I’m sooo confused?

Hey guys! So I applied to st. Lawrence uni on early decision. On the certificate of finances on their portal I stated my dad can contribute 16ooo dollars per year. Last night they accepted me to SLU at 42000 dollars per year. I’m honestly so confused. I’m an international student. I’ve had schools reject me before because they couldn’t meet my financial aid amount but I honestly don’t get how SLU made their decision. Right after the acceptance I emailed their dean of admissions. I’m an ED applicant and if they don’t meet my need I’m gonna have to be released from the agreement right ?

Yes

You, the student, do not get to decide how much you are going to pay. The college decides what it will charge you. Just because you said your dad can contribute $16,000 per year does not mean that will be your cost.

If the financial aid offered to you is not enough to support attendance, you just say thanks but no thanks and apply elsewhere.

Colleges offer aid based on merit, need, or a combination of them. You’re an international student with an ~1140 SAT, so it will be tough to get merit. If your parents are really willing to spend $23k/year there may be some schools that would be affordable, but I don’t think you’re going to get a $60k/year school down to ~$20k. Where else did you apply?

I already got a 47k scholarship from Wooster where with employment I’ll have to pay 16k per year. And Wooster determined that need from my financial documents so I’ve got no clue how SLu made their decision. I mean they could have just rejected me for aid like Earlham did initially.

I don’t think my SAT score had much to do with it since they’re test optional and emphasized a lot on my school grades when I applied

My friend whose sat score is 1560 got into Wooster too at the same scholarship.

Also , I just noticed that this is a conditional acceptance and it mentions that my senior year grades must stay up. My official high school transcripts were sent where my 12th grade scores were given along with my graduation date of June 2019. I’m honestly wondering if they just skipped details on my app when they read My file like ummmm

Yes you can be released from your decision if you can not pay the 42K per year. Just because the net price calculator said your family could pay 16K per year doesn’t mean SLU is obligated to give you a scholarship for the remainder.

Actually given that SLU is upwards to 70K a year, they gave you quite a nice $$ amount.

I emailed them for an appeal on Friday and as of today no replies. Does this mean they’re considering it?

The chances of any school giving you an additional $100k over 4 years when they’ve already given you ~$30k/year are small, especially since it’s an ED acceptance. How long did they give you to accept the initial offer? They may take your request for more money as a refusal.

They said I have to make my deposit by March 6th and it’s already 26th February. A few websites on negotiating aid along with a few other people have told me that while negotiating I should show them the other acceptances where I got more aid and to use that as leverage . Should I?

You can show them your other offers…but you have to decide how much you want to push things. Do you prefer St Laurence to Wooster, which you said is affordable? Or Earlham, which I seem to remember you have been accepted to and also is affordable?

I prefer St. Lawrence, that’s why I applied Ed. I also have friends studying there and I like the campus and facilities more than wooster and Earlham. Do you guys think the other two are better schools in your opinion?

I see St Laurence and Wooster as pretty similar (don’t know their relative rankings) and probably a bit better than Earlham…which has also had some financial issues.

I would let St Laurence know of Wooster’s offer, but I agree with what austinmshauri said above…it’s not likely they will match it by giving you another $25k/year. But you can try.

Just be respectful, say I received this offer from Wooster, but would prefer to attend St. Laurence. Tell them what your family can afford to pay, and go from there.

You’re never contractually obligated to attend a school you can’t afford. Just tell them, I can’t afford it and move on.

My counselor there just replied saying he’s gonna meet with VP on Thursday about appeals and he’ll let them know my case then .

HEY guys, so they increased my aid package by ten thousand dollars/40k for four years. I obviously still need more aid. I’m guessing there’s no harm in asking for more since this price still leaves it unaffordable but how should I approach this in the mail? What to say? Or should my parent email them? Thank you