<p>NYU is equal opportunity in giving lousy financial aid</p>
<p>Olivia. It doesn’t sound like you’re taking the money part very seriously in your college planning. One doesn’t “convince” a school to give them aid. You either have need which they might meet or the stats for merit aid. OOS publics rarely meet need.</p>
<p>Have you run your family’s info through aid calculators? That’s a good first step. Then ask your parents what they can comfortably pay. Construct a list with this knowledge and you’ll be on the right path.</p>
<p>I would recommend you DON’T apply ED II to NYU if financial aid is a factor. Early Decision is binding, and there’s no reason to expect the financial aid will be affordable.</p>
<p>Have you looked at Tulane? It appears they have public health, and they have a reputation for being generous with aid.</p>
<p>Olivia wrote:</p>
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<p>The net-net is this, you will not be receiving any need based aid from NYU or any other school. </p>
<p>You have already stated that you are not an exceptional student so merit money is not in the equation. You need to look at schools where your stats would place you in the running for merit aid.</p>
<p>You have already stated that your parents are not willing to spend more than they have save up for you $120/30K A YEAR. 30k can get you some wonderful options but NYU is not one of them. Even if you should take out the max stafford loans of 5500 in year 1, where is the other 20K coming from? This same scenario would hold true for minority families in your financial position.</p>
<p>With these facts in mind, DO NOT apply binding ED to NYU. In fact remove it from your list because you already know that it is not a financially feasible option for your family.</p>
<p>I do take the financial aspect seriously, I’m just trying to make sure I know about all my options. </p>
<p>Both of my cousins are at University of Vermont right now, out of state, couldn’t make it work realistically even though their parents do about as well as mine, asked if it would be possible to pay in-state tuition, and they are paying in-state tuition to attend UVM as out of state students. It really does happen. What I take away from that, and all of the admissions counselors I’ve met with, the school is rooting for YOU. They want you to be there, and I don’t think it’s too off base to think something like that. They’re more willing to work with you than you think… but you do have to be resourceful. </p>
<p>Hence the reason why I made this thread. I’m a lot more pragmatic than I come across, however I was mostly looking for some first person perspectives on how other families are paying for private schools so I can have a better idea of what I may or may not be able to do. </p>
<p>Everything that has already been stated has been somewhat helpful, but the reason why I asked the questions I asked was because these are all things I have already heard. Just looking for some real world situations I can consider and I still haven’t gotten any answers along those lines yet!</p>
<p>Off topic, but my parents had the same concern about ED, and after an information session with an NYU admissions counselor where someone asked the exact same question, they made it very clear that if it is not financially possible for a student then there is no contract. They cannot legally force you to withdraw your apps from other schools. At least NYU does not. Maybe they’re unique in the way they do it, but ED there is more of an honor system than anything. </p>
<p>I will still be applying ED to NYU, because I know that if I can make it financially possible I will be going, and I want them to know that I am as dedicated as I am, for many different reasons. The ED candidates also get priority for $$$. </p>
<p>So I guess what I’m trying to say, is I didn’t really ask the opinion of other parents to be told that my efforts are at best a dead end, I can get the practicality lecture from my own mom and dad. I’ve looked at the facts myself as well. There’s also no way anyone on CC could possibly determine anyone’s full financial prospects without knowing the whole picture. Which is why I was just asking about what the reality of others is.</p>
<p>To get back to the Public Health question: Have you considered UNC (Chapel Hill)?</p>
<p>I have somewhat considered UNC, as well as Tulane actually. I visited with a Tulane admissions counselor at my school and I liked a lot of what I was hearing. I know someone there now (senior) and she loved it. She got amazing aid and she loves New Orleans. For some reason I see Tulane as totally unfeasible though with my stats. Too much of a reach. I have made several chance threads, if you know much about either school and would be interested in giving me some input. </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1247231-please-chance-me-ed-nyu-steinhardt-u-wash-seattle-bu-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1247231-please-chance-me-ed-nyu-steinhardt-u-wash-seattle-bu-will-chance-back.html</a></p>
<p>I haven’t really considered UNC at all to be honest. Never really imagined myself in NC. But if they have a reputable Public Health program then I’d be interested. </p>
<p>Tulane’s program would honestly be a dream but I don’t want to get my heart set on something I don’t think I have any chance of getting into. Then again I don’t know much about their admissions and how holistic they are. But I do know that they give good aid (according to the nice woman I chatted with). Which is yet another reason why I’ve tried to let myself forget about it…</p>
<p>Maybe I’m delusional though? Who knows. </p>
