HMC's financial aid is TERRIBLE!

<p>I didn't know such an award for a person with a FAFSA EFC of $875 existed! I got $0 in real financial aid from them. Sure, I got a Pell Grant, some loans, and the $10,000 merit award, but not a dime in anything else. At all the other schools, I got at the very least tuition in grants or scholarships. So, I have a $20,000 out-of-pocket EFC together with a $10,000 parent loan. Put them together to get the grand total: a $30,000 EFC, with a heap of loans for me. I certainly won't visit after this, even if they pay for it. So much for making college affordable...</p>

<p>No kidding...my financial aid package is terrible too...although it doesn't look as bad as yours. I'm really sorry!</p>

<p>Are you even considering HMC after this?</p>

<p>yeah, i got the shaft too. i'm paying full price and my parents are divorced and such. it's cuz i'm white/male from so cal.</p>

<p>Really? My EFC is 23k, and I got 17k of financial aid from HMC.</p>

<p>That sucks, dude. FAFSA EFC of 875 and you end up paying 30,000. :(</p>

<p>Wow my financial aid package rocked, although I didn't get anything in merit.</p>

<p>This is what I wrote in another post:</p>

<p>I'm unsure as to what I should do at this point. For one, Harvey Mudd's financial aid sucks. Secondly, I got waitlisted at MIT, waitlisted at Pomona, and a full ride to UW Honors. I would attend MIT or Pomona over Harvey Mudd, but if it's down to Mudd and UW, I really don't know...</p>

<p>Hey, can I appeal for more financial aid?</p>

<p>one of my counselors was actually talking to me about this today. She said if I'm still having a tough time deciding b/t schools, I should go talk to the admissions counselors at each school and talk about how I'm having a hard time deciding. If the schools really want you, they might offer more money. Her son did that and he got another $2000, which isn't much, but hey, it's something. I think it's kinda a dirty way to go, but it can't hurt to try, right?</p>

<p>Wow... but my financial aid was awesome: 20,000 in need-based, 4000 in work-study/loans, 10,000 in merit for the first year. So it actually costs less to go here instead of a UC... (and I haven't included HMC National Merit and outside scholarships I got)</p>

<p>I called the financial aid office, and I think there might have been a mistake. I just don't think it makes sense that they offered to pay for me to visit the school and then gave me the financial aid package from hell. </p>

<p>krayongirl, the worst thing they can do is say no if you appeal for more financial aid.</p>

<p>train<em>to</em>nowhere, is the $20,000 just in grants?</p>

<p>Do you guys know how they handle their NM scholarships? If you got $2500 directly from the NMSC, are you still eligible to receive a scholarship from HMC after freshman year? If you do get a scholarship from them, does it go towards reducing grants or loans?</p>

<p>this is bad news for me...</p>

<p>my EFC is $503, but I got the 10k scholarship</p>

<p>I got 32k/yr in grants from Case, so if HMC doesn't come close I'd have to choose Case over it :(</p>

<p>Really, I found HMC's financial aid awesome, I'm only paying 2,000 a year if I go.</p>

<p>Yeah, I actually found Mudd's financial offer AMAZING. They covered my financial completely by grant money and then offered a bunch of loans so potentially I would only have to pay about $3,000 a year. (I probably won't though; my family can afford to not take out any loans with all the grants they offered us.)</p>

<p>ok how many of you guys are coming to the ASP?</p>

<p>okay, i really have to bring this up....</p>

<p>while mudd costs a **** load of money, you have to keep in mind that mudd alums (per capita) make the most money (eventual salary) of any institution in the country. take out them loans... you'll be able to pay them back in a matter of a few years.</p>

<p>average starting salary ~ $60k
<a href="http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/HMC.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/HMC.html&lt;/a>
don't believe in all the numbers though. their poll pool is not large enough for accuracy.</p>

<p>Yeah. I would be more than willing to take out the loans they assigned to me, but asking my parents who made ~$40,000 last year to fork over $30,000 for an unknown (to them) college when I could go to a top 20 private U for free is excessive. Harvey Mudd was one of my top choices though :(.</p>

<p>But I really do think the financial aid office made a mistake.</p>

<p>mm yea, cuz my parents' financial situation is the same as yours, and I got $37K in financial aid from HMC. I'm begging the finaid office did make a mistake, b/c that's just ridiculous.</p>

<p>s`vrone, calll them.</p>

<p>Ya I agree call them up. The point of Fin Aid is to make their college's accessible to students in cases like yours.</p>

<p>s'vrone: yes, the $20,000 was in grants, but that's because my family's a bit on the poorer side ($40k/yr). You should definitely call the financial aid office up and explain your situation... be sure to mention the other financial aid offers you got!!</p>