I have a zero EFC and was admitted to Denison with a 23K merit scholorship. Then when my FA came they gave me 6K in need based aid. I am at a free fly in event today and talked to someone in FA. He was completely unhelpful. He mentioned that they have a new aid consulting agency but said that my award was common. He told me that other pell grant students manage to pay the 25K yearly price and that i could appeal. Why would I appeal if I clearly have a 0 EFC(full pell in my aid package)?? Could I show them that unexpected circumstances came up and now my EFC is in the negatives? I just don’t see why he would suggest that to me. He wouldn’t tell me that they do preferential packaging for need based and told me they don’t meet full need. That’s fine but I’ve seen on the IPEDS that the average net price for low income students is under 10K. I’ve come to the conclusion that IpEDS data is unreliable from other sources but then there’s the fact that Denion published that their average graduates debt is 28K. If they enroll 20% pell grant students and expect them to pay up 25K a year I don’t see that as being possible. Anyway I have some great choices that I can afford and it helps to eliminate a school with so little time left to make my decsion. I’m just genuinely perplexed how they enroll so many pell grant students. I’m assuming it’s preferential packaging but does anyone have insight? Additnaly I think fly ins are fantastic and I wish more schools did them but if they are this stingy with need based aid for everyone and choose to pay for a round trip flight for hundreds of students it seems like they may be utelizing their 750 million plus endowment poorly.
It does seem to be a case of preferential packaging. The Denison rep was giving you an option if you have an offer from a peer school that they could sweeten their offer. The IPEDS data is not unreliable. Remember that the debt numbers posted are for students who elect to attend the school. If you don’t get a good enough aid offer you can’t afford to attend and your numbers don’t drive the average up. Good luck at your other schools.
Thanks for your input. The rep seemed pretty clear about the fact that appeals were based on changed family circumstances. You may be right though. I brought offers from peer schools and I could write an appeal, but I doubt it would increase my aid by 15-19K to make it competitive to other schools. Also is preferential packaging usually race based? The financial aid rep was very unclear but he seemed to be saying that need assistance isn’t based on merit. Also with the IPEDs it seems there are very strange stats. I’ve looked at the data for many schools and there’s bizarre info. For example in 2012-2013 net price for Sewanee 0-30K income was 7K, 30-48K income was 34K, 48-75K income was 7K again. Then years before that are completely different. Seems like there’s a lot of data on there that is inexplainable for a number of schools.
That’s strange, I’m also a recently admitted student with an EFC of zero and I’m choosing Denison because they’re giving me the MOST money. I’ll have to take out about $7,000 in loans but I don’t think that that’s bad considering the sticker price and how much every other school would cost me. Maybe you should reach out to an admissions counselor. I visited mine when I was out there and he was super helpful. Maybe yours can set the right tone with a FA counselor and they can help you come up with some more money. Anyways, I’m really sorry to hear about this, good luck!
@chamomilletea that sounds like a great package! That’s probably good advice. The Financial Aid people seemed less willing to work with me than my other schools but my admissions counselor seemed really nice. I’ve decided to go to Sewanee though because I loved it there and they gave me a really good package. Good luck at Denison!
Congratulations to all on your admissions!
Just a comment about IPEDS data and the large variation in Sewanee data as an example. On the one hand, it is possible there was an error made. It happens. On the other hand, especially if the sample size is small, the data can be radically affected.
The IPEDS data is only differentiated by total income. I’ve often wondered if it includes income from both parents if they are divorced. Then there is family size to consider and how many children are in college, as well as home equity. Some people look poor on paper but have a business, own their house outright, etc.
There could also be independent students in the mix. Anyone who was in foster care or guardianship up till age 18 qualifies as independent in FAFSA.
None of these factors are accounted for in IPEDS, so it’s best used as a general guideline. I have noticed some college figures bouncing around like Sewanee and I think it’s largely due to the random family breakdowns that particular year.