<p>@ireneb, good luck to you all- do hope the aid comes through and your son has the delicious dilemma of having to pick among great choices that are all affordable. Heck, I wish that for everyone!!
For us the decision comes down at this point purely to money and the packet at american wins by a long shot. Still keeping the Tulane option open however till the last second in case more aid comes through…</p>
<p>@ireneb - my D’s admission counselor called her and told her and that letter was in the mail. Good luck and hope it works out for your S.</p>
<p>Wondering if my d commits- will that affect her chances for a positive outcome on merit appeal. Any thoughts? I initially thought it would but at this point in the month I am unsure. </p>
<p>This is a question I hear every year. My take is that the admissions department is very fair about these things and does not base it on whether you commit or not. Besides, with only a small deposit required, you could easily change your mind still. I just don’t think they behave in that way, although I fully acknowledge how easy it is to think it might be the case. </p>
<p>Thanks @fallen chemist. We told her to go ahead and commit and we will still be hopeful :)</p>
<p>I realize it’s logical to expect an answer one way or the other on an merit appeal before May 1. But since we are getting so close, generally speaking (not necessarily specific to Carb’s situation), does a college have an obligation to let you know by then? If for whatever reason a college doesn’t have an answer by May 1, and assuming it’s not affordable without a merit award, what would one’s options be? Wouldn’t that almost force someone to double deposit? </p>
<p>@IonNola - Hmmm, that’s a tough one. The technical answer is they are not obligated to let you know anything other than your admittance decision and need-based aid amounts by May 1, unless you are on the wait list. But clearly they do force you do either give up on Tulane or make two deposits if you don’t know by May 1 about the merit aid. But the deposits are refundable at Tulane until August sometime, as I recall. Is that still the case? It would be worth checking out, it might make the decision to double deposit easier. Otherwise all you can do is stay in touch with admissions and try and get a decision before May 1.</p>
<p>I was wondering since I have heard/read double depositing is a no-no. I have also heard claims that both schools will rescind offers when, in rare cases they have found out. Don’t know if there is any validity to this, particularly in the case of Tulane, if the deposits are in fact refundable until August.</p>
<p>@fallenchemist- Sorry Tuition is refundable at 100% until September 5, 2014 for this Fall, but your deposit is not refundable. </p>
<p>@UGAdawg - OK, that must be what I was “misremembering”. Thanks for the accurate info. Now I remember that what I was also thinking was that you can get your deposit back before May 1. At least you could before. But since IonNola is talking about after May 1, you are absolutely right, she would end up forfeiting it if Tulane didn’t come through with merit money.</p>
<p>@IonNola - I suppose one could question the overall ethics of double depositing, but not in these circumstances. After all, you have a preference for Tulane but there is a missing piece of information that is crucial, and Tulane controls that info. They couldn’t begrudge you hedging your position. I feel absolutely confident there is no policy of recision for double depositing, and there is also no way for them to know, as a practical matter. It is quite normal for 20-30 people to drop out even though they made deposits. There is even a term for it, called “summer melt”. Some just don’t show up in August, no communication at all.</p>
<p>Curious is anyone on here has heard about their merit appeal. D heard today 
- no additional money coming her way but we didn’t really expect it and had let her commit earlier this week (the day before the letter went out). I had wondered if that was a not the best decision - oh well. Now it’s time to move forward and do some very creative financial planning.</p>
<p>@Carb123 - I know we talked about this earlier, but for everyone else I will post my thinking. I really don’t think committing had any effect on the decision about merit aid. After all, you could turn around Monday and get your deposit back and your D could enroll elsewhere. She obviously wants Tulane and I wish you great creative powers in making it work financially. But it doesn’t make too much sense for Tulane to make a decision based on the deposit unless it were after May 1. At least they were fair enough to tell you before that date so you could change your mind if you had to.</p>
<p>The only argument I can think of that would say that the deposit did influence the decision to not award merit is they are counting on inertia, that most people that make a deposit are not going to change their minds no matter what they decide. But given that people change their minds all the time for all sorts of reasons regarding this issue and getting the deposit back is so easy, I don’t think it’s a very credible scenario.</p>
<p>Hopefully your D will use this as extra incentive to do even better and graduate Tulane Phi Beta Kappa.</p>
<p>Oh, and IonNola did post on April 16 that Tulane did improve their merit award. I think it that case they went from no merit at all to $20K. At least that was my understanding.</p>
<p>True FC that is what happened and D is extremely fortunate! I would have to believe this is a rare exception by Tulane especially at this late stage. </p>
<p>Rarer these days, it seems. A few years ago it wasn’t common, but it wasn’t as unusual as now either. Especially getting bumped up one award level. Again not like they did it routinely, but I knew a fair number that successfully got that. You were indeed quite fortunate, you must have put on a good case.</p>
<p>@fallenchemist - Do you know why Tulane requires the FAFSA & CSS Profile for a merit appeal? This is the only reason I prepared these tedious forms. If the aid truly is based on the student’s accomplishments, why look at the parents’ financial data and mandate these need-based aid forms? Needless to say, S’s appeal was denied. We received the letter in the mail two days after depositing. Now, I’m back to the same question that is at the heart of Tulane’s marketing campaign: “Is Tulane Worth it?” At $63k a year and rising, I’m having a hard time saying “yes.”</p>
<p>@ireneb - I can’t answer that last part for you. For many families, maybe even most, $63K a year isn’t even a consideration, much less worth it. But of course relatively few families pay “sticker price”.</p>
<p>I knew Tulane required the forms if you were appealing for merit, but frankly never thought much about why. So I am thinking out loud now, a bit off the cuff. I would think that they want to be sure they have the full picture, that they have explored all options for aid. In other words, even if they can’t justify merit aid for that student based on the norms that year, they can look at at least getting that student a need-based grant. What often happens is that parents are so sure that they won’t qualify for need-based aid they don’t fill out the forms, but it turns out they are eligible for some aid when Tulane does process the forms. So I think they are just insuring that every avenue has been analyzed.</p>
<p>Obviously I don’t know your situation in detail, and I seem to remember that you said American was more affordable. I can only repeat what I have often said, that no school is worth going into significant debt for, and now I would add to that no school is worth depleting most of your savings for. We chase this idea of some kind of perfect fit, but fit does include financial viability. I am not trying to talk you out of Tulane, of course, but if there is a much more affordable option out there, I would seriously consider it. But you pretty much have to do it today or tomorrow or you lose your deposit.</p>
<p>I don’t know if that was much help, since I can only speak in generalities rather than to your specific situation. I think the question of value (i.e. “is it worth it”) is very individual to the family and to the finances involved. If in fact you can absorb the cost without significantly denting your and/or his financial future, then yes I think it could well be worth it. Tulane and New Orleans can be and has been a life changing experience for many. At the opposite end financially, it is too much of a burden to possibly be a good choice. It would be a life changing experience in the wrong direction due to financial pressures for years afterwards. That, I think, is what you have to assess.</p>
<p>@IonNola I sent you a PM. </p>