<p>I’m from NY, raised in CO, so I love snow, the mountains, cold weather, green trees. So if I can’t have that, then the school better be something I love. I could sacrifice it for Tulane because the word on the street is New Orleans is the bomb. Texas, Missouri, Arizona, the mid-west in general (personal reasons), Alabama, Arkansas, all out of the picture. I’m really firm in having to love the city I live in, not just the college with few exceptions. Just kind of how I like my life to be.</p>
<p>Oliviabartel, I was…inspired to look at your other postS, and I hope you can believe me when I say you live in a Fairly unique microcosm. I hope you find the school you are looking for, and find it is no fairer to judge “affirmative action” by the urms you “know”, than it is to judge all high schoolers.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>PS I’m from New York too, but obviously not the same neighborhood.</p>
<p>I have a D at NYU (graduating) and one applying ED1. I am going into this understanding that there is not going to be any financial aid since our EFC is higher than the cost of NYU. No amount of begging will change that. D could have qualified for merit aid through the art department (Steinhardt) but since she is an ED candidate she will not be considered since it is given to entice students to come to NYU and not to those who are already committed. </p>
<p>You need to see what your EFC is. If you are applying ED you need to fill out the CSS profile to even qualify for merit aid ASAP. After that you need to be realistic. Unless you are at the tippy top of candidates you will not be considered for merit. Since NYU does not meet need, chances are that even if your EFC is a bit under cost you will not come close to the $30K you still need to meet the $60k a year plus cost.</p>
<p>At this point the only way this will work for you is if your parents can contribute more. Otherwise you need to rethink NYU. There are many good options that could work for you. I would concentrate on schools like American, Boston University, Syracuse, University of Rochester, GW, Northeastern and Tulane that can offer merit aid. There are many many more. Realistically you want to shoot for merit aid of $10 to $15k per year. You will still need ton take loans, but it could more realistically work.</p>
<p>The other option is to look beyond private schools and apply to state schools.</p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>
<p>Thanks uskoolfish. Using an EFC calculator would be a good tool, I’m sure figuring the finances out will be easier once my parents and I have a tangible number in front of us and we can better understand what both of us are expected to contribute. Hopefully I can pull together a few thousand from miscellaneous scholarships.</p>
<p>I am of course applying to my home state school, but am shooting for elsewhere if I can afford it if they have better options for me since I am interested in Public Health. CU Boulder is a good school that would only cost me $18-19k/yr (no loans) but doesn’t really seem like a good fit for me. </p>
<p>I’m assuming that you paid for your daughters tuition in full then? Do you think the EFC calculators are realistic or at least somewhat in line with what they demand?</p>
<p>Our EFC was above the cost of all the schools my D applied to. I do not consider ourselves wealthy by any means. But we live near NYC, have 2 incomes and our high cost of living is not accounted for in any calculation. As we expected, she did not get financial aid from any school. She did get merit aid from schools that offer merit aid. The awards ranged from $11K to $22.5K/ year.</p>
<p>If your parents EFC comes out above $60K (like ours did) you will not get any financial aid from any school. You can qualify for merit aid that is not based on financial need in some schools. Keep in mind that many people will say they got “merit aid” when in fact they got money because they qualified for need first.</p>
<p>Older D rec’d an $11K music scholarship throuigh Steinhardt which was merit based. Steinhardt gives true merit aid to music and art majors. If she had applied for another major she would not have rec’d any money from NYU.</p>
<p>The EFC calculators are not necessarily realistic in determining what someone can afford. Very few people will say that the number is reasonable. The assumption is that families should have saved some money, will contribute more from current earnings and from loans if necessary. What is realistic is that schools won’t give $ if the EFC determines you can afford to pay for college. People may be able to negotiate merit packages or need packages if there is need, but I don’t know anyone who had a high EFC and was able to get a school like NYU to give them need based money.</p>
<p>Interesting. </p>
<p>What role does the CSS Profile play exactly in determining need? What I understand from what I have read, it is much more in-depth and looks at how a family spends their money and what their assets are in addition to income? </p>
<p>My parents, as I said, have a very generous savings but we also pay high medical bills which prevents them from contributing much more or taking on a lot of debt fearing that something might happen with my ability to begin to pay those back so close to their retirement. Are these kinds of things considered in determining need based aid through the CSS Profile’s EFC calculation methodology?</p>
<p>“… if it is not financially possible for a student then there is no contract. They cannot legally force you to withdraw your apps from other schools. At least NYU does not. Maybe they’re unique in the way they do it, but ED there is more of an honor system than anything.”</p>
