Our child has been accepted to two schools.
Private College A has offered a generous $$ package based on need. Wants an answer in 4 days for our Div. 1 athlete.
Out of State Public University B has not offered anything as the financial aid process has yet to begin (big state school, will take a while).
Our student wants to go to B. Not A.
But A wants an answer soon.
Is there a sense out there as to what out-of-state need based financial aid looks like?
Will the net costs for A and B be reasonably close?
Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
We have no idea if B’s aid will be as good as A’s aid. How could we know that?
Is B a school that offers athletic scholarships? whole or partial? Have you talked to other similar athletes to find out what aid they get?
What school is B? Is this Div 1? if not, what is it?
What sport is this?
Can’t you call B and request an “early read”? can’t you call the coach at B and let him know what A offered and see what he can do?
This all hit suddenly so we are a bit scattered.
We will talk to the B coach and get an early read (if possible). Athletic scholarships are out. It is all need based. Both are Div 1.
Generally OOS need based packages are non-existent, except for UNC, UVA and UMich.
There are only two public universities that guarantee to meet full need for all accepted OOS students…UVA and UNC-CH. If your kiddo is considering any other public university as an OOS student, it is very possible they will not meet full need.
Does the private school guarantee to meet full need?
The private school came pretty close to meeting need.
I’m just trying to get a sense as to the % of the bill that UW Madison could offer. Need + merit + whatever.
Dont want to make a decision in the dark.
You need to contact the school yourself and ask.
University of Wisconsin does not guarantee to meet full need for all accepted students. They don’t guarantee that for their own instate residents or for OOS students.
Is your son a recruited athlete? That might make a difference…contact the coach, and see if they can give you an accurate early read.
Did you run the net price calculator for U of Wisconsin? What did it say? Did you run the net price calculator for,the private U! Was the aid amount similar to what your kiddo was awarded?
I would not expect the same aid no, privates and publics are very different in how they can award aid and the resources they have for that.
I have not heard of Madison giving money to OOS students,beyond federal aid, reports here indicate they will ‘gap’ you. But I don’t know if they do for athletes. You might also so some reading in the accepted athlete forum.
Also, I think private schools have an agreement to not require answers before April (or is it May) so maybe you are just getting pressure but can push back. Did he apply ED? If not…check the athlete forum in case this has been discussed.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/.
For 2014-2015 UW-Madison gives need based aid to students with an EFC of $12000 or less. At EFC $12000, the Madison Initiative Grant (paid for by a tuition surcharge that phased in from 2009-2010 to 2012-2013) is $3000. At EFC $12,001 it is zero (cliff).
https://finaid.wisc.edu/award-estimator.php
@nimbus4771 What is your FAFSA EFC? How much can you afford to pay each year for four years?
There is no automatic merit at UW-Madison.
Scholarship deadlines are February 1. Is your son an URM? Does he have a 31 or higher ACT?
You need to talk to the coach. Since you aren’t getting an athletic scholarship, the student MIGHT be able to take need based and still be on the team (he could always take a need based scholarship and not be on a team). It really depends on the sport. The NCAA won’t let the school get around giving need based aid that is really an athletic scholarship. They have formulas and calculations to make.
You might have to go with the bird in the hand. If Coach B really wants him, Coach B should be able to get an idea of what the scholarship will be, even if it is nothing.
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The NCAA won't let the school get around giving need based aid that is really an athletic scholarship.
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We’ve seen ivies do that since they have their own definitions of “need”. We’ve seen ivies award huge “need” pkgs to athletes that did not have need or had very little need. It was argued then that those were pseudo athletic scholarships…and we wondered WHY the NCAA was allowing it.
@nimbus4771 Did you run the NPC on Wisconsin’s website? If not do so…and tell us what it says.
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Athletic scholarships are out.
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What does that mean? does it mean that the particular sport has already handed out all of its athletic awards? Or what?
Is your son a “walk on”??
Understood that you are a bit scattered at this point. Still, I think for more helpful answers, such as those above, you should probably try to engage the universities as much as possible at this point. And probably divulge more information here as well, if you’d like more concrete help and you are comfortable doing so.
Is there a ballpark financial window you can afford with your child? How attentive are you towards your child’s desires in a college? Other posters are correct in that UW isn’t likely to offer large scholarships, but some aid be available down the road at UW – especially given the athletic status. On the UW side, since there is already a consensus that you may not get aid info. quickly (I’d say this is mainly due to UW’s infrastructure, as I never felt they were really impersonal compared to some other big U’s, but YMMV), I’d really suggest contacting the coach / athletics dept. If your child is desired on the UW team, they may be more helpful at this point.
I have to be honest, given what you’ve said about the private’s demands: that sounds like a bit of a hard sell, and without knowing what private you’re talking about, I wonder about its standards. Some of the top privates haven’t even released their regular admit decisions yet, unless your child was an early decision applicant (entirely possible, or perhaps it was an athletic recruiting situation – we don’t know here).
Still, I’d suggest if you consider that private is really the option, I’d get on the phone with them and be honest – thank you for the offer, we’re considering it, but we need more time, etc etc.
Also, other options? Only two reasonable acceptances?
The Ivies have a different arrangement with scholarships. No athletic scholarships at all, and every student is treated the same financially, so the NCAA is not worried about them giving too many full ride scholarships. The Ivy league is just different. Same with the academies. They are limited to the number on their athletic rosters, but everyone is treated the same. Other schools are different. Stanford often tells the students to take the need based aid over the scholarship, but then has to count that player in the roster numbers. If an athlete gets an outside scholarship based on athletic performance, that counts against the team’s maximum.
It just depends. I don’t know what sport the OP is dealing with, but he can’t just assume Wisconsin will offer a need based scholarship and that won’t count against the team’s max. Ask.
Traditionally, the ivy league has no “scholarship arrangement”. Unless regulations have changed recently, the eight ivies are prohibited from offering admitted students any form of scholarship. Most or all ivies, depending on the year in question, have need-blind admissions policies, and they then proceed to calculate their aid packages accordingly.
I’m not sure why these ploicies are even being discussed in this thread; it doesn’t seem to apply to the OP’s query given what we know here.
Is it swimming? If so, don’t get your hopes up unless you are a top recruit.
Yes, search the school’s web site for its net price calculator.