<p>D received her welcome in the mail and enclosed was FA info…I was really excited and thought we can make this work…but then I began reading the FA explanation and #9 is what burst my bubble…</p>
<p>Wellesley offered her a grant, work, and a very small “student aid” loan…that brought our efc down to a possibly workable number, considering I was thinking shed borrow 5500 fed loan and we are hoping for an outside scholarship win or two…but then I read #9 that outside scholarships wont effect your parents ability to pay so it seems no matter what -we are stuck with an overwhelming efc…I guess I was naive thinking outside scholarships lower oop costs. I was going to look at JB flights to Boston for the admitted students weekend…now im feeling really crappy about the whole thing. And im annoyed. </p>
<p>My understanding of #9 is that outside scholarship will reduce student contribution, loan, work-study first. For us, it would be a large amount. You are right that outside scholarship does not reduce parent contribution. However, in our case, student contribution, loan and work-study is a big chunk of the financial aid. </p>
<p>@txhandan, yeah unfortunately that is how I understood it 
My issue is we cannot afford the Wellesley oop without that outside scholarship help I wrongly assumed outside scholarships went toward any out of pocket costs…our Wellesley efc is ridiculous. She is trying so hard for a number of scholarships (some are large) for the blind specifically to help fund Wellesley…and I guess I was thinking due to us being full pay at the other schools she has big merit at, that the outside scholarships would reduce the oop burden at Wellesley, too. We can afford the other schools just fine- no loans -as they gave her generous merit money…but Wellesley is where she wants to be, so I said get on it with the scholarships…and looks like they wont matter much at all.</p>
<p>So basically what they say we as parents have to pay is what we have to pay- and no way to lower that is pretty crummy. I told her to start letting go of the Wellesley wannabe dream. She said she is going to call them because some parents dont even pay any of their kids college and how can that make sense…?? .I think theyre going to tell her to look at other schools. Maybe she will take it better coming from them. </p>
<p>^^ I would suggest you talk to them by calling and discuss your situation. There is nothing to lose. I am going to call them too to see whether anything can be changed to ours as my D has a scholarship from another college. Good luck to both of us.</p>
<p>Good luck! I did call and speak to them a while ago because we werent able to file our taxes before their deadline. They were very helpful and nice. Hoping it works out 
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<p>I like your daughter’s attitude and I would suggest you listen in when she calls so that you can provide support. I am sure you can explain your family’s situation better when both of you are on the line. </p>
<p>On the other hand, the cost of high education is totally out of whack. Middle-class family is totally unable to find help when their children have worked so hard to get accepted to their targeted colleges. Many of them cannot attend due to cost. Sorry about the rant.</p>
<p>Oh, what is your answer to your original question? is the NPC calculator accurate? Is it close to what Wellesley’s finaid? How off is it?</p>
<p>Im with u on the rant…I feel bad because she has worked hard and overcome so much and attending Wellesley has been her goal…being accepted was a dream come true for her and we are so poud of her but its hard to celebrate such an achievement when it may not play out. Shes a great kid and luckily has options. She will be fine no matter what or where she goes. </p>
<p>Ha…it was just slightly higher than the mid number which I considered doable when I was assuming shed be able to apply outside scholarship funds to it…and im not even sure she will win any of those…a lot of hopeful wishful thinking going on in this household 
</p>
<p>Has anyone appealed yet? Any responses? My financial aid is no where near enough for me to even think of attending. :/</p>
<p>@pin3appl3, how much is the gap we are talking about?</p>
<p>@txhandan About ~5,000. We don’t want to take out loans.</p>
<p>If 5k is the gap without loan, I think W’s financial package is very generous and it is much doable.</p>
<p>If you take the loan, your gap would be less thank 2K. With your summer job earning, you can make up the 2k difference.</p>
<p>@txhandan Thank you for the info! I’m hoping everything works out.</p>
<p>Sorry to here that @pin3appl3. We didnt want to take the loans either…but we will…if my daughter chooses wellesley she will come out of there with 40k in loans. Pathetic. If she chose her other options on top of her list, Tulane, Grinnell, and Bryn Mawr who all gave her generous merit money, we can pay our part without borrowing. We are going to participate in the open campus weekend and see how that plays out.</p>
<p>I have friends with older kids that wound up doing paid internships the last two summers of college, which pretty much paid for their last two years of schooling…they are even in grad school now on grants…so im trying to go into this with the thought that fit is a priority and who knows what the future will bring. </p>
<p>My daughter did call and spoke to a FA rep…she could do nothing about changing our efc…and yes scholarships wont help lower it. </p>
<p>Good luck to all. </p>
<p>Wellesley caps student loans at $15200 so you are talking about your D taking loans to cover what Wellesley thinks is your family contribution. Outside scholarships reduce work-study and student loans, so your D have the scholarships applied to the loan amounts in her financial aid package and then take the standard Stafford loans to offset the family contribution. Wellesley is generous with need-based aid, but in your case merit money may work out better for your family.</p>
<p>Yes…theres about a 10k gap between what Wellesley thinks we can afford and the reality of “afford” for us. The other schools gave generous merit money that covers about half the annual cost of attending which is fantastic. Wellesley has her heart right now. She will be attending an alumni event this weekend and visitng the end of April. They have been showing the love with emails and calls. All except the disability services…very disappointing.</p>