of Student Financial Services | Brandeis University](<a href=“http://www.brandeis.edu/sfs/finaid/understanding.html]Understanding”>http://www.brandeis.edu/sfs/finaid/understanding.html)</p>
<p>It’s unusual, though not unheard of, for a university to require PROFILE from applicants for merit aid only. Brandeis was the only place my kid applied where this was an issue. I was annoyed to pay a fee in order to give them all kinds of financial information about our family, and then annoyed further when having paid the fee and given up our privacy turned out to be pointless.</p>
<p>Also, if you read the list of merit awards at your second link, comet, you’ll see that the only students who are eligible are:</p>
<p>juniors or seniors this year, or
able to demonstrate financial need, or
graduates of Waltham HS, or
from Chicago, or
Russian Jews who want to work in Jewish community service.</p>
<p>There’s nothing for entering students that’s just a merit award.</p>
<p>-Are financial aid packages substantial? I know Brandeis has a new policy for meeting 100% of demonstrated need…
-What’s the social scene/social life like? Are most students dry?
-Are dorm rooms (relatively) large? I visited Brandeis a few months ago but, at the time, most of the students were on break so my tour group didn’t get to see a dorm room.
-Does Sprint work on campus?</p>
<p>@Sikorsky: Huh. I was under the impression that the MLK scholarship was regardless of financial aid status, although the name would make more sense if it did require financial need.</p>
<p>In any event, it still doesn’t explain the $40k my friend got, even though he is white, male, and his family makes about $120k a year. Maybe it’s because he applied using the free application thing that some of us got in the mail, I don’t know. He definitely does not qualify for financial need, at any rate. It could just be that Brandeis just somehow “randomly” decides the amount each student gets, combining financial need and merit awards into one.</p>
<p>It seems that about half of the people I know (quite a few internationals) got substantial aid, and the other half didn’t. I guess your daughter just got some bad luck. :(</p>
<p>@cricket123:
I got a full ride after filling out the FAFSA and CSS/Profile. My family made less than about $40k if that gives you any sort of ballpark estimate.
Both freshmen quads are dry, but the community advisors don’t seem to care much (“if I can’t see it, smell it, or hear you making noise, it’s good”). There are plenty of clubs to join, but parties are mostly off campus. Definitely not a party school.
I think the dorms are relatively large (larger than what I was expecting). I’m in a forced/lofted triple which is sort of weird, but the only issue there is that there’s no obvious place to put a minifridge. The desks are pretty large, but you could fit one and half desks in the space between. The natural triples are basically two rooms with a door in between, and those are almost too spacious. Doubles are what you’d expect.
<p>Your friend more than likely qualified for some financial aid. It is very possible that someone with $120K in income could have a EFC of less than $55K/year.</p>
<p>Once your EFC is lower than the cost of attendance, you would qualify for financial aid. That puts you in a different category than those whose EFC is above the cost of the school.</p>
<p>D applied and rec’d a Dean’s scholarship in 2008. Our EFC was higher than $50k, but she did receive the merit aid. If she applied under that new financial aid policy, she would not have rec’d anything. In the end, she did not attend Brandeis, but it was a top choice.</p>
<p>We are now looking into the school for our younger D, but know that we would have to pay full fare.</p>
<p>In general, one of the confusions about financial aid is that students who are receiving aid due to financial need, are getting aid packages with scholarship components that are called merit aid.</p>
<p>The thing is that they would not be considered for those “merit” scholarships with a high EFC–regardless of their stats, etc.</p>
<p>At a recent info session, the admissions counselor clearly stated that there was a policy change and that there were very very few merit aid opportunities for those without need. She said that those still available were very specific and limited and basically that most good students would not be in the applicant pool to be considered for them.</p>
<p>Nope, it’s not that. She submitted that invited application.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This, however, I completely agree with. Although $120,000 sounds like a lot of money when your family is scraping by on less than $40,000, it really isn’t as much as it used to be. And if your friend has a sibling in college, that would considerably reduce his EFC.</p>
<p>Uskoolfish’s description of the new merit aid system at Brandeis is exactly right: for all practical purposes, there is no merit aid available for students who do not also have financial need. </p>
<p>Arguably, then, the sweet spot is to have your EFC be $1000 less than the COA, so that you have just enough need to qualify for merit awards, but no more need than necessary, so to speak. It may be a somewhat less imperfect system than giving away merit money to the children of robber barons, but it’s still got flaws.</p>
<p>I’m just wildly guessing at this point. He’s the oldest child with two younger brothers. I don’t know what his EFC was, although it’d be ridiculous if it were greater than the 55k needed to attend Brandeis. He actually got about the same amount from both Brandeis and Columbia now that I think about it, so it makes sense about the EFC. He chose Columbia because his status as a John Jay scholar exempted him from student loans his freshman and junior years, the lucky duck. :-P</p>
<p>I’m curious: is $60k+ considered the new ‘middle class’ now? (If you make less than that, quite a few upper tier colleges will meet 100% of demonstrated need) I know that in recent years, the lower middle class and working class have been getting more and more financial aid and the wealthy have always been able to pay for college. How much does your family need to make before you’re completely ineligible for government assistance if you’re a U.S. citizen?</p>
<p>It is very hard to really answer that, but I would say that once a family of 4 with one student in school is above the $125K to $150K range, they would probably have an EFC of $55K to $60K plus, thus disqualifying them from need-based aid.</p>
<p>For some of the ivies, you can still qualify for aid with a family income of up to $200K. They are not just using FAFSA numbers in their qualifiication system–and have purposely expanded aid to those who they still consider upper middle class (but not rich enough to pay full fare.)</p>
<p>Someone told me that if you (or your closest friend) are/is not a member of a fraternity or a sorority, you will likely have a poor social life because they organize all the parties… Is this true?</p>
<p>I thought Brandeis wasn’t much of a party school…</p>
<p>(Sorry I’m restarting a fairly old thread).</p>
<p>Totally not true. There are only a few fraternities and they are off campus. The social life definitely doesn’t revolve around them. No, Brandeis isn’t a huge party school but that doesn’t mean it’s dull. Students organize their own fun. Like any school you get out of it what you put into it. If you get involved in activities, there is tons to do.</p>
<p>@Buddy75,
Thank you. I was really worried and confused because I really liked the aspect of Brandeis that there is more to the social life than parties…</p>
<p>Do you like theater? Because in the beginning of the year, they do a 24-hour musical – it’s cast, choreographed, rehearsed, scenery made, lighting designed, etc., in 24 hours with the performance in the last hour. It is so much fun and the best way for a freshman to get to know people quickly. You don’t have to be a performer, you can be behind stage as well. My son has done it twice and it is a highlight of the year for him.</p>
<p>Also, just because you aren’t in a fraternity/sorority doesn’t mean you can’t go to the parties, if that’s what you want to do. No one waits for a formal invitation.</p>
I’m guessing it has something to do with just the process of getting financial aid in general–</p>
He’s the oldest child with two younger brothers. I don’t know what his EFC was, although it’d be ridiculous if it were greater than the 55k needed to attend Brandeis. He actually got about the same amount from both Brandeis and Columbia now that I think about it, so it makes sense about the EFC. He chose Columbia because his status as a John Jay scholar exempted him from student loans his freshman and junior years, the lucky duck. :-P</p>