Northwestern & Finacial Aid

<p>For those of you that have received your acceptance letters. What do you think of your FA package? Was it more/less than expected? There is a theory that ED students typically don't receive as good a FA package as those who apply RD.</p>

<p>I cant even view my financial aid package. Its not on CAESAR</p>

<p>I haven't gotten anything yet either.</p>

<p>Me, neither. Apparently it comes later, rather than along with the acceptance letter and such.</p>

<p>Yeah, I remember mine coming MUCH later than expected last year. However, it ended up being a really good package, all things considered.</p>

<p>Juliusmonkey-what was your efc and what type grants/loans were you given? That is, if you don't mind me asking. My son is a RD freshman this year and our EFC was $9,600 with 33,000 grants. In addition, he was eligible for a stafford loan. Although, we didn't use the loan due to outside scholarhips making up the difference. He is a dual degree major and this package should carry throughout the 5 years. Unfortunately, when his sister graduates in the summer of 2008, I'm sure the EFC will double.</p>

<p>When will we be getting our EFC after we sent in the CSS?</p>

<p>NU gave me a horrendously high EFC. My mom makes 40k a year, my dad is a compulsive spender, and they expect us to pay practically full tuition. I'm very disappointed.</p>

<p><em>taryn</em>
Is it to where you can't afford to go? Ypu might want to call the FA office and ask them to reconsider. Pass along any hardships or excessive debt. That may help. Of course, they are under no obligation to change your award but, it doen't hurt to try. Good Luck and let me know how it works out!</p>

<p>when should we get the FA package?</p>

<p>taryn my package was also a lot smaller than I expected/need. But my father, who is a college counsler and worked in college admissions for many years, told me that the initial package is usually a lot smaller than the actual eventual aid you will receive.</p>

<p>anybody else?</p>

<p>I do have two questions.</p>

<p>My parents are divorced, and NU gave me a lump sum they expect us to pay for tuition. At this point, is it up to my parents to divide it among themselves and figure out how much they'll each pay?</p>

<p>Also, does NU have a certain payment schedule (monthly, quarterly, etc) that we have to adhere to for tuition payments? How often is a tuition check due for the 2007-2008 school year?</p>

<p>Your parents will need to let you know what they will and can pay on a yearly basis. In reference to the balance, you can take out student or parent loan to cover the balance of your EFC. Of course, this is contingent on there willingness to take out a loan. My suggestion at this point is to strive for outside scholarships. These will help to offset your loans and work study on your FA award. Keep in mind, outside scholarships will not take away from your EFC. If you have any information that the FA office is not aware of such as-loss of employment, medical bills, or extenuating circumstances, you will need to let them know and they should make an adjustment to your award. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact me.</p>

<p>Just got my FA package in the mail today. I wasn't expecting much, but we got completely shafted. Time to apply for those scholarships...yay</p>

<p>My parents said that in the financial aid package they expect you to work 8 hours a week or something like that for them. I guess this is included into the package. Does anyone know anything about this?</p>

<p>That's what I heard as well . . . something like 5-8 hours, depending on the job. I found some helpful information here:</p>

<p><a href="http://ug-finaid.northwestern.edu/work-study/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://ug-finaid.northwestern.edu/work-study/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Is it really true that NW does not offer ANY merit scholarship? I'm a prospective music major and and very concerned about financial aid, considering a very high EFC.</p>

<p>Unless you're a National Merit Scholar, they don't offer any merit awards as far as I know. It sucks, doesn't it? Unfortunately it's the norm for schools like NU.</p>

<p>No they do not offer scholarships. It is stickly based on family income/EFC. I do believe the National Merit Scholar receives a $2,000 award. Outside scholarships will help by offsetting loans provided it doesn't eat into your EFC.</p>