Financial aid sent me an award letter following admission to a competitive graduate program. I accepted admission based on their award and declined all other offers. Then I got the bill which was more than double!!! Financial Aid has lied multiple times about the origins of their mistake. All I’m hearing is sorry there’s nothing we can do. I put a $4000 non refundable deposit on an apartment that I can now no longer afford and now have no housing, I’m looking at a 2 hour commute and my opportunity to accept admission elsewhere is no longer possible due to deadlines. How can they get away with this???
And when you asked NYU about the difference…what did they say?
We’re you selected for verification of your aid application. Was this a merit award that you somehow became ineligible to receive?
Really…there is more to this than you are telling here.
Yeah, something seems off. If you have the offer in writing, why can’t you just show it to them and tell them you expect to get what they promised?
Right. Was this a financial aid offer that you accepted? Or was it an estimate of potential financial aid?
Or were you verified after the offer was given!
This happened to my coworker recently for her grad program (at an ivy league school). She received a bill with a grant that was more than $8,000 lower than she had been told it would be. When she called, the director told her that someone had made a mistake on her initial award letter. I helped her draft an email explaining that she turned down another school based on the financial aid this school offered her. She told them that she had carefully reviewed her finances and the amount she was willing to borrow before she said yes. She further explained that while there may have been a mistake, she had no way of knowing that they had made a mistake when she accepted their offer, and she had said yes based on what she was offered … and she was never aware of any mistake until after she had given notice to her job and signed a lease on an apartment. She was very polite. They reinstated her grant.
You should email them to explain that finding out about this now has put you in a very bad position, because you don’t know that you can afford to come to school. If you don’t get the money reinstated, send a copy of your email and the response to the director of your graduate department - explain that you don’t know that you will be able to come to school, and you are requesting their assistance. Be prepared to walk away if necessary, because if you can’t afford it you shouldn’t do it.
Was an error discovered or correction made to your FAFSA or CSS Profile? Do your parents own a business or take business deductions? Do they own properties other than your home?
@mom2collegekids this is a grad student. No indication that this is medical or law school…so parent info wouldn’t matter.
Parent information does matter for NYU law, NYU med and the dental school.
Is your graduate program law, medical or dental school? What is the graduate program?
Was your parent information required on your financial aid application forms? If so, did you provide that information before you received that “financial aid award” that was more than what your bill indicates it would be?
Your story is missing some information. Yes, schools make mistakes. When you contacted NYU with your financial aid award in hand…that didn’t match what was in your bill…what did they say?
Please answer these questions…you will get better info if you do.
Ahh…sorry. Didn’t realize this was a grad student.
Am I overlooking something? It seems like he’s only made one post and I don’t see a mention of NYU .
I’m the one who mentioned NYU in my response. I apologize if this is an error…hoping the OP comes back and clarifies.
@yourmama1 Please come back and give more information otherwise the thread will be closed
Closing. If the OP wants it back open, she can PM me.