<p>J/W if it’s a school that will cover necessary costs?</p>
<p>Like most colleges, AU doesn’t guarantee to meet applicants’ full need and will determine your need by its own formulas, not your calculation. You’ll have to apply to see what financial aid you get. Substantial merit scholarships are available to highly attractive applicants.</p>
<p>There are a lot of personal stories–some happy and many not–in this forum. I suggest you scroll through several pages of history and click on the threads that seem to be about money.</p>
<p>But you’ll learn that the upshot is as MommaJ said: you might get a FA package from AU that makes you very happy, and you might get a package that leaves a huge gap between the aid you’re offered and what your family can afford.</p>
<p>AU does not guarantee to meet need. In addition, like many other schools, please remember that need is determined by the university, not the family or FAFSA. It does offer merit aid, but it seems to me (purely from anecdotal information and my comparison of D1 a rising junior and D2 a 2012 HS grad so recent packages to compare) that AU gave more “lower amount” scholarships (i.e. $10,000) and less half tuition or more than applicants of just a few cycles ago. </p>
<p>If you have significant need, and are at the tip top of the applicant pool, you may get a package that is workable. If you do not have much need, but are a top applicant and are looking some merit aid, AU might work for you. But in all cases it is may be case of casting a wide net and comparing offers. You may want to run the Net Price Calculator for AU and see what the estimated package is. Note that these net price calculators were this fall, so there is not a lot of feedback out there on how the estimates compared to actual packages in the spring acceptance round. Here is the link: [Net</a> Price Calculator Form](<a href=“http://www.american.edu/financialaid/Net-Price-Calculator-Form.cfm]Net”>Net Price Calculator | American University, Washington, DC)</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>The Net Price Calculator will give you a false sense of what you will receive, in my experience from using it this past year, since it actually estimates full need and many if not most colleges do not meet full need. Most of the schools, including AU, met between 65-75% of our need. If you can make that work, then AU is a great possibility.</p>
<p>Pudseattle- since the NP calculators were anew requirement this past admission cycle, it may help future applicants to know. If you still have the NP estimates & went through the application process could you post the estimate and actual? </p>
<p>Some advise is that they are more accurate for straight forward returns-small business owners, self employment and noncustodial parents all skewing the results. Was this a factor in yours at all?</p>