I received my acceptance on Saturday, and just got my financial aid package now. I got an email saying an update had been posted to my portal, and when I logged on a link was posted to a letter. Hope this info helps 
Whats the average merit award here? Iâm stunned (in a good way) by the offer my daughter received.
@sunnydaydream Same here. Just recieved notification of finanncial aid package including Renselaer Leadership Award, $23.3 K for fall 2015; $23.3K for spring 2016 - total $46K award! Does not say anything about subsequent years, do definitely need to look more into this. but wow, definitely puts RPI into play.
@saphire50 my understanding is that the awards are good for all four years plus their masters if they qualify for the coterminous program. (Someone please correct me if Iâm wrong)
We also received notice of the FA award. Son also received the leadership award plus RPI grant. Lots of loans which we were hoping against and work study which we did not want. Well, we just have to weigh the options and decide what is best by next month. We want him to get a great education but not be in debt as soon as he graduates.
We were actually disappointed with my daughterâs merit award. It is the lowest award of all the schools she applied to, including Rochester, Case, WPI, and RIT. Any scholarship is a gift, but we thought she would get more from RPI.
Like saphire50 my daughter received the leadership award for $46k+/year does the award amount vary because I cannot imagine being displeased with that.
@VMT Sunnydaydream Our leadership award was not as much as yours.
Wow @Sunnydaydream and @Sapphire50 - I didnât know RPI offered that kind of merit award. Congrats to your kiddos. Thatâs amazing.
My daughter has very good stats, 3.9 UW, 6 APâs and a few honors classes, top 10, and is a recruited athlete (coach just emailed her encouraging her to pick RPI), plus double legacy. $14k for the year.
As I said, every scholarship is a gift. And we do appreciate it. We will take the information and weigh it against other schools.
@Sapphire50, 46K per year award is amazing. My son got 15K per year of merit, and 8.5K of loans for the year, but our EFC is kind of high (ridiculously high based on us having two disabled children, high medical bills, and elderly parents who need financial help,one of whom is poor).
@krishnak97, Iâm not sure if I answered your question about why RPI, but we have some very good and very intelligent friends who loved attending RPI, plus my son liked the campus, plus not too far for us, plus courses are tough, plus he has older friends there.
@apccpa, sorry you had a bad experience, but not sure how your or your sonâs experience makes RPI a âsecond-rate universityâ. I know more than a few first-rate universities that treat applicants and students poorly on occasion, and quite a few third-rate (based on freshman retention, 4-year graduation rate, 6-year graduation rate, etc.) universities that have wonderful customer service. And six of eight Ivies were blasting my son with snail mail and emails for the past year, and there is no way on this Earth he would have got in. Itâs sad that you define âclassyâ as treating your son âproperlyâ. And complaining about over 60K for four years, thatâs not chump change. It is wonderful he is in a position to choose such a large award from Northeastern, but I have seen others complain about them so good luck.
@januarybites, my son was deferred from WPI via EA, and accepted to RPI ED. We were shocked, but I think RPI values tests scores more than GPA, and perhaps WPI vice versa.
And yes, Iâd love to get a sense of average merit awards, maybe with the general EFC level (low = under 20K, high = over 20K perhaps if the poster wishes?) as well as SAT score (or range). I feel like my sonâs merit award was decreased because of our income, ignoring other factors, but the NPC had our financial info and said my son would not be eligible for any loans, just 23K or merit aid, so it is very confusing.
High EFC, 23.5K per year merit aid. SAT 2100.
Our EFC is about $14K + - The scholarship offer is $46,600 per year (I assume subsequent years tho it only mentions freshman year in the letter). On top of that is a small TAP award of $500. There is also an offer of a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan of $5,500 - which we would likely decline but no decision yet. but we are still awaiting awards from other schools. For example, offered $18K/year at URochester, but have not received the total financial package yet. Offered $30K/year at Northeastern, but also do not know the entire package there yet. Full tuition at both Stony Brook and Binghamton (still would have to cover room and board ourselves, which is about 11 o4 12K); Pitt offered $10K/year. Still waiting to hear from Umass on decision - the only school we have not heard from yet. and then we start making decisions.
