<p>like the title says…how much are you paying for your Barnard education?</p>
<p>i know the brochure says 42,000 or so, but we all know that schools give aid.
so basically i want to know what the college is giving you, and how you’re coming up with the rest.</p>
<p>I suggest you check out the common data set and other financial aid info on the Barnard website. That is pretty personal info that you might not get on such a public forum. I know I am not willing to relate specifics about this.</p>
<p>Generally, though, my daughter applied for and got a couple of fairly small outside scholarships (Robert C. Byrd, Best Buy), some grant money, work study...and she had a summer job part of the summer both years so far.</p>
<p>Barnard meets 100% need of US students who qualify for financial aid; "need" is what they determine it to be. They require the CSS Profile and also have their own form that needs to be completed. They generally require students to take out Stafford loans, but they did not ask my daughter to take out any other loans and they do cap the loan amount from year to year. So for the first year my daughter has a $2600 Stafford loan, $1800 work study, and all the rest of the award is in the form of a grant. </p>
<p>You cannot learn about Barnard's financial aid policies by asking others how much money they get; each case is different, depending on unique family circumstances. You may find these pages on the Barard site helpful:</p>
<p>BUDGETING AND AWARDING PROCEDURES
<a href="http://www.barnard.columbia.edu/services/fa(budget).html%5B/url%5D">http://www.barnard.columbia.edu/services/fa(budget).html</a></p>
<p>GENERAL POLICIES
<a href="http://www.barnard.columbia.edu/services/fa(gpolicies).html%5B/url%5D">http://www.barnard.columbia.edu/services/fa(gpolicies).html</a></p>
<p>APPLICATION PROCEDURES
<a href="http://www.barnard.columbia.edu/services/fa(appproc).html%5B/url%5D">http://www.barnard.columbia.edu/services/fa(appproc).html</a></p>
<p>If you want to attend Barnard but are concerned about finances, you should apply to Barnard and of course also to apply to several other colleges, including colleges that are likely to be more affordable, such as SUNY or CUNY. You really cannot count on getting the aid you need from any private college, but at the same time you will never know until you see the award. You can use the calculators at <a href="http://www.finaid.org%5B/url%5D">www.finaid.org</a> to get a rough idea of what your family will be expected to contribute.</p>
<p>calmom...my favorite part is that they charge you $18 to send each CSS profile + $5 to make an account! I applied to four schools that needed a CSS...and then another school last minute (which meant I had to pay the $5 account fee AGAIN!). I spent a total of $100 on the CSS profiles. Thankfully, my parents budgeted quite a bit of money for applications, because CSS profiles turned out to be a good chunk of the money I spent in the application process. Reason # 528475682964 why I hate the Collegeboard. What a s-c-a-m.</p>
<p>oh, and I also recevied the stafford loan + work study. I also got the rest necessary to cover my financial need in a barnard grant. It's funny...my parents had absolutely nothing saved for college for me, but it ended up making it so that I had to pay less. It's like you either have to be poor/lower middle class to afford college or extremely rich to afford college. For the rest of the middle class you're kind of left out to dry when it comes to college costs.</p>
<p>I hear you -- I had the same problem because my d. needed to do the CSS Profile early because of an EA application, but then later she added a couple of extra colleges that had not been on her original list, and each one wanted the profile.... so more money. </p>
<p>I think you are right about financial aid, although I guess it depends on how you define "lower middle class". Technically, our family really is middle-middle class -- that is, if you look at general census figures as to our income, we are definitely "median" range -- but I think in the world of students headed off to private colleges, things are skewed higher. There are a lot of students from families earning $100K annually that consider themselves "middle class" -- but I am in the under-$50K category.</p>
<p>I think that it would be nice if Barnard and other colleges would stop using the CSS Profile after the first year. Even though the costs pile up, it makes sense to have one agency handling the information during a year when a student might be applying to many different colleges. But after that -- why use an outside agency? Barnard could simply ask the same questions on its own forms and save the expense.</p>
<p>Warning: when you do it all again next year (re-apply for fin. aid) you must AGAIN fill out the CSS profile AND Barnard's info AND FAFSA. The good news is that it makes doing your taxes look like a piece of cake by comparison ;). Just keep lots and lots of notes/files on how much you spend for everything this year so you have that for next year's application...</p>
