Receiving more financial aid from JHU

Paying for College
1

I was recently admitted ED to JHU, but rejected from BME. Because of a quirk in JHU’s ED process, I’m no longer bound to the ED contract, but I have to decide whether I want to attend JHU by January 15th.

Personally, I feel that JHU is the best fit as a school for me. However, my financial aid portal indicates that I’m not getting any grants whatsoever. JHU’s sticker price is $72k. Clearly, that’s a lot of money.

I’m lucky enough that my parents have saved enough to (theoretically) pay for all 4 years at JHU without financial aid. However, they’re against this for obvious reasons. With all of this in mind, is there anything I can do to ask JHU for some financial aid? I’m very disappointed, especially considering that Bloomberg just donated $1.8 billion for JHU financial aid. My family is upper-middle-class, so while we could theoretically pay, it is not a practical endeavor. I would really appreciate if CC could help me devise a plan to receive some scholarship/grant money, as I do really want to go.

(And yes, I know that many parents will advise me to drop JHU and go to my local state school. That is an option for me, but I would prefer to keep that as my last option, because my parents’ main argument against sending me to JHU is that I could get into other T20s during RD where I can compare financial aid offers. For various reasons, including the presence of other extremely competitive applicants in my grade, I don’t believe that proposition is feasible. My logic is that if my parents are willing to spend the money, then JHU is the best place for me to spend it, and if they’re not willing to spend the money, then they shouldn’t be suggesting that I try for other T20s in RD. So I would appreciate if advice could be restricted to finding ways to pay for JHU.)

2

If JHU expects you to pay $72K/year then that must be your EFC. I’m not an expert but you are going to have similar with results with all the “T20s” since most give need based aid and no merit aid, correct? Your parents realize that, right?

When you showed them the responses from your post earlier this year, what did they think at that time?http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/2087724-chance-this-rising-senior-for-jhu-washu-vanderbilt-mit-ivies.html#latest

3

@carachel2 My EFC was about $61k when I ran the NPC for JHU, and that was before the Bloomberg donation. My parents were more comfortable with that number since that’s a savings of $40k over 4 years.

When I showed them the post, they initially agreed with most of the parents that I should just go to Rutgers. However after my overnight visit, they changed their mind because they saw how well JHU and I fit one another. The initial plan was for me to attend for BME, since it was so highly ranked; however, since I got rejected for BME, they’re understandably more skittish.

“I’m not an expert but you are going to have similar with results with all the “T20s” since most give need based aid and no merit aid, correct?”

That is my logic as well. No matter which top-20 school I get into, my family will have to pay a similar amount, so my reasoning is that I should just be able to pay that amount now, operating on the fact that my parents want me to go to a top-20 school.

4

Bloomberg donated that money to JHU for students who have a financial need:
“Billionaire and former New York mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced he would donate $1.8 billion to his alma mater Johns Hopkins University on Nov. 18 with the goal of bolstering financial aid for low- and middle-income students.”
https://www.thedp.com/article/2018/11/michael-bloomberg-billion-donation-johns-hopkins-financial-aid
If your EFC showed that your family can afford to pay then they will have to pay, perhaps with sacrifices.

5

Yeah if your parents are hell bent on you going to a T20 school they are going to realize it comes with a price tag. LOTS of families face similar decisions. Some decide it is worth it and some do not. I would never pay it. But that’s our line in the sand and we set it out there at the beginning.

So when you ran the NPC on the JHU page you got $61K/year? Seems like a logical place to start with contacting JHU and asking them to at least discuss the possibilities.

6

@TomSrOfBoston I thought that money would be put into the financial aid endowment where all students, but especially low- and middle-income students, would reap the benefits of increased interest. That was my misconception then.

Regardless, my NPC said that I would receive around $10k in financial aid freshman year, and I’m not receiving that unfortunately. So I need to figure out how I can gather $10k for college in the next couple months.

