<p>Hi:</p>
<p>Here are the two awards. We will have a second son entering college in two years. While the numbers are close, I am not sure which would be better over the long haul.
Any help would be appreciated...the deadline is fast approaching!! I asked how each school handles the EFC when a second child goes to college. Williams said 60%. Rice was evasive and I found it annoying...anyway...</p>
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<p>Williams: </p>
<p>it is worded differently so breakdowns different;</p>
<p>Budget: tuition and fees: 43190
room and board: 11370
books: 800
personal: 1200
travel: 100
total budget: 56,660</p>
<p>Resources: Parents, 36809
student income: 1500
student assets: 498
total resources: 38,807 </p>
<p>Award:
Williams scholarship: 11253
book grant: 800 (or up to full cost of books for the year)
federal direct unsubsidized stafford: 4000
campus employment: 1800
total financial aid: 17853</p>
<p>Rice:</p>
<p>tuition 34900
room and board: 12270
fees: 651
O-week: 505
books and supplies: 800
personal expenses: 1550.00</p>
<h2>transportation: 600 (but low for us as east coast)</h2>
<p>budget totals: 51276</p>
<p>family contribution: 47,704.00
need: $3,572.00</p>
<p>awards: subsidized: 2000
unsub: 3500
tuition grant: 2678.00</p>
<p>I think Williams is a better award. I take out loans and variable expenses to see what they expect my family to pay whether now or in the future. I believe you should be able to take out $5,500 at either school although more may be unsub at Williams. This is the way I sliced the numbers: </p>
<p>Williams Tuition + Room + Board + Fees = 54,560
Grants = 12,053
Family contribution, not including loans = 42,507 + books + flights
Personal expenses = 1,800 work</p>
<p>Rice Tuition + Room + Board + Fees = 48,326
Grants = 2,678
Family contribution, not including loans = 45,648 + books + flights
Personal expenses = ??? no work-study allocated</p>
<p>So, the way I see it, Rice expects you to pay $3K more than Williams and doesn’t have a work-study for your student’s personal expenses and transportation will be more expensive </p>
<p>I am also a bit concerned that Rice was evasive when discussing 2 in college because it seems clear from the numbers that they expect you to be able to pay almost the entire costs and it just that it happens to be a slightly less expensive school than Williams. </p>
<p>Is your son leaning more toward one school? Those are very different schools.</p>
<p>I agree with 2collegewego.</p>
<p>Agree that Williams is less expensive and you have a vague idea of what will happen in two years. Also agree that they are very different colleges in so many ways.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help. I too am nervous about the evasive Rice answer.</p>
<p>We live in western mass so Williams is about an hour away. He wants to major in math and Williams has a fantastic math department. Since he is a math/science (quirky) non-drinking type kid, he feels socially more comfortable at Rice. He thinks he would be ok at Williams though and not sure about being so so far from home.</p>
<p>Basically he is on the fence.</p>
<p>We just want him to be happy and not go broke. :)</p>
<p>I come up with the same figures as 2collegewego, but don’t be put off by the lack of work-study at Rice. There are many student jobs to be had that aren’t work-study. My son has had a student job since freshman year working an average of 10 hours per week. He gets a raise every year and made nearly $2500 in 2010. I don’t think your son would have a problem finding employment at Rice.</p>
<p>Williams and Rice, partly because one is a small LAC and the other is a major university with the resources of a university, are very different schools, sensibility-wise. You might start with the issue of size, for your son. My own daughter said, after being schooled in small, private schools all of her life, that she wasn’t going to a college that was less than 5,000 students and that she would much rather grow into a school than out of a school. Some kids, however, need and want small. As well, I know that Williams and Rice are different, even, politically, which for some kids can be a deal breaker (is/was from my kid), and the dorm construct at Rice has proven to be a real success for a lot of kids. Just some things to consider above and beyond finances, esp. if aid is close. Good luck!</p>
<p>Have you posted on the parents’ forum or Rice forum to see if other parents can give you an idea of what happened when they went from 1 in college to 2? That seems like an important part of the equation. Assuming your son can get a job at Rice like patsmom mentioned, the difference is probably about $4K/year for the first year. But your last 2 years could be very different. If Rice expects a level contribution, that’s very different from Williams’ response of 60%.</p>
<p>I had no problem getting a job on campus – and Rice definitely has work study, too. I’ve been able to cover all my personal expenses from my job income. Overall, you have two good options. But remember that NO school is worth paying for if you’re not going to get a lot out of it because you don’t fit in. If you son feels like he’d better flourish at Rice, I’d argue that it’s worth it.</p>
<p>wait, doesn’t williams have our family contribution at 38k plus and Rice at 47k? I am thinking if the typical methodology for a second child in college was 60% the EFC, wouldn’t williams be considerably cheaper?</p>
<p>“wait, doesn’t williams have our family contribution at 38k plus and Rice at 47k? I am thinking if the typical methodology for a second child in college was 60% the EFC, wouldn’t williams be considerably cheaper?”</p>
<p>What Williams is saying is that, when your 2nd son gets to college, they would estimate the parental contribution for this son to be 60% of efc. If figures stay the same, that would be 60% of $36809 or $22,085. Your son’s contributions from work and assets will stay the same; actually, they may be slightly higher because lots of schools expect upper classmen to earn more in the summer than they do freshman. So, I would guess that family contribution will go from $42,507 + work-study to around $25K-$26K + work-study. It might not mean a grant increase of $16K. They could give your son federal loans (since they’ve reintroduced loans) which, for junior year are maximum $7,500, and the rest could easily be grants so it could mean another $8,500 in grants. (They could also be a bit more generous than that but I want to be realistic.) That would be a difference during the final 2 years of $8,500 + the $4K for each of those years. However, for all you know, Rice could reduce contribution to 60% too. </p>
<p>I would recommend posting on the parents’ or Rice forums to see if any parent has experience with how Rice adjusted financial aid when a 2nd sibling went to college. I would also email someone at Rice (email so you have it in writing), explain that it’s a critical factor in the decision and ask them to clarify.</p>
<p>Shelldemeo, send a PM to anxiousmom. She had two kids at Rice at the same time and both had financial aid. She would be a good one to ask.</p>
<p>thanks to all. I will PM anxious mom which is what I feel like right now. :)</p>
<p>will also put on parent forum.</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>We have a D at Rice and a S at another school. Rice has awarded us pretty much exactly what would be expected based upon the FAFSA figures (meaning that they give a substantial reduction for two in school). This was all grant aid (no parent loans) and stuck to the 2500 loan they promise for our D. Not looking forward to the increase next year after S has graduated.</p>
<p>thanks msmom&dad… Son has decided to attend Williams but what a fantastic school Rice is… I think he wanted to be a little closer to home. (Mass.)</p>