Hi! I want to appeal my financial aid letter because I don’t think I have enough to attend still.
In the award letter, my family contribution to tuition/room and board is $3,805. I also get a work study job for $2,160 that brings down the cost of books/travel. It’s a really great package, but I still don’t think I can make it work. My mom is single and my brother is also going to college next year, and we just don’t have the money for incidentals/ traveling back and forth yearly.
With everything I’ve read for the appeal, it seems that something “new” that financially hurts my family must happen for me to get more financial aid. Do you think if I wrote a letter I could get more financial aid? If anyone here has done this for Vassar, how did it work out for you?
If I don’t get the appeal accepted, should I take out student loans?
I don’t think you have anything to lose by appealing again. You may not get anything more, but you might be surprised. If they don’t give you more scholarship money, then by all means ask them exactly what sort of loans they recommend. Do you have an alternative college you want to go to that gave you a better award? If you’re set on Vassar, then tell them that you would be absolutely heartbroken if you couldn’t attend, and could they please advise you about what you might do now to be able to accept their invitation to attend. Good Luck and please let us know what happens.
@moogooloo - Do I understand this correctly? Your contribution minus work study leaves $1,645 per year for tuition and room and board? Let’s look at this reasonably.
If you were to stay at home, your mother would EASILY pay $2,000 in food for you during the school year. So, the way I see it, right there she is UP $355.
Now, you have to deal with the cost of travel. How much do you think that will be each year? Can you work in the summer to make that money? Can you limit the number of times you go home? (stay on campus at Thanksgiving for example).
If Vassar is the place you want to go, then yes, take some loans. We’re not talking a lot of money here. Does $3,000 a year cover it? That’s just $12,000 by the time you graduate. Peanuts. I’m no fan of debt, but there’s a cost-benefit analysis that needs to be done here. Is 4 years at Vassar worth $12,000 in loans to you when you graduate? If not, can you go to college for cheaper than that somewhere else? If you think $12,000 is too much to go to a top-notch college, why do you think that? Is your educational path going to lead to a low-paying career? It sounds like your family doesn’t have a lot of money, and that might make this $12,000 seem like a lot, but one of the end results of going to college is to find a career that you not only enjoy but that pays decently well. If you haven’t had much money in your life, you can just continue to live like you don’t once you graduate and have a job and pay that $12,000 in student loans off in a year or two if you really want to. I would not let that small amount of money keep you from going to Vassar if Vassar is indeed the place you want to go. If you don’t care whether you go to Vassar or another college and the other college is going to cost you nothing, then I guess you have a decision to make.
One of my friends had a family contribution of around $2000~$3000 as well. He visited Vassar on the admitted student days, went to the financial aid office to discuss his aid, and got the rest of his tuition waived, i.e. he goes here for free now.
I think federal loans are included in the package, but I’d still strongly recommend visiting the campus and going to the Financial Aid office to discuss your package. If travel fees (airfare or other costs) are a problem, you could also shoot them an email asking them to help provide for your transportation.
Some of my friends going to different schools had their airfare provided for by the college, and one even received a free laptop upon visiting campus and visiting the fin aid office. There’s nothing to lose.