This discussion was created from comments split from: Did your Early Decision Aid Appeal Work?.
Just the thread I was looking for. Thank you for your insightful posts above.
I just got an financial aid letter from an ED school that my daughter had applied and would like to appeal and any advice you can offer is helpful. I have two specific questions.
My daughter got a merit scholarship of $5k and the financial aid package included this $5k as part of total grant. My understanding was this $5k is free money and does not account towards financial need. There is this verbiage in the college’s NPC calculator. "The estimated net cost does not include merit-based scholarships. ". I also posted elsewhere in this website and others had confirmed the same. Can I ask them to reconsider and allow this additional 5k into the financial aid offer?
Another question is about my family’s credit card expenses. We have unusually high credit card debts. I know NPCs and EFCs typically do not take these debts into account. But in my situation, I was out of job for a brief period of time which resulted in borrowing from credit cards for day to day expenses. Is it a good idea to show this as a reason to be lenient in the financial aid offer?
You can ask…but usually consumer debt is not considered in the financial aid equation. It might also matter when this consumer debt was amassed. You certain can provide documentation of your job loss, how much family income was actually lost, how long this was for, etc. The school might consider it. Might.
At some schools, that $5000 merit grant would actually reduce your financial need by $5000.
Does this college guarantee to meet full need for all students?
I know it’s a little late for this…but if finances were a significant consideration…why an ED application?
this college does guarantee full need of all students. The credit card debt is not a deal breaker for me as it is insignificant but the other one is.
Are you saying you need an additional $5000 in need based aid because the college included your kiddo’s $5000 merit award as part of the money THE COLLEGE is providing to meet your student’s needs?
You can ask…but it’s their money…and they might not be inclined to allow double dipping…$5000 in their merit grant money plus $5000 of some other grant in need based aid. It’s all college given money.
Did your kiddo’s financial aid award include the $5500 Direct Loan? If not, she can take that.
Also, how far off was this award from meeting your FAFSA EFC?
It is VERY possible that the family contribution the college calculated was more than you expected it to be. And colleges cannot and will not award need based financial aid to pay the family contribution they calculate needs to be paid…by the family.
So the college calculated what your expected family contribution is, and your need is the difference between that amount and the college’s cost to attend. A $5,000 merit award will take care of some of the need. The remaining amount of need can be covered with need-based grants or scholarships from the school, federal loans, work study income, etc.
@thumper1 I am using the college’s NPC calculator. The NPC and their actual EFC determination is pretty close.
On another thread, you say your kid got accepted to Northeastern University with a $10,000 presidential scholarship. Not $5000.
So far as I know…NEU does not allow stacking of merit and need based aid.
@TomSrOfBoston would you please elaborate on this as you did on this posters other thread?
Your net price…is your net price…and that is what your FAMILY is usually expected to pay.
Sorry i get mixed up 5k per semester but actually 10k presidential scholarship
Regardless…that $10,000 merit award reduces your need by $10,000.
Are you saying you need an additional $5000 in need based aid because the college included your kiddo’s $5000 merit award as part of the money THE COLLEGE is providing to meet your student’s needs?
You can ask…but it’s their money…and they might not be inclined to allow double dipping…$5000 in their merit grant money plus $5000 of some other grant in need based aid. It’s all college given money.
Did your kiddo’s financial aid award include the $5500 Direct Loan? If not, she can take that.
Also, how far off was this award from meeting your FAFSA EFC?
It is VERY possible that the family contribution the college calculated was more than you expected it to be. And colleges cannot and will not award need based financial aid to pay the family contribution they calculate needs to be paid…by the family.
At any college it is full need as determined by the college. It is not what you feel that you need. You can ask of course but the most likely answer will be no.
Northeastern does not stack merit and need based aid. Merit replaces need.
I don’t believe Northeastern allows stacking of aid. Your merit award reduces your financial need by $10,000. In other words, the college doesn’t need to give you ANOTHER $10,000 because that portion of your need was met with other funds.
Did your kiddo get the $5500 Direct Loan in the financial aid package from NEU? If not, she can take that $5500to cover part of your shortfall.
It’s not likely to me that NEU will give you $10,000 of THEIR money in merit aid…and an additional $10,000 in need based grant money…their money also.
Schools do NOT give need based aid to cover the family contribution as the school calculates that to be.
Northeastern does not stack merit and need based aid.
You wrote
Are you hoping to get an additional $10,000 to help pay for the $30,000 Northeastern expects you to pay? If so…it’s not likely to happen.
But if your kid hasn’t been offered the $5500 Direct Loan, she can request that to help.
And for the record…you were asking about this in January…and got the same responses. This was before she received the presidential award.
You have a decision to make…can you afford the cost for your kid to attend NEU or not. Yes! You can appeal the award, but in the meantime have your plan B in hand. Your kid needs to understand that if the money is NOT forthcoming…she can’t attend this college. You say you can finance $20,000 by borrowing against your house…but you need $30,000…right?
In addition, you will need to do this same song and dance for three more years. Will you be able to,borrow against your home for all four years of undergrad? Are you really willing to mortgage your home to the tune of $80,000 or more so your kiddo can attend this college?
Is this school really affordable?
EFC was 30k but the NEU’s NPC comes to 40k. Back then I did not know the difference. Then I got 10k of scholarship and i thought great now, out of 40k, 10k is being taken care of and puts me back at 30k. Now as I further try to understand this whole equation, the 10k doesnt come out of 40k as NEU doesnt stack. So my EFC is still 40k.
On hindsight, I shouldn’t have gone for ED but as you can imagine, I got this whole “need based financial aid” totally wrong. I am paying for it.
If the finances are not sufficient, that is the ONE reason you can decline an ED admission. So…just say no if the finances don’t work for your family.
And please…don’t allow your HS student to guilt you into taking on a financial burden that is not sustainable.
Hopefully, she hasn’t accepted this offer of admission and withdrawn her other applications…and you can just move on…if it’s not affordable.
Have you received your total need based and merit package from NEU? If you are not clear on YOUR family contribution, call NEU and get it clarified.
NEU does consider primary home equity in their calculation. The FAFSA does not. Maybe that is where some of the difference lies.