<p>Villanova is rated #6 on the Princeton review's northeastern colleges as "students dissatisfied with financial aid", which poses a problem because Villanova is one of my top choices and I am going to need lots of aid and/or scholarships. I know it varies on the person, but if you've ever been accepted to Villanova, how well did the university meet your financial needs?</p>
<p>We have heard from many people that it is not very good and my daughter told me at her tour, the AO was very honest about that. They give money to very top students but not very much. My girls had it on their list but it wasn’t very high and after a visit, realized it wasn’t for them…I was glad because I knew we wouldn’t get very much.</p>
<p>I guess its possible. I know someone who has a full ride to Villanova, but she had really really good ECs, SATs, grades, and went to a highly rated high school (at least according to US News).</p>
<p>what were her SAT scores, the one that got a full ride?
I have 620 reading, 690 math, 740 writing, but i’m taking my SATs once more.
730 math 1 subject test, 630 physics (i’ll probably take math 2)
my gpa is 4.0 and rank is 6/444</p>
<p>my extracurriculars arent amazing, but they’re pretty above average</p>
<p>if i really need the aid do you think they’ll give me an “ok” amount at least?</p>
<p>You can look at the numbers for financial and merit aid that USNEWS reports but they are aggregate figures that will not necessarily apply to you. There is nothing wrong with putting a school like Villanova on your list and hope that things pan out, but I suggest that you add some schools like Providence, St Michaels, and others where your stats may rank higher and merit aid is more likely along with schools with lower sticker prices and schools that meet full need. You need a nice variety of schools if you need money. Nothing wrong with having a school or two on your list that are long shots on admissions or aid, but you need safeties as well. </p>
<p>I know a number of kids who got their best aid packages from NYU which has a rep of gapping. I also know even more kids who were gapped. So it can be a real crap shoot.</p>
<p>My daughter will be a junior at Villanova. Great school with many high performers. She had a 740 on math, 700 verbal 680 writing (they only used math and verbal in 2007) on her SATs and did not get any merit based award. As far as financial aid, a Villanova financial aid advisor told me they generally meet 75 - 80% of demnstrated need. That is based on your Expected Family Contribution calculation from the FAFSA. They also have a financial aid suppliment. I think you should apply to the schools you like, maybe have one financial SAFE school (like a state school). When decision time comes, you will be able to compare all the ‘packages’. Good Luck.</p>
<p>In your position your best bet will be to bring up scores and apply mostly to schools that meet 100% of need. Apply to Nova too, but it just won’t compete with the generous aid schools.</p>
<p>We have recieved a very nice package from Villanova for my sons freshman year. They gave him over 28,000 in grants. He had an 31 on the act, gpa of 3.9 and a member of NHS. Other colleges such as BU, Northeastern, Penn State could not match the offer. He was also invited and accepted into Villanova’s Honors Program.</p>
<p>Geographics can make a big difference in what V offers. They get enough kids from the north easter and mid atlantic states without having to pay for any. If you have something they want, you may get a great offer.</p>
<p>rgguzzi,
That is great to hear. I have a 32 (34 math/36 reading), weighted GPA above 4.6, I should be a AP Scholar with Distinction, played sports for all years but this summer went to math/science program. NHS, etc. I may take the ACT in fall to try to get higher. I definetly need aid. I am looking at BU, Northeastern.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I really don’t remember, she was definitely an awesome student from what I observed. I only know that her SAT scores were already in the 2000s range as a freshman (who takes the SAT freshman year O_o). Anyways, she also won the Nation Merit Scholarship thing, so I am assuming her SATs were extremely good.</p>
<p>collegesgirl,</p>
<p>NU nad BU did not nearly give him enough. It may be location.</p>
<p>I just found out on Friday that I was accepted to Villanova. I’m #1 out of 170. I have SAT’s of 520 in reading 570 in math 470 in writing. I had in the subject tests 510 in biology E. and 490 in literature. My NGA is 4.0 and my school GPA is 3.75. I go to a private school and have little to no cash and expect to get a lot of Financial Aid and to top it off i have a 79k$ scholarship from my high school. i’m in NHS many choral groups interested in international business, my junior year I studied abroad in Brazil and my ACT’s were only an avg. of 21 and I have only taken 3 ap classes in my high school career.</p>
<p>hi all, just wondering about chances for villanova. the admissions rep at a recent college fair said their admissions are just picky picky. they talk a good game and visit schools begging kids to apply, but the acceptance rate is really really low and high school counselors are discouraging students from getting their hopes up about Nova, even Catholic kids who’ve dreamed of a nova education. Too bad. Thoughts on California girl, NHS, 3.85 but lower sat/act scores - lilke 1700/25. gonna need aid cause my parents have been paying tuition since i was 4</p>
<p>*Thoughts on California girl, NHS, 3.85 but lower sat/act scores - lilke 1700/25. gonna need aid cause my parents have been paying tuition since i was 4 *</p>
