<p>Hi,
I just received my financial aid package from Boston University and it appears that the school is quite... parsimonious to put it in polite terms. My total award for the year was $7,175 and $2,500 of that was a loan. The school costs $40k+/year. My EFC is $0, as my mother is a single parent on disability with three sons (triplets) going to college. Does this seem extraordinarily low. Needless to say, I can not come close to affording BU with this aid package, but I am worried that if BU gave me relatively little assistance, that George Washington Univ and American Univ will be equally frugal.
Tyler</p>
<p>thahn,</p>
<p>I wonder if you are in a situation where your mothers assets are quite substantial? Colleges often take the value of your house and other investments into account. I find it hard to imagine why the aid package would be this low otherwise. Were you able to get your information to these schools by their stated deadlines? Sometimes being late to file for financial aid affects your aid. Also, were you able to get a Pell grant? With a 0 EFC, you should have been, I would guess!</p>
<p>Of the $7,175 total aid, $4,550 was a pell grant. I did submit the fafsa well before the deadline but was late with the CSS profile. My Mom has few assets, our house is worth 185,000 (we bought it for 135,000) but other than that she has a relatively low-value car and maybe 1,000 in her bank accounts. Do you think that BU's Aid package is an abberation? or will the other schools award a simmilar aid package.
Thank you :)</p>
<p>If a school doesn't guarantee to meet need, and most do not, this can easily happen. Do you have a state school back up?</p>
<p>BU isn't usually the most generous school with financial aid, but that package seems a bit ridiculous, especially considering most of it was a Pell grant. You might want to call them up and ask them why you got so little.</p>
<p>I emailed the fin aid office and told them that princeton review reports that the average undergrad need based gift aid is 18,887 and that I doubted that the ave undergrad had an EFC of Zero. Unfortunately I do not have a state school back up - I really should have thought about that but I just picked my three top choices (BU, AU, and GWU). Thanks for the advice, I will definately call them.</p>
<p>I hesitate to say this, but perhaps your late submittal of the CSS Profile has something to do with this award. Most students received their finaid awards either with or very shortly after their acceptance packets arrive...but well before the May 1 deadline to accept. BU (and most other schools) do not have unlimited funds. They give out what they have in college monies (scholarships, grants, etc) until they run out...meaning that you really MUST meet the deadlines. Monies given out after the deadlines are usually left from students who do not accept admittance to that university. Perhaps your other prospects will have more money that was not accepted by the original awardees than BU had. Let's put it this way...BU had a very high enrollment this year...my understanding is that they took NO students from their waitlist. This means that many many students accepted their offer to attend AND likely their finaid offers as well...leaving precious little for those who applied later for finaid. BU requires the CSS Profile as part of the finaid application and they are VERY clear about the necessity to meet deadlines. A call wouldn't hurt however.</p>
<p>I seem to be in a little better financial status than your family (though not much better) and my twin bro received $38,625 ($34,000 in grants) to BU. It's kinda a crap shoot - if you check out the BU forums, you'll see that. We appealed mine ($31,000) because even that was not enough (about $11,000 additional to cover full costs) and they only gave us $3,000, which is their max. I'm going to Rutgers (way cheaper since I'm in-state plus I got grants and merit scholarships) and I'm happy. Hope things work out for you.</p>
<p>You should be aware that BU states explicitly in its fin. aid guides that not all students' full need is met, and that BU grants are determined in part on the basis of academic merit. I hate to be bleak about it, but it's possible that they will not give you enough. They HAVE money, but their grant funds are not distributed solely on the basis of need. Though I myself have benefited from this system at BU, it's a terrible thing-- and I can tell you that I was on the other end of it at another school, my first choice, which I cannot afford to attend as a result. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts. I talked with the Fin Aid office and it is now clear I cannot go to Boston U.</p>
<p>I hope everything works out well for you at your other university choices.</p>
<p>your dilema remind me of someone, me. I was in the same situation as you are. BU being stringent with their grant is nothing new. The same can be say for AU, whose endownment are not enough to meet it students need. GWU on the other hand does offer decent amount of money for low-income student. I think your best bet is GWU. Good luck</p>
<p>My EFC was 35. I received a package from BU that met all my need, with lots of loans, but I think fin aid does this passed on your code i.e. your stats and what college/program BU admitted you to. Hence, unless you're at the top of the pack, BU potentially will gap your aid.</p>
<p>I don't know specifically about AU or GWU, but I imagine they operate similarly.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for all the comments and advice - I am glad to hear that GWU might be more generous as that is my top choice of the three (BU, AU, GWU). :)</p>
<p>Good luck, Thahn! Hope you hear soon from your other schools!</p>
<p>thanks momofthree, i hope to hear from them soon (my mom too is a mom of three, I am a triplet!).</p>
<p>Thahn, I admire your mom for raising three of you and sending you all to college at the same time. Keep us in the know about what happens at AU and GW!</p>
<p>do u have to fill out a css to get financial aid for boston u? my parents already dont like the idea of me even applying there so the hasel of paying to fill out the css will just be a pain.</p>
<p>Yes, BU requires both the Profile and the FAFSA for finaid consideration.</p>
<p>boston is stingy</p>