Hello, my daughter is planning to apply ED at Barnard this year. However, as this is our first child going to college, we are having trouble understanding exactly what to expect in terms of cost. Obviously Barnard is not a cheap school, and no merit based aid, and we won’t get much for need based aid as a middle class family. I’m especially confused about the Barnard grant- is that different from financial aid? If so, what are the options there? The bottom line is that according to their website, the average Barnard student graduates with under $20,000 in debt, but I can’t imagine that all other students there are of a dramatically higher (can afford the unaided price without debt) or lower (receive significantly more financial aid) socio-economic status than my daughter. Am I wrong, or is there something I really don’t understand?
Thank you so much for any help- I realize these may be silly questions but it’s all a little overwhelming! Thanks!
Have you tried the net price calculator?
“Middle class” is not easily defined. Depending on how you define it, some schools give substantial need-based aid to students who come from middle class families. If you care to give some hard numbers regarding your family financial situation, you will get much more detailed answers.
Barnard’s NPC was the least accurate of the schools my daughter received financial aid from. Luckily it underestimated how much aid she would get. We are a middle-class family (mid-5 figure income) and while Barnard was the least generous school, the package was sufficient for us to be able to afford it. The Barnard grant, which is the bulk of her aid, was part of the whole financial aid package. The loan amount for this year is around $3000, so even with increasing amounts each year, she should owe less than 20K in all.
If your situation doesn’t include owning a business or a non-custodial parent, the NPC would be the place to start.
Yes, do the NPC on their website. There are a lot of families that can pay sticker price, and will to go to Barnard. Do the NPC. Apply ED with the understanding that you can afford X, and your D knows you can afford X.If Barnard comes back expecting you to pay X + Y, then you look at other schools. Have back ups in place, schools your D would be happy at and you can afford, Make sure your D knows what you can afford, now, before she sets her heart on one school. There are lots of schools out there that offer merit aid. Find schools that meet your budget, are a good fit for your D and she will get merit at.( ie- she is in upper 25% of applicants, usually)
Is your income over $150,000 a year? If so, you can plan on having a substantial parent contribution to attend Barnard. In my opinion.
Barnard gives only need based aid.
Perhaps a better question to answer is…how much do you think you can contribute annually for college costs? In reality, that is your budget.
I’m not sure why you think ED is a good idea. Yes, you “can” back out of an ED contract if the financial aid is not sufficient. BUT you are going into this thinking it will be insufficient. That being thrmcase,why wouldn’t your kiddo apply to a variety of schools including Barnard…regular decision?
Here is the rub. You will get your Barnard financial aid with your acceptance if accepted. You will then have a sense of your net cost. BUT that Barnard package could be relatively good compared to others…or bad compared to others. You won’t get the chance to compare offers amongst schools.
What happens if Barnard net cost ED is too high and you decline that offer? Fact is…you are then DONE with Barnard as a choice. But then ALL of the other colleges come in with net costs either near or higher than Barnard. You will have given up the best offer.
OR…maybe…just maybe…your kid would get BETTER aid elsewhere. The net cost could be many thousands less per year. Even schools that meet full need for all have different formulas. Your kid could get an awesome package elsewhere.
I think ED is a great option when the family feels comfortable with paying the cost to attend. If there is a good chance it won’t be affordable…then ED isn’t a good option.
Oh…and lastly…I don’t know if Barnard will consider other more generous offers from peer schools…and adjust aid. But if they DO…an ED acceptance will not give you that chance for reconsideration at Barnard.
Barnard is need based only. A Barnard grant is part of the need based package – need based includes grant, loan, work-study, and federal Pell grant if the student is eligible.
The average debt figures you see reported are for federal student loans only. So if the student took a private loan, it isn’t reflected.If a student’s parents took private loans, or a 2nd mortgage on their house, or a parent PLUS loan - that’s not reflected.
Figure out what you can afford, run the NPC at Barnard and other schools, and don’t apply ED if the NPC number is out of reach.
Barnard will not bid against other schools in comparing offers, but they may consider relevant information that another school took into account for caculating need based aid.
No need to guess. https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/barnard
If you are married to her dad, don’t own a business or have an otherwise complex financial situation it’s pretty straightforward.
is there something I really don’t understand?<<<
Students can only ever borrow staffords, at the max of $27,500 for undergrad (unless parents are refused PP loans). So sure, the numbers are disingenuous when parents are borrowing the real money.
Yes, very straightforward if your financial situation is simple. My D’s actual financial aid was only $300 off from NPC.
We found Barnard’s NPC to be very accurate and Barnard’s financial aid package was the most generous of any university except for Princeton. Barnard does however take home equity into consideration and this surprises many parents. If you have a lot of home equity, Barnard WILL expect you to access it.
You should also note that Barnard strongly discourages private loans. You have to go through a special process for Barnard to process private loan applications. Overall debt for students is under $17k and there are plenty of work opportunities (aid-supported and otherwise).
ED is really not a good option for middle-class families who are reliant on need-based financial aid but uncertain as to how much they will qualify for – especially when parents are going through the process for the first time with their oldest child, and not familiar with the financial aid process. Anecdotal information about how generous a particular school was with financial aid compared to others is just that – anecdotal, and it may not work out the same for you because there are a whole variety of nuances in the financial aid process.
I understand the pressures in the current admission process to somehow feel that ED is needed to improve chances-- but you may very well find yourself in a position where you are faced with a financial aid package that will require extra borrowing by the parent – and you will have no way of knowing whether that package is better or worse than peer institutions where your daughter might gain admission.
Do run the NPC – but keep in mind that it is a rough estimate only and your actual costs could be many thousands of dollars more. Figure out your own tolerance for debt as parent – and if you are not going to be willing or able to stretch to send your daughter to Barnard – then have your daughter apply RD so that you will have the option to compare awards and make a more knowledgeable decision in the spring.
Because as a parent I can tell you that the process of telling your child that she must turn down a college that has admitted her because you can’t afford it is probably more difficult and painful than a rejection letter… and I can only imagine it would be even worse when there aren’t other admissions and more affordable options in hand.
The barnard admissions person said exactly the same thing to us.