<p>I was recently accepted into Loyola Chicago and and into a small liberal arts college, Dominican University, also in the Chicago area. These are my top two choices. I received $17,500 in merit aid from Dominican and $12,500 in merit aid from Loyola. I really really am in love with Loyola, but with so much merit aid from Dominican, its pretty hard to say no. I'm just wondering if it would be rude to email the Financial Aid office at Loyola asking if they can do anything to help with merit scholarships. Is it too early in the admission process to email them? Thank you for your help!</p>
<p>If you’re going to ask - ask by phone and the earlier the better (but wait until after the holidays). A school is going to be be in better financial condition earlier than later.</p>
<p>But, first I need to ask …what are your stats? IF they aren’t high, then Loyola Chicago isn’t going to have much of an incentive to “buy” your admission. If you are a URM, that might help.</p>
<p>BTW…can I ask how are you paying for the rest of those schools’ EFC? I think both schools have Cost of attendances of about $45k per year (plus or minus). Have your parents given you a school budget? :)</p>
<p>I have an ACT of 29 and a GPA of 3.778 at one of the top Catholic high schools in the Chicagoland area. I’m a caucasian male. :/. I also have taken 7 AP classes and numerous “Honors” classes. I used the FAFSA4Caster, and it gave me an EFC of 25250. Both of my parents are teachers, but because my father was working with the military this past year, the FAFSA probably won’t be too kind to us.</p>
<p>My parents aren’t paying a dime of my college tuition, so it’s all up to me and loans, it looks like. :/.</p>
<p>Ahh about your FAFSA… hmmmm. </p>
<p>You have a good ACT. :)</p>
<p>My kids went to Catholic schools, too. 
</p>
<p>Are you also applying to DePaul? They might beat both for scholarships. You are in the top 25% for DePaul, and it’s such a big school that they can more likely afford to give you more money.</p>
<p>So, you have a high EFC (welcome to the club… lol ). </p>
<p>Ok… so, have your parents said how much they can give you each year? If they can’t pay for much of their EFC, you’re going to have a big gap. </p>
<p>Your ACT is high for Benedictine, but it’s in the bottom of the top 25% for Loyola, so it’s not likely they will give you a lot more, but you can try. :)</p>
<p>What other schools are you applying to that will likely give you big merit?</p>
<p>I did apply to DePaul and was awarded $12,500 a year. I visited, and to be honest, wasn’t nearly as in love with it as I was with Loyola. I applied to: Dominican, DePaul, Loyola, Knox and University of Tennessee (Chattanooga). To be honest, for me I think its definitely going to be between Dominican and Loyola.</p>
<p>I spoke to my parents about financial aid, and they said that if I go to Dominican, they will pay whatever my merit aid/fed aid doesn’t cover. If I go to Loyola, they won’t help out at all. Both of my parents are legacies at Dominican and they honestly want to help.</p>
<p>Now it’s going to be a battle between Dominican, a school I’m not in love with, but will allow me to graduate with miniscule debt; or Loyola, a school I am head-over-heels in love with, but will leave me with some nice student loans. :/</p>
<p>*I spoke to my parents about financial aid, and they said that if I go to Dominican, they will pay whatever my merit aid/fed aid doesn’t cover. If I go to Loyola, they won’t help out at all. Both of my parents are legacies at Dominican and they honestly want to help.
*</p>
<p>ooohhhh…that seems a bit manipulative. :(</p>
<p>Have BOTH of your parents visited Loyola? If not, you need to arrange for that. If they can afford to pay for Dominican, then they can afford to give you the SAME amount for Loyola - which is just as a good a school, if not better.</p>
<p>And, if they both haven’t visited Dominican lately, they should both visit it too. I don’t know how Dominican is now, but if it’s not “up to par” from when they went, they may clearly see that Loyola is a better school.</p>
<p>No, I honestly believe that this isn’t a ploy to get me to go to their alma mater. It’s just the simple fact that because of all the merit aid/stafford loans/work study, there is only about a $6k gap with Dominican, whereas there’s something like a 15k gap with Loyola.</p>
<p>We are going to visit Dominican tomorrow, and both of my parents have been to Loyola within the past year.</p>
<p>*I received $17,500 in merit aid from Dominican and $12,500 in merit aid from Loyola.</p>
<p>It’s just the simple fact that because of all the merit aid/stafford loans/work study, there is only about a $6k gap with Dominican, whereas there’s something like a 15k gap with Loyola.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Well, then, will they pay the $6k for Loyola that they would pay for Dominican? Will they pay as much as they pay for your high school tuition?</p>
<p>Why is there such a big gap with Loyola? Won’t you get a Stafford loan for Loyola, too? Does Loyola have a $9k higher COA? </p>
<p>What is the COA for each school?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t let work study make a difference. You can get a part-time job without work-study (it might not be on campus), and you can always work lots of hours in the summer. :)</p>
<p>Total COA: Dominican: $32,400 Loyola: $40,700.</p>
<p>FAFSA4Caster Aid based on a COA of $31,700 (National Average): Stafford Subsidized ($3,500), Stafford Unsubsidized ($2k), Work Study ($1,460), Perkins Loan ($1,509) - Total: $8,469.</p>
<p>I think its down to the point where I’m just going to make a pro/con list and really sit and think whether Loyola is worth the extra cost to me.</p>