@carachel2 Yes, when I ran the NPC on the JHU page in August I got about $61k/year. I’m going to talk to the financial aid office after gathering the pertinent documents, and I was recently admitted to NJIT with a $13,000/year scholarship, with the potential for elevation to full tuition ($16,000/year). Do you think having that competing offer would help?

7

JHU will not be impressed with an offer from NJIT. You can borrow about $5500 in federal loans for your freshman year.

8

You want to pay $70k+ a year at a school that you were not accepted to your major of choice? Take the hint and go somewhere else.

9

Agree that you should ask about the discrepancy with their NPC. And some T20s are more generous than others with need-based aid (particularly in how much they consider home equity if that is a factor), but they are the hardest to get into.

But ask yourself, if your parents put $290K into your bank account tomorrow, would you spend it all on JHU or go to a state school and keep the balance?

10

@Eeyore123 thank you for your concern, but as I stated above, I would prefer that advice be restricted to how I can pay for JHU. BME is the only selective major on campus, and I only applied for BME because it was the #1 program in the world for that major. Otherwise, my primary interests lie in other majors on campus.

@Twoin18 I would prefer to use it at JHU. I understand that this is a divisive choice, but it is a personal choice, and that is the choice I want to make. If my parents are willing to spend that type of money on my college education, I am willing to use that money, because my parents have not offered it to me for use after college.

11

Unless you have an error on your CSS profile, it is highly unlikely that you will get any money from JHU. You need to talk to your parents about what they are committed to paying. It sounds like your parents may be getting cold feet about writing the checks now that they have an out.

12

“If my parents are willing to spend that type of money on my college education, I am willing to use that money, because my parents have not offered it to me for use after college.”

But look at this from the point of view of your parents. They will still have the money in their bank account afterwards if it’s not spent on JHU. Of course you would prefer to spend it if you wouldn’t benefit from saving the money. But if it was your money, would you spend it on JHU or something else? Have you asked if they will give you $290K (or some smaller amount if that is a stretch) and let you make the decision?

13

Have your parents fully funded their retirement?

14

@carachel2 Yes, their 401k plans are relatively healthy at this point in time.

@Twoin18 Thank you for your concern. My parents are the people pushing me to attend a T20 school, and frankly I prefer to be at a T20 as well. They are fine with spending the money for my education. They are trying to determine whether it is worth spending the money now for JHU or waiting until RD with the hopes that I get into multiple T20s in RD, where they can compare financial aid offers. Regardless of which T20 school I go to, they are willing to pay for 3 years of college, with me taking out loans for my last year.

15

Your parents aren’t willing to pay $288k for college ($72k x 4 years). It doesn’t sound like they’re willing to pay $210k either ($72k x 3 years). So you need much more than $10k/year.

You can only borrow $7500 as a senior. Where will you get the other $65k? Will your parents cosign a loan for you? If you take the federal student loans ($27k total over 4 years) you’ll be ~$100k in debt when you graduate. JHU doesn’t sound like it’s affordable.

You’d be better off finding out how much your parents will spend (total) and spread that out over 4 years. If they’re balking at $210k ($72k x 3 years) find out what they will pay (now, while you still have time to submit applications). If it’s $60k ($180 total over 3 years) that gives you a budget of $45k/year (for 4 years). With the ~$5500/year federal student loan and ~$3k summer work earnings that would bring your budget to ~$51k/year. There are plenty of great schools you can get at that price point.

16

What I don’t understand is why you are willing to give up your major to go to JHU? Has your passion changed? What was it that was driving you toward BME and JHU in the first place? You can get a great engineering education at other schools. University of Illinois Champaign Urbana has a nearly as highly rated program for a substantially lower price point (50K or thereabouts vs. 72K for JHU). What major are you stuck with at JHU now that you were shut out of your choice? That would be the biggest factor for me, not how to pay for it. Have you been shut out of achieving your dream career? Was the second choice major something that really spoke to you?

If not, that’s a huge financial commitment for something that you are settling for.

