<p>So, the princeton review ranks Haverford as one of the schools where students are "dissatisfied with financial aid". </p>
<p>I found this a bit odd, isn't Haverford a needblind college with loan free financial aid? Furthmore it's a top LAC with a great endowment...</p>
<p>Haverford’s endowment is a lot smaller than the endowments of Amherst, Swarthmore and Williams. Maybe students are looking at it within that context.</p>
<p>These surveys are self-report. It actually doesn’t mean anything objective about the financial aid. Those figures are available on websites, etc.</p>
<p>Haverford may or may not offer worse FA.</p>
<p>By way of comparison for first year students from 2008-9 CDS:</p>
<p>Haverford
Entering first year class: 327
Applying for need based aid: 208
Determined to have need: 169
Need fully met: 169
Average need based scholarship: $31,983</p>
<p>Swarthmore
Entering first year class: 372
Applying for need based aid: 242
Determined to have need: 181
Need full met: 181
Average need based scholarship: $33,328</p>
<p>Looks fairly comparable considering Swat’s more aggressive recruitment of URM’s that would effect both numbers receiving awards and size of awards.</p>
<p>just on an anecdotal basis, I will share that our son was admitted to both Haverford and Swarthmore last year. Haverford offered us twice as much a year based on need that Swat offered. So do not be deterred…instead apply and see what happens. If you are set on a college, provide accurate information and full information. Each college makes judgments differently…I wouldn’t be surprised to find another poster who had the opposite experience with Swat offering more. They are both superb institutions full of caring and thoughtful people who will review all the information you send. We spent a great deal of time composing appeal letters with documentations and then made a personal judgment that we were simply on the wrong path for us in the recession. Our son is on a surprise merit scholarship elsewhere. However, I feel that both Swat and Haverford would have made a sincere effort to address our paperwork and documented concerns fairly if we had pursued an appeal. And either school’s education is worth a great deal.</p>
<p>Don’t make decisions now…make them in April. However, make sure you are able to pay your EFC before you get too emotionally attached to private colleges…is my advice. This economy is not one where borrowing on your equity makes sense in many places anymore.</p>
<p>Of the three liberal arts colleges I had to choose among, Haverford was the most generous: it give me 5,000 dollars more in grants and 3,000 dollars more in Federal Work-Study benefits.</p>
<p>I will never be certain about whether Haverford was using a need-based aid to attract me because I was a competitive, desirable candidate, or whether Amherst is screwing me over now for being a mediocre, off-the-waitlist candidate, but I will always fondly remember and respect Haverford because it was the only school that understood my family’s unique financial situation.</p>
<p>Haverford provides 100% of a student’s demonstrated financial need as shown on the FASFA and CSS Profile. There are no loans for students who entered the college as last year, but upperclassman (like my son) have a combination of grants, loans and workstudy. Haverford is one of the very best schools for financial aid.</p>