Hello!
I applied early to Bard College, University of Miami, Columbia and U chicago; I’ve been accepted by the first two and differed by the rest. I was pretty excited about Bard because it is a school I’ve been seriously considering; however, they did not give me enough aid; my EFC is in the upper 1,000’s but I’ve been expected to pay over 8,000 per year. Essentially I have two questions; first, is Bard college a bit stringent in giving aid or am I unlucky, and how can I influence them to give me more?
You can’t influence them. Assuming this is need n]based aid unless there is a change in your family finances the most you would get on appeal would be a couple thousand more.
Bard is not a college that commits to meeting need. But even colleges that do meet need don’t necessarily match your FAFSA EFC. They do their own calculation. Bard has “gapped” you – admitted you, but not offered enough aid for you to attend.
@TomSrOfBoston Thanks so much for the reply. Unfortunately the amount Bard wants me to pay is 8 times my EFC… which for our family is a substantial amount. Any other ideas? Also if anyone has had a similar situation with bard, i’d love to hear about it.
@intparent hm thats interesting! Given how colleges seem to care about yield, you’d think it would be easier for colleges to just to straight out reject me (knowing that I wont have the funds to pay what they want me to pay). Why do they do this?
Not sure. Some students will take out large private loans, I guess. You can still appeal, it won’t hurt.
You can ask them to review your aid package. Did you need to file the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA? It is possible that they are taking into account something that would not affect the federal EFC as determined by the FAFSA.
Many places do not consider the amount of aid needed when making an admission decision. This is what is meant when people indicate that an institution is Need-blind. That means that any number of students can be admitted and then offered un-affordable aid packages.
@happymomof1 Ah I see; that makes more sense…although on its website Bard does say it is “Need Conscious” (I learned about this after I applied) … so…???
So, you ask them if they can review your aid package. Maybe they come up with something that makes your attendance affordable. Maybe they don’t. In which case you kiss them good-bye and move on.
Frankly, if they truly wanted you, they would have come up with enough money the first time around. They didn’t. Maybe you should just go straight to the moving on.
What did UMiami offer? Bard at $8k may still be the most affordable school.
Did you get accepted to any colleges your family CAN afford?
Bard uses the Profile to determine awarding of institutional need based aid. Did they include the $5500 Direct Loan in your financial aid package?
@happymomof1 makes sense…although it cant hurt to try :D.
@twoinanddone I don’t know yet… they gave me a 13k a year merit scholarship, but I’m still waiting for the need based one (I didn’t submit some docs they apparently wanted, so I’ll have to wait).
@thumper1 I am not certain yet; I was admitted by University of Miami with a merit scholarship, but they haven’t given my FA package yet; I am waiting for some of my reaches (will hear in march) and if nothing works out I suppose I’ll do the CC to UC route (I am an CA resident). Although I was pretty excited about the prospect of Bard Concervatory (I am a pretty serious musician).
Our child was accepted IDP to Bard. Received aid package a few days later in November and was incredibly disappointed. Granted our situation is not nearly the same as the OP’s; however, HHI fluctuates wildly from year to year b/c of variable income with sales position. We immediately appealed via letter and substantial supporting documents over a 3yr period to validate the situation and 3 days later we were sent a sorry, but not happening letter saying everyone’s budgets are tight, including Bard’s. Given the IDP acceptance, which obviously shows incredible interest, i was really disappointed that they were so quickly dismissive, but not surprised, i guess.
@CroissantMiser IT would seem that bard simply doesn’t have the money then … or is using the money for something else :/.
@Lyoder2051 auditions haven’t even happened yet for Bard Conservatory. There are two separate admissions for the Conservatory - one for the college and one for the Conservatory. The Conservatory doesn’t offer EA. (Students applying to the double degree program may apply to the College B.A. program through the early Action or Early Decision. (Early Action and Immediate Decision are not available for application to the Conservatory B.M. program.))
The Conservatory offers separate merit awards. Did you also apply to the Conservatory and did you pass the prescreen for an audition? It’s highly possible if you’re accepted to the Conservatory, as well, that you’ll be able to negotiate close to a full ride especially with such substantial financial need.
Or are you just hoping to take advantage of the strong music department in the college itself and did not also apply to the Conservatory? In which case all the funding is just from the college. And, yes, you should write to the financial aid office and appeal.
If you applied to the Conservatory, and if you’re accepted, you will be able to present your case to the Conservatory if you need more money to attend - although 8K a year for a five year double degree is a darned good offer. With a loan of 5K per year, plus work study and/or gigs I would think you could pull it off. (Or are you already taking into account loans?) However, the Conservatory has the deepest pockets at Bard and can reach out to their donors if they really want you. Which instrument do you play?
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@SpiritManager I was unaware those two were separate! I thought I was automatically admitted to both … I see I thought wrong. When was the deadline for preescreen? I believe I am an extremely strong candidate for the conservatory (winner of numerous state, national and international competitions, and concertized in numerous countries :D); I play the piano. Do you think it would make sense for me to try to ask their music department if they could please still let me do it (given my financial need), and yes, I have taken loans into consideration.
The deadline has passed to apply to the conservatory - however, you could write to them and see if they’ll let you apply late. Not sure how you missed the fact there are two separate applications and the conservatory is audition based, though. Piano is extremely competitive, but it sounds like you’ve got the background. There are opportunities to audition into the conservatory once you’re there as a college student, but it’s not a given by any means. The Music Department in the College and the music program in the Conservatory are separate. Reaching out to the college music department won’t help you. Info on conservatory admissions here: http://www.bard.edu/conservatory/undergraduate/admission/ Piano auditions are March 4th. You might still have a chance. Email conservatoryadmission@bard.edu immediately - or give them a call on Monday and tell them your dilemma. Bard has been known to be flexible in unusual circumstances.
Also know that the Music Department in the college is one of the best in the country on its own, and has its own piano faculty - so you’d still get a great musical education at Bard even if not in the Conservatory. It’s just that all the music merit money is for the conservatory students.
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@SpiritManager I applied to a lot of schools- Early not that many but regular a huge amount… I shouldn’t have done that, but given how competitive college admissions are nowadays, I figured if I applied to a large number I will be able to get into a few. Unfortunately that meant lots of college website skimming … thus my mistake … and I sent a music supplement, which I thought was the basis for admissions. I wrote Bard Conservatory an email, and will hope for the best. Thanks so much for the help!