<p>Aid isnt’ determined by that. They won’t care that your family has been paying tuition for years. Many, many students at Catholic universities are kids who’ve gone K-12 of Catholic education and have been paying tuition.</p>
<p>FAFSA will determine what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is going to be. (It’s typically about 1/4 - 1/3 of family income - unless income is low). </p>
<p>So, let’s say your family earns around $100k per year and your EFC is $25k.</p>
<p>Villanova costs about $50k per year (tuition, room, board, books, fees, etc). So, you’d have a “need” of about $25k.</p>
<p>If they meet about 75% of need (as said above), then they would give you an aid package of about $18,750…leaving a “need gap” of about $6k plus your $25k per year EFC. However, that $18,750 FA package won’t be “free money”. Very likely that will include about $5500 in student loans, $2500 in work study and a $10k grant.</p>
<p>So, in the above scenario, the school wouldn’t be giving you much for free, your parents would still be expected to pay their full EFC plus the gap (about $31k per year)…and you’d be expected to cover the loans and work-study.</p>
<p>You need to find out now how much your parents will pay. That will likely determine where you can go to school. If you don’t know how much your parents will pay each year, ask.</p>
<p>“FAFSA will determine what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is going to be. (It’s typically about 1/4 - 1/3 of family income - unless income is low).” </p>
<p>That would be rather high for a middle-class family’s FAFSA EFC unless there were considerable non-primary house assets. I suggest the poster also try looking at an EFC calculator.</p>
<p>For a real-life example: with an AGI of $106k, our family had an EFC for S1 (rising senior in college with assets in his name for the coming year) of $23,259 and an EFC for S2 (rising freshman) of $21,224, for a total EFC of $44,483. In full disclosure, DH and I have a fair amount of non-primary house assets, as DH is self-employed and neither one of us have ever had employer-sponsored retirement plans. 1/4-1/3 of family income would have been a gift.</p>
<p>Specifically to Villanova and with those EFCs…for S2 the FA package included: $5500 in a combination of unsub and sub Stafford loans, $3000 in work study, and $20,030 in “Villanova Grant”. So for a COA of $53,150, we are left with $24,620. Technically a gap of less than $3400. We know, of course that our EFC will double next year when S1 has graduated and left the “household” and so expect to receive no need-based grant in the next three years.</p>
<p>S2’s stats were good enough to get into Villanova EA, but we never expected any merit aid, as it is limited and only offered to exceptional applicants and primarily URMs.</p>
<p>*“FAFSA will determine what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is going to be. (It’s typically about 1/4 - 1/3 of family income - unless income is low).”</p>
<p>That would be rather high for a middle-class family’s FAFSA EFC unless there were considerable non-primary house assets. I suggest the poster also try looking at an EFC calculator. *</p>
<p>I agree that the student should look at an EFC calculator. I meant to include one, but forgot…</p>
<p>FA Calc<br>
[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator - Finaid) </p>
<p>Do both the federal method and institutional. Many privates use the both methods. If there is a non-custodial parent, then their income (and step-parent incomes) might also be included at some schools.</p>
<p>BTW…an EFC is not the most you/your family will be expected to pay. Most schools do not meet need. Most schools “gap”. And…most OOS publics don’t help with high OOS costs - unless they award a merit scholarship for high stats.</p>
<p>The term “middle class income” has been hard to define here on CC so I don’t like using it. There are people who earn $200k per year and call themselves middle class.</p>
<p>I probably should have said that those in the upper middle class/lower upper class tend to have EFCs in the 1/5 - 1/3 range.</p>
<p>Better to use actual amounts. I was shocked to find that families making $60K can have EFCs of about $12-15K even with little in the way fo assets. Families at the $100K level will likely get only the STafford loans and whatever funds a college has on it own to give out. The EFC and the the PROFILE expectation can be $25, 30K. Also a shocker is when kids of single parents come up with an EFC which looks like it is palatable are hit with the non custodial parent’s info when FAFSA or other financial aid forms are required. It’s even more galling when your realize that the EFC is most likely not even going to be met by most colleges. IT just qualifies you for the Staffords and determines that you aren’t entitled to the PELL and other things that PELL eligible kids may get.</p>
<p>My friend lives in a dilapadated house that they do own in West Virginia. Though FAFSA does not include that as an asset, the PROFILE schools to which she applied did. Not that it mattered all of that much, since the schools do not guarantee to meet 100% of need anyways, and fills the packages with lots of loans. It can really be a nasty surprise to get that fin aid determination after thinking that you are set with the EFC calculators. They really should not call it EFC, but really a Qualifier, since really it has little to do with what you are going to get the vast majority of times and just confuses matters.</p>