Hi everyone!
I was accepted to Carleton College this year as a first-year student. I received a really generous financial aid package, but there was still a significant amount of money my family was expected to pay. So as a low-income student with an EFC of zero, I had to wait to receive enough outside scholarships to make up for the family contribution. On April 30, I got a $2500 scholarship, which with the combined scholarships I’ve received made up the expected cost from Carleton. May 1 I emailed Carleton’s Financial Aid office to ask for an enrollment deposit waiver, and thenext day I went into the hospital for surgery following a car accident. After seeing no response from Carleton, I called (May 4th) and I was told they sent an email. I checked my spam to see I received an enrollment waiver on May 2nd with the email stating it was due May 2nd with no exceptions. I faxed it regardless on May 6th, and received an email in response that they couldn’t accept my deposit and as a result wouldn’t enroll me in the freshman class. I called the directer of admissions and told him that I was in surgery and unable to respond on May 2nd. He told me to get proof from my doctor and write a more detailed letter as to why I waited, but that still won’t guarantee that I’ll be allowed to enroll.
I’m going to send the letter and my doctor is going to email them. Does anyone have any advice for this situation?
Thanks in advance! Carleton is my dream school, and I honestly don’t know if I’ll be able to go to college in the fall if this doesn’t work out.
You played way to close to the timeline. That $2500 you waited for could have been made up during a summer job. You didn’t need to wait until the last minute. Asking for a deposit waiver on the DAY it’s all due is crazy. Get the proof and see what happens. They were already going above and beyond IMO.
@mareyah I know that this must be a very difficult time for you. Don’t know if my advice will be helpful, but - Be very honest and detailed in your letter. You are obviously an excellent writer, as you were accepted to Carleton. Tell them that this has been a learning experience for you. Stay positive (both in your letter and in your outlook on life right now) I wish you the best and let us know happens…
i have to work to pay for the car accident, so the $2500 (plus the additional $2800 i needed to come up with) actually couldn’t have been made up with a summer job. :o)
@CollegeGrad79 Thank you for your advice and kind words. I really needed that!
I think your case is understandable…But I think you need to make Carleton understand why their mail was in the spam mailbox. You said that Carleton is your dreamschool, so you would have communicated with Carleton administration office several times via email… But why spam now?
You need a letter from your doctor and the bill from the hospital to prove you were not just sick but in surgery and hospitalized on May 2nd (and, I assume, in recovery for a few days afterwards.)
everything worked out alright! thanks to all of you for your responses. I was lucky that Carleton was so understanding, and I’m happy to be a member of the carleton college class of 2020
Congratulations! As one of the Carleton administrators said to the Class of 2019 during new student week, “you can relax now, you’re in.”