I’m an incoming sophomore at a school that meets need. My parents’ income increased significantly for a year, which would be used for my financial aid package for junior year and would significantly lower our aid. I was wondering if it is worth it to apply to some other schools ranked relatively similar to mine to see if I could get a better deal. Their income was lower-ish middle class before, which resulted in a fantastic price freshman year, but our school is known to be stingier when considering need for middle to upper middle level income compared to other “meet need” schools. And with several factors(self employed, business owners, rental properties) making FA estimates pretty inaccurate from NPCs, other schools could calculate our need to be much better or worse and it could fluctuate a lot. For freshman admissions, I had only gotten into one other “meet need” school and it costed $10k/year more so it can really vary. I also relied heavily on applying to safeties/lower matches where I could get scholarships and I got scholarships/honors at all of them, but a 100% need met school still came out cheaper. So, would it be smart to see if other schools could potentially become a better deal?
For what purpose? Are you looking to transfer to a school that might be less expensive based on one year of higher EFC? Make sure that any financial aid quote you get is based on your status as a transfer student. Are you asking about using a better financial aid offer at a different school as a negotiating tool with your current school when your junior year EFC goes up? That sounds like a really bad idea.
If you don’t qualify for need based aid at your current college…Boston College…what makes you think you will qualify for need based aid elsewhere?
The MOST generous colleges for higher income earners are also THE most competitive for admissions. They accept a very small number of transfer students. VERY small.
Your family is self employed, own a business, and own rental properties…all will be considered at all schools awarding need based aid.
How much can your parents pay annually for you to attend college?
@thumper1 I do qualify for aid, and significant aid at that, but I’ll their income is going up by a good amount soon. I don’t see where I imply that I pay full or anywhere near that. I would still get a lot of financial aid, but when you look at it from a lower middle class POV like mine, a few thousand increase in COA still makes a huge difference for us when it might not seem like much to those paying close to full. My parents pay about $15k/year now and it’s expected to go up to $20-25k/year.
My only issue is the same that you brought up- that the most generous schools tend to be the hardest to get into. That’s why I was thinking maybe something like Vandy which has a higher endowment and is actually easier to get into as a transfer. That is the outlier though, but maybe OOS public’s that meet need like UVA or UNC since their transfer rates aren’t too bad either?
Are you an instate resident for UVA or UNC? If not…don’t hold your breath about acceptance as a transfer student.
Same with Vandy.
So…your parent contribution will increase by about $5000 a year, you think? How much will their income increase? It should be a LOT more than $5000 a year if your net cost will increase by $5000 a year.
Do you currently have a job? Can you pick up an additional part time job to help pay for your college costs as well?
Are you taking the full Direct Loan amount? As a junior, that amount will be $7500…$1000 more than for your sophomore year. That will help too.
Can you live in less expensive housing? Some students move off campus, and find that sharing an apartment is less costly than living in the dorms. What about reducing the type of meal plan you have?