<p>So I was accepted into my first choice college (Bard), but the only problem is that at this point I can't afford to attend. I was offered $24,000 a year in scholarship money, $1,000 a year in Perkins loans, $3,500 in subsidized loans, $2,000 in unsubsidized loans, and $1,650 in work study. </p>
<p>However, my family can only afford to pay about $15,000 a year (although our EFC is approximately $20,000), and I would like to avoid loans as much as possible. Basically if I were to receive about $10,000 more in scholarship money from Bard it would make it possible for me to attend (Bards total cost is about $54,000). </p>
<p>I have heard of others "negotiating" with their top choice colleges to receive more financial aid, and I was wondering how I should go about this? Would it be better to call them or just send them an e-mail? Also I am not sure what to say if I do ask about receiving more aid. Moreover, I would like to know if receiving $10,000 more sounds realistic. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, especially from those who have successfully negotiated for more aid. </p>
<p>I’m in the same boat with my top choice (Reed), and I could use some advice too.</p>
<p>I’m going to start by calling the financial aid office and asking them how they arrived at the number they did, and then I plan to ask the FA officer if I can send in some additional documents to prove my need for more financial aid. More specifically, I plan to send in some offers I’ve recieved at other comparable schools (offers with more need-based aid, of course), some financial documents showing that my dad will be working at reduced pay for 2011 on, papers demonstrating our rising healthcare costs, etc etc. </p>
<p>But hey, I have no idea if what I’m doing is horribly wrong. I’d love to hear from someone who has actually done this in the past!</p>
<p>You can try, but your stats are not in the upper 25% for the school. Some schools will give additional consideration to students who are considered to be desirable because of their stats. Again, you can politely ask for an appeal, but be prepared for a negative response.</p>
<p>You are in the upper 25% for Reed College. Although Reed may still say “no,” your stats are desirable for the school. If Reed allows appeal requests, you can politely ask for a review of your circumstances and include whatever documentation that you have. Unless your family has a unique health care issue that’s not covered by insurance, everyone can claim rising health care costs.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids, thank you for the advice. The only thing I could think of that may be able to prompt Bard to give me more aid is that I plan on majoring in science and as you may know science majors are scarce at Bard. Do you think that this really will have any influence on their decision though?</p>
<p>maxdel, I’d desist from using where you place statistically within the pool of accepted students at Reed to seek more aid. I would, however, suggest you use your other aid offers and express in no uncertain terms that Reed is your top choice, so they know your seriousness. Also, supplementing your appeal with more personal documentation is a must and you should try and use whatever you can to show that what they’re offering you is not enough. The way Reed’s Financial Aid works, is that appeals are processed, as long as you send them in on time ie. before April 26, and you’re placed in what’s known as a Financial Aid waitlist. However, more often than not, it does yield positive results for accepted students. Good Luck!</p>
<p>I wasn’t suggesting that Maxdel “use” his stats to get more aid. You misunderstood. What I meant was that when appeals are made because an FA package isn’t do-able, sometimes schools look at the person’s stats to influence their decision. </p>
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<p>*The only thing I could think of that may be able to prompt Bard to give me more aid is that I plan on majoring in science and as you may know science majors are scarce at Bard. Do you think that this really will have any influence on their decision though? *</p>
<p>Hmmm… I think you also need to include some kind of good reason as to why your parents can’t meet their expected contribution. Has there been some medical bills? Any employment issues (such as reduction in income)? At that point the school might be further influenced by your choice of major if they are in desperate need to fill science seats. But, I don’t think if you ask for an appeal based on being a science major is going to work.</p>
<p>^mom2collegekids, I get your reasoning, but for a college like Reed, I doubt where you place statistically would increase your chances of receiving aid. It’s a need-based process(as I suppose it is with most need-aware colleges), and even if you place at the bottom of the pool statistically, but have sudden extenuating circumstances, you’re more likely to get aid than someone at the top of the pool with less grave circumstances. It’s not a merit money game, at least from the little I’ve seen with Reed. The only factor of this nature, that might work in your favour, is if you have a greater aid offer from a peer college(s), which maxdel has. Even then it can be difficult. However, there are lots of people who didn’t apply for aid at that time of admission, but seem to need it now, and for them it’s harder because Reed’s Financial Aid Office works on strict deadlines, so in that sense maxdel is in a good position.</p>
<p>Ha ha! I don’t know about Reed specifically, but don’t naively think that many schools don’t look at stats when giving out their limited funds. It’s called Preferential Packaging…the better the stats the better the financial aid. Schools aren’t charities; they give more money to those students who make THEM look good.</p>
<p>^ Reed is least concerned with raw numbers for what they stand. It wouldn’t be the college it is otherwise; it was the first college to pull out of US News’ rankings. Understandably, during admissions, they want to accept the best students they can, but that isn’t reflected by just statistics-there’s a lot more involved in the process. For schools playing the numbers game, I guess they might want to practice what you call “preferential packaging”.</p>
<p>Up until last year Reed was one of the exceptions, meeting full need while having need blind admissions. They had to change that last year, removing 10 students from their admit list in place of full pay students. Since Reed will have already considered the OP’s need, unless there are some major changes in medical bills I don’t see them adjusting their FA offer. Reduced salary will be considered with next year’s award.</p>
<p>Um, actually, Reed has never met full need while having need-blind admissions. Years ago Reed was need-blind but didn’t meet full need. Last year the problem got worse at the last minute due to the economic meltdown.</p>
<p>I suppose I worded that weird, I didn’t mean that I was planning on appealing based on the fact that I am a science major, I was just wondering if they would take that into consideration after a presented my case.</p>
<p>At this point I am planning on preparing a sheet that would include my parents income as well as all of our expenses.</p>