<p>It’s actually the same almost everywhere (just a few exceptions): ED is an honor system agreement, no legal issues involved. If the aid is not enough, you can decline the offer and apply RD elsewhere as if ED never happened. Only if you accept the ED FA offer must you withdraw other apps.</p>
<p>See [Youre</a> In. Can You Back Out? - New York Times](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/education/edlife/strategy.html]Youre”>You’re In. Can You Back Out? - The New York Times).</p>
<p>If you have a dream school, don’t care about comparing FA offers, and just want to know if you can afford it, ED can sometimes give a bit of admissions boost.</p>
<p>I do care about comparing financial aid offers! Will I not receive any others until I accept/decline NYU assuming I get in?</p>
<p>Right. If you want to compare FA offers, you must apply RD to NYU and the other schools.</p>
<p>You will have to make a decision one way or another on NYU at the time of admission, if you are admitted ED. Basically you will have about 2 weeks to decide – you wouldn’t ordinarily see financial aid offers from other colleges until April. </p>
<p>I am familiar with NYU aid policies. They leverage their need-based aid based on your stats. I saw your the stats you posted in a chances thread, and your GPA/test scores aren’t strong enough for the most generous awards. You will probably get a grant of $8-$10K at best, the rest in loans. And that’s assuming that your EFC is low enough to actually qualify for a lot of aid. With your parent’s income & assets, that may not be the case. If the $120K they have saved for your college is in an account in your name, then your EFC might be too high in any case.</p>
<p>Basically if you feel you need to apply ED for the admissions boost at NYU, that’s a good indication you won’t get the level of aid you are looking for. NYU’s generosity is limited to the top 5% of its applicant pool – below that and you probably aren’t looking at much.</p>
<p>There is nothing you can do to convince NYU to give you much more. They have a financial aid “appeal” process, but they don’t really care what people say, they just look at their files and maybe boost the grant amount by $1 or $2K, no more. </p>
<p>It is possible with the savings your parents have that you might be able to manage NYU with a small grant, though… if you are comfortable with the idea of running through all your money and running up debt. I mean, if NYU could give you $10K and your parents can throw in $30K – plus $5500 with a Stafford loan for the first year + a work study job brings you up to about $50K. </p>
<p>But I think its dumb to apply ED. Better to keep your option open and explore different financial aid offer in the spring.</p>
<p>Also, I saw on the chances thread that you were wanting to apply to UW – you didn’t say where you live (but I’m guessing Colorado from your EC’s), but you should know that UW does not give ANY grant aid to nonresidents – so you would have to pay out of state tuition with no help other than a Stafford loan.</p>
<p>Another NYU parent here. If one of my Ds was in your position, I would not be supporting her applying E.D. to NYU. In fact, I’m not sure it would be on the list at all. With your financial situation, it is unlikely that you will get any aid from any school, let alone NYU, which is notoriously stingy. Even if you could cobble together the amount that calmom has hypothesized, you’d still be short. My D graduated four years ago and at that time, a realistic amount per year was in the $60,000 range when all expenses were accounted for. I can’t imagine that that number has gone down. </p>
<p>If you have an idea now that you may want to attend law school someday, and although that is likely to change, even if it didn’t, you do not want to be saddled with debt from your undergrad at that point. Law school is very expensive and you can read the many discussions here about the state of the legal world and the scarcity of jobs. That’s another topic but it’s something to at least have in the back of your mind when you’re determining how much you’re likely to spend on your undergrad degree.</p>
<p>Olivia,</p>
<p>Alwaysamom is right about the real cost. I would say you need to expect expenses to be in the $60K to $65K range.</p>
<p>And I doubt that you will show need with your parents income at the $200K mark. Plus your parents are not near enough to retirement age to really make a difference in financial need.</p>
<p>At this stage in he game, you should not be having hypothetical conversations about what your EFC is. If you are applying ED2, then your CSS profile needs to be filed by January 15. Otherwise you will not get your package with acceptance.</p>
<p>Your parents need to do the CSS based on last year’s taxes. It can be revised later with this year’s. For ED1 it was due on November 15–so clearly they cannot reflect 2011 taxes.</p>
<p>You need to have your parents complete this. Otherwise you will not even be considered for merit aid. This in NYU’s new policy.</p>
<p>If you think Tulane is a stretch, then Carolina is not worth an app fee. </p>
<p>I would suggest that you reconsider Public Health at the undergrad level. PH is primarily a grad degree. Attend any college with a liberal arts degree. Work in the health field, volunteer with the homeless, etc. Go to grad school in PH.</p>
<p>another NYU parent here, and I agree that you should not apply ED. In addition to the financial considerations, it seems like you don’t have a strong enough sense of whether the environment is right for you. Of course, you really can’t know for sure until you’re living there, but you sound unsure enough to tell me that you should keep your options open.</p>