@rhandco Are you sure the offer wasnât $23.5 per semester; ours was $23.3 for fall and another $23.3 for spring. SAT 2210 (750 math, 750 cr, 710 writing).
My daugherâs ACT was not quite as high as others (Composite 32, English and Science 34, Math and Reading 30) SAT Subject Math2 760, Chemistry 700. Quite a few school awards, 200+ hrs community service. And as I said above recruited athlete. Maybe the ACT wasnât high enough, though her transcript is pretty stellar.
Our EFC was 0 and we were offered $40k for the year. I am so glad now that we applied to multiple schools because the FA can be the deciding factor. When I went to college, I could only apply to 2 schools - one was a top ten school and the other was a state school. I received a FA offer similar to RPIâs (some scholarships, loans and work study). Of course I went with the big name school and I struggled from the beginning trying to manage work and a challenging program. I dropped out after 2 years and went to a state school later in life. My roommate received a full ride including loans. I know there are plenty of kids who have worked and graduated on time. I couldnât and I donât want those struggles for my kid, even if he could handle it. RPI has a rigorous curriculum.
Yes, it was definitely 23.5K with loans for the year. EFC is around 35K, we have to pay 43K so apparently they expect us to put 8K out of our noses (ahem). He got the Rensselaer Leadership Award, by the way. If they are using that 8K per year we donât get to help others, we shouldnât complain (except for the note about disabled siblings). I cannot see our EFC staying the same because we are paying from assets (home equity), so we might have to keep refiling each year and hope for better numbers.
I am very glad they are seriously helping out people with lower EFCs though, RPI doesnât have a reputation for giving so many grants.
2100 vs. 2210 is different though, that probably helped based on the NPC.
@januarybitesâ @rhandcoâ My son was accepted EA to WPI & now waitlisted to RPI. This whole process makes very little sense at times. Fortunately WPI is his #1 but he did like RPI & it would have been nice to have the option.
Different schools value different things. My daughter really liked WPI, too. Itâs a nice school.
Copied from
http://catalog.rpi.edu/content.php?catoid=13&navoid=304
So yes merit awards are renewed each year
Annual Renewals
A student receiving Rensselaer merit-based awards will automatically have those awards renewed as long as he or she has not been academically dismissed and meets all other eligibility requirements. Need-based awards are renewed subject to the student continuing to demonstrate financial need as determined by the Office of Financial Aid. Students must complete the FAFSA by the priority filing deadline date to be considered for renewal of need-based awards. Some awards from the Institute may be replaced all or in part by other Institute awards. Rensselaer awards typically require full-time attendance, but may be prorated if a student is attending on a part time status. Students are encouraged to meet with an Assistant Director prior to deciding to attend part-time to understand any impacts on financial aid eligibility. In addition, Rensselaer awards are not available during summer session(s), Federal and state aid programs may be utilized during the summer session(s) which may reduce annual/aggregate eligibility.
Some students may receive scholarships that are provided by the generosity of Rensselaer donors, alumni, corporations, or other friends of the Institute. Recipient selection and renewal are subject to the conditions set forth by the donor.
Generally speaking, funds from Rensselaer may only be received for a maximum of eight semesters; ten semesters for Architecture majors. Students in approved co-terminal programs may receive up to an additional two semesters of assistance. The Office of Financial Aid routinely monitors students approaching the minimum amount of credits required for graduation. Upon request, a student must provide to the Office of Financial Aid an approved academic plan from his/her academic adviser stipulating coursework required for graduation. In such instances, federal and institutional aid is only provided for coursework to meet graduation requirements.
A student who has utilized eight semesters of eligibility (10 if in Architecture or co-terminal) seeking institutional aid must appeal in writing with an academic plan from his/her adviser outlining the coursework needed for graduation.
@Sapphire50â Was your child a Rensselaer Medal recipient? If so, was that an additional aid number over and above the $46k?
Now Iâm trying to figure out if their medical plan is included as part of the fees as we would be able to waive that & lower costs. Also trying to figure out which meal plan theyâre basing costs on as I wouldnât get the highest one.