<p>Hey -</p>
<p>Just wondering, how generous is Barnard in terms of financial aid? Do they generally give money to students in need? Merit aid?</p>
<p>I have a 4.0 GPA and a respectable (not low, but not AMAZING) ACT score.</p>
<p>THE MAIN QUESTION HERE: WHAT ARE YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH FINANCIAL AID AT BARNARD? DO THEY GIVE A LOT OF AID? ARE THEY GENEROUS?</p>
<p>In our experience (several years ago….out daughter graduated in 2009), Barnard’s aid was quite generous. They promise to meet financial “need”. Be aware, though: THEIR definition of “need” may not be the same as yours or your family’s. Issues can arise with non-custodial parents, with retirement savings, etc. An education at Barnard is going to require sacrifice…you will be expected to contribute financially every year as well. It’s not “cheap” and “free rides” are very rare. If you are awarded outside scholarships, they do apply them so that your loan amounts are reduced before grants, so that is good.</p>
<p>You will not know exactly what your financial aid package will be until Barnard has all the info they need, including that year’s tax info. So that means applying ED, if financial aid is crucial to your situation, is NOT a great idea. You will want to be able to compare financial aid packages so you and your family can make the decision that is best for your situation in the spring. </p>
<p>Others here can answer better than I (CALMOM???), but I hope this gives you a start. Our daughter could not have attended Barnard if not for their generous financial aid program, but it is by no means a “give away”. It was a financial sacrifice for her to attend there but, in our opinion, well worth it. We consider that those four years of sacrifice essentially allowed her to attend her current, fully funded PhD program, since she was so well prepared academically and gained admission to her first choice of post-grad programs.</p>
<p>Hey mmm4815,
I was accepted to Barnard just last week! They were very generous with my FA (they gave me 39k in grants and 5k in work study and Stafford loans!), but my financial aid award was especially low this year because my sister will also be a full-time student when I get to Barnard. Financial aid is significantly less if your sibling is also applying for it!
Barnard doesn’t award merit based aid though, only need-based aid.</p>
<p>dliu96, that’s actually not right. You don’t get less financial aid if your sibling is also a full time student, you actually get more. The school is figuring your families financial need, and they fill the rest with forms of aid. If your parents have another college student, the school assumes that they have fewer resources and reduces the expected family contribution (increasing your aid.)</p>
<p>What cherylb said about financial aid when you have a sibling in college is exactly correct.</p>
<p>So, dliu96: be aware that if you sister graduates before you do, your financial aid will almost certainly DECREASE, not increase.</p>
<p>We compared several financial aid packages and Barnard was right in the middle in determining our EFC. Some schools were a couple thousand cheaper, some were a couple thousand more. Barnard hit right in the middle of all of them- and well worth the extra $2K so far, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Oh my goodness. I totally meant they give you more financial aid. I just had it mixed up when I typed it! I meant to say that what I would be paying is significantly lower.
That’s embarrassing, my bad!</p>