The New School estimated 2016-17 Cost of Attendance to be $60,470. We have this in writing, two letters, in fact. Now we get the bill, and it turns out the cost is really about $70,000! I got on the phone with a counselor and verified my numbers. Yep, they’re charging about $10,000 more than they quoted. We’re challenging this. I think they need to give us the price we thought we were paying, and they have to keep it in the same ballpark all four years.
What I’m wondering is, is this just a simple mistake that we’ll get fixed, or is this a systematic problem at The New School? Do they do this to a lot of people? Is it incompetence or deceit?
Where is your info about COA for New school for,the 2016-2017 year? Most schools update their COA during the summer prior to the start of college. It is NOT unusual to see a COA increase at that time.
It happened to us every year…and you can exoect it to happen to you EVERY year.
Estimated is the key word. The financial aid office had to process aid based on the best information they had at the time. It sounds like the board of governors decided to make some much larger than expected hikes to tuition, fees, and/or room & board.
Another thought: Cost of Attendance is different from cost to attend. The school can quote cost to attend as tuition, fees, dorms, board … but Cost of Attendance includes all the of the additional categories on which a financial aid package is based.
I would focus on the increase in itemized costs. Did tuition go up $2000? did room and board go up $1000? If just tuition went up $10k, that is a big increase.
For my daughter, the tuition has gone up every year by ~ $2000, including the year between when we applied and when she started. It was about $32k when we were looking, and it is now over $39k. Her room went up a little, and her meals plan (only one offered) went up, went down, went up, went down.
“And they have to keep it in the same ballpark all four years.”
Some schools do have 4-year tuition guarantees, but New School is decidedly NOT one of them. You are barking up the wrong tree.
http://thecollegematchmaker.com/69-colleges-money-saving-tuition-guarantees/
Instead of looking at your cost of attendance, look at your direct costs;
tuition
room / board and
fees
Don’t get me wrong; going to New school especially if you are living on campus, is expensive, no matter how you slice it. Dorms can cost almost 20K for a single if you add tuition, fees and a meal plan, it will be about 70k
you will have discretion on some of the expenses such as housing, misc. expenses and books.
Look at where you may be able to cut cost;if she has friends in NYC, can she share an apartment.
Does she need a meal plan (eating in NYC can be expensive).
I know a young man who was attending NYU and rented a 2-bedroom apartment in a brooklyn brownstone his sophomore year for $1300/month. Five years he is still in the apartment (he has he has a great landlord, his $1700 rent is all inclusive and he knows he is paying a song when he has friends who are paying $2500/month for a 1 bedroom)
@YazzMom Not sure if you requested a parent plus loan but that includes a loan origination fee (this can be quite hefty at 4.2% depending on the amount borrowed). Will your child be involved in any special programs like honors (there was a small fee with that). Our COA increased to include items like “matriculation fee”, “Honors fee”, “Voluntary library gift” (which we could have opted out of but we wanted to do that), lab fees etc. While George Washington University locks in the cost of tuition for all incoming freshmen, I’m sure the room and board will increase.