17

This school did not accept you for the major you claim you wanted. So…is JHU really worth attending given that situation.

Do you have other colleges on your application list that will cost only $60,000 a year…since that is what your parents are willing to fund?

Do your parents own a business? Are they self employed? Do the own real estate other than your primary residence? If so…any of these could render the NPCs not reliable.

Also, when did you do the NPC initially?

18

According to post #13, the OP has a commitment for around $180k from his parents in total. That puts him short $25-30k per year at the privates that don’t give any merit aid. If he really wants to be a BME, a place like CWRU would be great. Likely to get enough merit aid to make it work if his parents don’t get cold feet.

19

@elodyCOH For all of high school, I’ve been interested in molecular biology. Now, in my senior year, I’m realizing that I would like math and science to be a significant part of my career path as well. BME seems like a good major to combine all of my interests, but I recognize that there are many others that JHU is also very strong in. My second choice major is biomaterials engineering, which US News ranks #18 in terms of research produced in the country. (For reference, my local state school (Rutgers) is ranked approximately #48 for materials science, and they have no biological concentration.) Biomaterials engineering seems to combine chemistry, math, molecular biology, and physics, all fields that interest me.

Additionally, I refuse to attend an out-of-state public school. If my parents are willing to pay for college, then I will not go to a school with tens of thousands of undergraduate students and pay a similar cost to a private school. Rutgers is more than enough for that.

My dream career is to become a professor. This dream is substantially more achievable with an MD/PhD double degree. JHU sends the 3rd most undergraduate students to MD/PhD programs each year. (For reference, Rutgers does not have any data available on the number of MD/PhD students that matriculate at Rutgers.) So for my ideal career, JHU will provide me with a far more focused education than Rutgers.

@thumper1 as I stated above I only chose BME because it was ranked #1 in the world at JHU. This comment should provide more context for why I chose that major. My parents do have a lease on a business, but the business made a loss last year, unfortunately. They also own other real estate but they have sold their other properties.

@Eeyore123 and @austinmshauri I have some good news. I spoke with my parents today and my parents revealed that they have enough money to fund 4 years at JHU. However they indicated to me that the money is available either for undergrad or grad school. They also expressly told me that they would not give me any of the money if I chose to go to Rutgers and then do a PhD, a path that would be basically free. (The grad school they are referring to is medical school. However, I have little interest in medicine alone at this point in time. I want to do either a PhD or an MD/PhD, both of which are fully funded at reputable programs.)

Another constraint that I have is that my parents are unwilling to let me go more than 4 hours from home. I live in central NJ, so CWRU is unworkable.

Finally, I just wanted to say that my original post indicated that I was not looking for advice on whether to go to JHU. I want to go to JHU, and my parents have the money to do so, but I am looking for more financial aid. I would strongly appreciate if future advice could be tailored towards finding ways to reduce the cost of JHU specifically. As I stated before, I have received a $13k scholarship from NJIT, and my NPC indicated that I should be on the hook for about $61k in my freshman year. With this information in mind, is there anything else I might be able to say to my financial aid officer to get more institutional grant aid? At this point, my parents are willing to pay approximately $61k a year for all 4 years. They are also allowing me to take out the federal loan limit (so $31k over 4 years).

20

Some of the advice on here is definitely suspect. You apply to the school and major second since major can change at any given point in time. JHU engineering students are very strong academically - almost every single one of them could have gone to U of I for cheaper no doubt, but they didn’t choose to for a reason (be it overall prestige, smaller classes, city life, etc etc) - or in the OP’s case fit above all else. If i were you, I would accept the offer and enjoy senior year without worries of applying RD. One thing people forget is you have internships and opportunities on campus to earn money too to lighten the loan. Bloomberg’s donations have guaranteed more favorable financial aid over time - it just might not be immediate.

@Eeyore123 I personally got a full ride to CWRU after they filling out a free application - did not consider it for a second after i got into elite privates. A full 15% of students admitted to CWRU actually enroll - students there do not want to be there.