<p>How generous is Vanderbilt FA?</p>
<p>It will depend on what Vandy determines your “need” to be after looking at assets and income. </p>
<p>For some, it’s very generous. For others, who can’t demonstrate need (or much need), it’s not generous. </p>
<p>What is your situation?</p>
<p>If you have assets in your (the student’s) own name, Vandy is one of the few schools in the country that voluntarily assesses student assets at the same rate as parental assets.</p>
<p>Our situation is that it’s totally amazing. D’s roommate has found this to be true, as well. I have read comments from people who thought they should get more … so it depends on your family’s financial picture as assessed by the school. We get more every year, even though our financial situation hasn’t gotten worse. </p>
<p>If you are RD, you will get your financial aid award letter with your acceptance. It is really important to separate out “real” costs … Vandy puts a lot of padding in the cost of attendance. These costs can be controlled (used books, careful personal spending, etc). The letter will list tuition, room, board, and fees. If you don’t have medical insurance through your parents, you will need to add in the mandatory insurance (which you will have to waive if you are covered). These are your direct costs. Then subtract your scholarships and grants. Don’t subtract the work study or work expectation in the award, as this is money you <em>may</em> (or may not) earn. You will see what you will actually have to pay.</p>
<p>Vandy was by far our best need based package. We have been very pleased over the years … we pay less for our D at Vandy than we do for our S, who is at a state U with a scholarship.</p>
<p>Vandy is great…if you qualify. </p>
<p>My sis has a son at Vandy and a son at Tufts. She is full pay at both schools. Obviously, she didn’t qualify for any aid. So, even though Vandy is good with aid for those who qualify, if you don’t qualify, you don’t get aid.</p>
<p>That’s why the answer is…it depends on your family’s financial situation. It’s not “generous” if you don’t qualify. It is generous if you do.</p>
<p>So for a family of 5 dependents, where do you think they draw the line income-wise?</p>
<p>There is no income amount. There is much more to it than that. Vanderbilt looks at everything (Profile collects far more info than the FAFSA). For some, Profile EFC (which you will never actually see, but can surmise based on aid given) is higher than FAFSA. For others, it is not. Our EFC is not impacted by Profile … I guess because we don’t have a lot in assets. You could have just one kid in the family & get 100% of your costs covered, or you could have 10 kids in the family and be expected to pay full freight. It just depends.</p>
<p>Not the answer you want to hear, I know, but you will have your real answer in a couple weeks. That’s the only answer that matters for you.</p>
<p>Don’t forget that Vandy, unlike some other top schools, does offer merit scholarships, too.</p>
<p>What is your FAFSA EFC?</p>
<p>So for a family of 5 dependents, where do you think they draw the line income-wise?</p>
<p>How much aid do you need? Do you know how much your parents will pay? Maybe Vandy will give you enough that when added to your parents’ contribution will be enough. </p>
<p>What is your financial situation…income-wise, assets-wise, equity-wise? </p>
<p>CSS schools can take it all under consideration. My sis’s H has a good income, they have a lot of equity, and they have a good amount of savings. That’s why they don’t qualify even with 2 in college.</p>
<p>OP, Vanderbilt was in the middle of the pack of the (need based component of) FA offers I received last year (Duke was the best). It came in about 2,000 below FAFSA EFC. I did not consider the offer and scratched Vanderbilt off my list at an early phase in my decision process. I hope you have applied at several peer institutions as the offers can vary by a significant amount. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info guys, much appreciated.</p>
<p>paupowpew,</p>
<p>I am very confused. You were accepted EDII to Vanderbilt. Have you still not received an estimated package? Did you submit your CSS Profile and FAFSA to Vandy? I would think they should have told you by now since your matriculation deposit was due last Tuesday. </p>
<p>As I told you before, you can get a pretty close estimate by using the college board financial aid calculator using the institutional method. Vandy told me to do that and when my daughter got her estimated package it as pretty close to what the calculator said. If you submitted all of your documents then you should have all of the numbers that you need to plug it into the calculator.</p>