Has this ever happened to anyone? A friend of mine auditioned at a top school and was told by one of the faculties that he auditioned very well, etc. Well, the letter arrived and instead of offering a generous aid or just something, it said that while he is “very highly recommended” by the faculty, they are not able to make an offer at this time. What about those students who were not so highly recommend? What were they offered, a negative amount?! Could this be a message that the school don’t want my friend (very highly recommend) to attend this school?
Your friend received a compliment from a faculty member, nothing more, nothing less. How he performed in his audition was relative to the others that also auctioned that season and while your friend may have been very good, others were a better fit for what the school/teachers needed.
It’s nothing against your friend, and I sincerely hope that he gained admission to a school where he’ll be happy, but we are never privy to how these things are decided.
It’s not a message from the school, other than a positive one. FA behind closed doors in the financial aid department, sometimes in concert with the faculty and administration, sometimes less so. It’s a complicated process that can vary from year to year, even within an institution. It could be that the whole committee loved his performance, but financial aid is going other places, other departments, and to other students. That said, it’s still great to know that the teacher advocated for your friend. Remember, “offers” are not automatic. Even though colleges often publish statistics like “85% of our students receive financial aid”, the sticker price is the baseline price. Often, those statistics are fudged to include “offers” of loans.
Meanwhile, it may be possible to appeal the decision. Your friend can call and ask if there is an appeals process.
After her acceptance, my D received a similar letter from one school, suggesting she should appeal the FA award and they would support her. It was signed by the Dean, and actually included instructions to appeal.This supports glassharmonica’s analysis.
Thank you all for your input! I think my friend has decided to attend another top school. He has received great offers from other top name schools, but he just couldn’t believe he received nothing from this one. Too bad this was his first choice teacher and school.