<p>But I was expecting a scholarship! My boyfriend (a current freshman at AU) has much lower test scores, a lower GPA, less EC’s, worse recs… you name it! And he got a 12k scholarship.
I just got my acceptance letter in the mail today, and there’s no mention of money besides the financial aid stuff!
This is the only school that I have gotten less than 20k worth of scholarships at. I don’t mean to sound arrogant or whiny at all, I’m just confused!!!
I’m just wondering if this happened to anyone else…?</p>
<p>Similar situation with my D. We were expecting a greater merit package, though she did receive a 10k Deans Scholarship. She is in top 5% of class, 4.35 weighted GPA, President of NHS, volunteers, Class officer, pretty good SAT scores (Math hurt a little; over 700 in ENG). She showed interest - visited campus; had interview; visited local info session; multiple emails with Admission rep. So we have to have some tough discussions now. AU was her #1. It very confusing. I have seen posts here that state less credentials with greater merit awards.</p>
<p>D received $6000 American Excellence Scholarship. We were expecting more as well since she’s #2 in her class, 4.0 UW GPA, 13 AP’s, etc. (she did apply test score optional which possibly had an impact). In past years students from her school with lower GPA and class rank recived MUCH more money. It’s irrelevant to us however since she’s already enrolled elsewhere. That’s just as well for many reasons, but we never could have afforded to attend. Congratulations to all who were accepted!</p>
<p>I hear the same things all around the board as a freshman here at AU. There are just so many factors that go into financial aid and every class that comes in tops the class before it in terms of grades, GPA, and acceptance rate. Hope you choose AU and congratulations on your acceptance!</p>
<p>Makes sense, thanks for the help guys (or gals)</p>
<p>Something to consider as well is that many more Females apply to AU than males. I’m sure the school does some profiling to add more men to the class - such as offering better financial packages. Happens at all schools, unfortunately.</p>
<p>Was happy with the package my D received from American - merit was lower than anywhere else she’s applied to, but the rest of the financial aid was quite good and makes the school affordable. And she did like American, as did I. However, since I’ve been reading these comments tonight (I knew I shouldn’t have!!!) I’m wondering why she didn’t get into Honors; at first I thought the University College thing mentioned in her letter was Honors but I read here tonight it is not at all. </p>
<p>The admissions letter was personalized and very nice, I have to say. It did make her feel special, and we are pleased with the high financial aid package. Just curious how they pick honors, though…she got in Honors everywhere else and is, I believe, considered a fairly high stat student for this school? 2120, valedictorian, well-rounded, the usual.</p>
<p>to momoftwoin: When I applied test-optional I asked if it would affect the amount of FA i get or scholarships, and AU said it doesn’t.</p>
<p>MomSix - when looking at SAT scores for Honors I believe AU does not take the writing section into account. Last year I believe you needed a 1460 on the other two sections for Honors. My daughter is in Honors but knows many exceptional students who are not.</p>
<p>Thank you, NewJersey Mom, that is helpful information and would explain it if that’s the case - although I saw on another American thread this morning that someone with 1300 M/CR scores got into honors! (My D was 1390) so who knows? I actually politely emailed the Honors program just for clarification so we’ll see what they say.</p>
<p>My son was accepted and was off the wall excited as this is his dream school. He didn’t get a dime. How they can assume that we can pay $55,000 outright is beyond me. Very disappointed!!</p>
<p>for the families that are disappointed with your financial aid package (need based only) - did you fill out both fafsa and css profile? my understanding is that au tries to meet as much of a family’s “need” but you have to fill out both of those forms.</p>
<p>We filled out both the FAFSA and the CSS Profile. I’m not sure where the disconnect happened… I’m going to appeal the financial aid package today, and see if I can get that all figured out.</p>
<p>Last year, AU was very generous in their FA for my D, but we still would have been required to pay just about 3 times our EFC according to FAFSA…just to give you an idea. We just couldn’t do that and eat nothing but pasta for 4 years!</p>
<p>You don’t sound arrogant at all. You sound dismayed, which is what I am. And my D is disappointed. Most colleges, even the very, very good ones like AU, meet up to the FAFSA’s EFC. My D was offered admittance to all her choice colleges, and all of them, except AU, offered her up to EFC. Our EFC is high … and like another poster here, tuition at AU is double that. I’m a little surprised. The wise thing to consider is that you spend the first two semesters taking basic courses and you can do that at a much more affordable school, even a community college (don’t turn your nose up that, because it’s a great financial strategy). If it’s Freshmen year on-campus experience you’re looking for, then a State College is a good choice for Comp I, Health, and those sorts of things. You can transfer to dream college after that, and save everyone a lot of money and end-up with the diploma you want. Getting a job is another matter.</p>
<p>It takes less money from a college to meet a high EFC - sometimes it just takes offering a loan and work study. That’s why it is misleading to look at % of need met, because a high efc takes very little to meet. A kid with a low EFC is going to find fewer schools that can or will offer enough to meet the low EFC.</p>
<p>I saw this thread and, first off, let me say I don’t have any information about AU. However, from our experiences and that of friends, it seems that schools tend to be a bit more generous with boys’ financial aid. Girls are far outpacing boys in college and it seems they want to do everything possible to ensure matriculation.</p>
<p>* received $6000 American Excellence Scholarship. We were expecting more as well since she’s #2 in her class, 4.0 UW GPA, 13 AP’s, etc. (she did apply test score optional which possibly had an impact).*</p>
<p>Applying as “test optional” almost assures that a student will get less merit. Merit is usually used to reward high test scores which help with rankings by raising the middle quartiles. </p>
<p>to the person who suggests saving money by going to a CC first. If you got a merit scholarship to American, but you go to a CC first, then expect to be full pay for those last 2 years. You’re not going to get that same merit offer when you transfer in. You may get nothing. </p>
<p>Most colleges do NOT meet up to the EFC. However, if you have a high EFC (just a bit below COA), then a school can “meet need” by justing give you a 5500 student loan…which isn’t really giving you anything. </p>
<p>Sugar…is your BF a URM? Is American trying to get more boys on campus? Did he choose a major which gave the merit award??? Is any of his award need-based?</p>
<p>What is your EFC? What was your BF’s EFC?</p>
<p>*although I saw on another American thread this morning that someone with 1300 M/CR scores got into honors! (My D was 1390) so who knows? *</p>
<p>American may be like some schools that don’t post a firm benchmark for honors admittance. By not having a set score, it allows schools to accept promising URMs that don’t have the higher scores. But, non-URMs still pretty much need the higher scores.</p>
<p>The field of study could be the reason too. Though general and average numbers are often given for honors college admittance, specific departments can have their own and the number of seats available will determine the invitations and cut offs.</p>