<p>I was excited to go to W&L, I had gotten in RD, and bought the obligatory hat and shirt on accepted students day, but now it seems I can't go for financial reasons. My parents were missing a few forms for financial aid, so I got put on a sort of Fin Aid waitlist, and if there's no money left over for me, I simply can't go. Not that we can't afford the first year on our own, but at W&L if you miss out on Fin Aid the first year, you will never be considered for it the remaining three. My parents simply don't have 200K laying around. As funny as this sounds, since BC is notorious for being astoundingly expensive, it seems I'm headed there insted for money reasons. I have to stock up on parkas now insted caribbean tee-shirts. Oh well.</p>
<p>
[quote]
but at W&L if you miss out on Fin Aid the first year, you will never be considered for it the remaining three
[/quote]
Are you sure about this? Have you talked to the financial aid office? If so I'm really sorry. BC is a great school though (I thought of heading there before realizing I wanted a small school and that I wouldn't make it a week surrounded by so many Red Sox fans) and I know it is easy to be happy there as well.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Dima</p>
<p>If you can afford the first year, you could always try to apply for scholarships while you're in college. How much cheaper is it to go to BC? And also, do you think W&L is so much better of a fit to necessitate so much effort on your part (if you decide to come)?</p>
<p>I don't think that is true regarding FA. You can get $$ because it's based on the EFC from FAFSA and CSS profile.</p>
<p>It's absolutly true. I figured it was a year to year thing, but I spoke to the head to Financial Aid or someone high up who told me repeatedly that this was so. If you recieve no aid from W&L as a freshman you won't for any year, so if you get nothing as a freshman and inted on going, expect to pony up for full tuition. It makes sense with suc a small school with limited resources. They have to make sure they always have money available for students there already who only went because financial aid made it affordable. That'd be much worse then not letting you know theres no aid for you before you have to decide. But it is unfortunate for me, and the five or six other kids he said were in my position.</p>
<p>BTW, I got 27k for the first year at Boston College, so that softens the blow of W&L some, but I still wanted that small school atmosphere that W&L provides. BC, while having many good qualities of its own, has anything but a small school feel.</p>
<p>How is W&L on financial aid on the whole? Friendly?</p>
<p>Yes .. . they are amazing</p>
<p>That's a really hard choice, Mickelrobe. I guess what it comes down to is deciding whether or not you think your family is able to shell out 40K a year to attend the school of your dreams...If you are a flexible and adaptable person, hopefully you will be happy anywhere. If this is not the case, perhaps you should pick W&L. After all, you only go to college once.</p>
<p>At the same time, graduating college with less or no loans will make it much easier to go to grad school right after.</p>
<p>Coming out of undergrad school with huge huge loans on you, even though you attended a school you love (WLU, in this case i guess) does not seem practical to me. You'll spend a long long time repaying loans, plus grad school would be quite impossible if you don't get fin aid. BC is a pretty good college, ignoring the size factor.</p>