<p>I have a file that is about 8" thick. No joke!</p>
<p>All worth it, though!</p>
<p>I received very good aid this year (as an incoming first year). About $1800 in work study, a $2000 loan, and a very good sized Barnard grant. My family and I are only paying a small portion of the $40-something,000 bill. While that "small portion" is still significant, it's doable. Even if I do have to graduate with some debt, I believe that Barnard is worth it! I just hope I still receive the same aid package next year!</p>
<p>I'd also note that Barnard is working with Stafford lenders who do not charge any sort of processing fee -- this was a pleasant suprise, as my son had to pay a loan origination fee for his loans when he started college. I am encouraging my daughter to take the full Stafford amount, with the hope that I will be able to help her pay the loans off quickly in 4 years - but the way I look at it, while she is school it is interest-free with no fees, so it makes more sense for her to borrow than for me to take a PLUS loan. </p>
<p>Some advice to Princess: in general, when comparing college financial aid practices, it makes sense to look to see what the average first year loan is and average amount of work study. Almost all colleges build their financial aid packages from the self-help portion up, so the "average" also tends to be close to the minimum required of all. For the best colleges, you will see a figure of around $2600 which is the maximum Stafford first year loan. (Even better are colleges like Princeton which do not require their freshman to take out any loan.... but there are only a handful like that). </p>
<p>$1500-$1800 in work study is a very reasonable and moderate amount - some colleges will require students to take $4000-$6000 in work study. The problem with work study is that it is merely a specialized type of job offer --you still have to line up the job, arrange your hours, and work to earn the money. What you don't manage to earn you lose, and there is no guarantee you will get a job that pays enough per hour and provides enough hours to exhaust your award. The higher the dollar amount of the work study award, the greater the likelihood that you will never see some of the money simply because you won't be able to schedule that many hours. </p>
<p>So basically the best strategy is to apply to a few 100% need colleges like Barnard which seem to have good financial aid policies, and also apply to some less selective colleges that give merit aid. My d. also had a fairly good offer from Fordham -- better than the need-based offer she received from U. of Chicago, though it wasn't as strong as the Barnard award -- so its a good choice as a backup for someone with strong academic credentials who really wants to be in New York.</p>
<p>Does Barnard give you a lot of loans, if you have a low EFC, and wouldn't have to pay anything expect the student contribution if you to get into say Harvard and Yale? Would the financial aid be anything comparable to Columbia?</p>
<p>double post</p>
<p>Barnard told us that my daughter would be required to take out Stafford loans only, in the maximum amount allowable -- i.e., $2625 the first year, $3500 the second year, $5500 after that. (But the Stafford maximums have changed, so I don't know if that change will be picked up in future years). They also gave my daughter an $1800 work study -- and the rest was grants. </p>
<p>I don't know how this compares to other colleges. Barnard's aid package was significantly better than that offered by any other private college to which my daughter was admitted.... but my daughter didn't apply to Harvard, Yale, Columbia.</p>
<p>One other note: FAFSA EFC is not the same as the family contribution expected from Barnard. The Barnard financial aid office actually worked with the figures in a way that lowered our FAFSA EFC significantly, making my daughter eligible for a Pell grant -- but the overall expected family contribution (described as "Resources" on the financial aid award) is more than $10,000 above the current FAFSA EFC. Just about every other private college that promises to meet 100% need follows the same approach: they define "need" after considering family resources that are not taken into account with the FAFSA, such as home equity and income/resources of a noncustodial parent.</p>
<p>Hi
Sounds like you have a daughter already at Barnard. Did she apply ED or not? Did you look at other womens' colleges in the Northeast?</p>
<p>My daughter applied RD. She was not interested in attending a women's college - Barnard is an exception because of the proximity & relationship with Columbia. My daughter had her heart set on an urban university -- she also applied to NYU, Fordham (Lincoln Center), U. of Chicago, Northeastern, Boston U.</p>