<p>Hi, everyone. Back in February I received a likely letter from applying EE and I am absolutely thrilled! However, whether I can attend or not will all depend on financial aid (and assuming that I do get accepted, of course).</p>
<p>How generous is Wellesley's financial aid? Especially to low-income students? (My parents make less than $60,000/year...somewhere near half of that.) What is considered in Wellesley's definition of need, and do they really meet 100% of it? How does it compare to other schools known to give out really good aid? Can anyone share any experiences or provide insight into Wellesley's financial aid?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot! (And sorry for all the questions!)</p>
<p>It’s very, very good. Comparable (in fact, I’d say equal) to HYP’s. If you’ve really got half of 60k, you should get the no loans package, which is basically a full ride!</p>
<p>I’m another likely, and Wellesley’s FA is one of the biggest reasons Wellesley’s basically my first choice of my acceptances so far. We’ll see April 1 whether or not I’ll be matriculating here, but yes, the FA should be amazing!
I haven’t seen my FA package yet, but I’m hopeful. My household is also below the 60k mark, but only by a few thousand. So, I don’t know whether I’ll get the “free ride,” depending on whether or not, and how, they use my non-custodial parent’s information. I’m not entirely sure of the details. We might just have to wait for our package in the mail to find out.</p>
<p>My daughter is a first-year student at Wellesley. Their financial aid is wonderful. We also have an income of less than $60,000 and the aid is amazing. Last year she got a “possible” at EE then was wait-listed, so I wasn’t sure if their generous financial aid policy applied. She was offered a spot and when we got the financial aid package, we cried for joy.</p>
<p>Thank you both for the input, Prussia! and college_query. The link that you posted, Prussia!, is very reassuring, and I’m crossing my fingers that I get enough aid to attend. I’m still very worried, though, since one of the other (private) schools I applied to did not give me enough aid to attend. I am pretty sure that it will all wind down to attending Wellesley or my state university, which will all depends on Wellesley’s FA package. I am hoping for the best though, because at this point, I really can’t imagine being anywhere else except Wellesley (it’s my absolute top choice!).</p>
<p>Does anyone have any more experiences to share? Is it true that financial aid packages decrease by the year?</p>
<p>I do not believe that packages decrease by year. You reapply for financial aid yearly, and a package is determined based on those numbers, not on what you were given the previous year.</p>
<p>The financial aid department is kept separate from the admissions office, and wellesley is amazing in terms of its practices. A student’s admission is definitely not determined by her EFC, and Wellesley does its absolute best to make college affordable for all its students. Personally, it was cheaper for me to go to Wellesley than my state school. Wellesley offers an incredible amount of financial aid.</p>
<p>I only just got my financial aid package now (plus acceptance letter! oh, happy day, :D), but I got the “no loans” package as well. My mom makes approx. 45k a year, and my dad is basically nonexistent. Wellesley’s financial aid is definitely a huge factor in deciding where I’m going. (Still have to hear from Yale, though I’m not holding my breath, hehe.)</p>
<p>I got $16,000 in grants, $1,000-odd in work study, and a similar amount in loans. My EFC, according to Wellesley, is over $33,000 a year. That’s more than a third of our income (paying that out of pocket and taxes would drop us below the poverty line), and I’m not sure how they came by that number–we have a minimal amount of home equity and no investments beyond the <$10,000 savings from when I was on Jeopardy. </p>
<p>It’s so disappointing, because I really like Wellesley and want to have it as a viable option. I feel like the financial aid department failed me. :(</p>
<p>Hey, I received the most amazing financial aid from Wellesley. I will probably matriculate in the fall. I’m super excited!</p>
<p>I have a question, though.
Does everyone’s finaid letter say “Please note that this award is tentative pending receipt of the required items below.” and says to notify them of any outside scholarships? Just want to make sure I’m not missing any necessary documents/information that they require and I’m not aware of…</p>
<p>Wellesley is SO AMAZING! I’m so excited!! :)</p>
<p>If you have outside scholarships (eg. National Merit, local county/school awards, etc) you should let Wellesley Financial Services know, regardless if you have financial aid or not. Obviously, some of these things you don’t find out about until May/June, but it’s something to keep in mind before you have to pay your first semester’s tuition.</p>
<p>So I got my package and it stated that my expected parental contribution is $3924 per year and that my expected student contribution is $1250. Since my mom’s income is 25K per year, owns a small business, and is a single mother, is that around how much we’re supposed to pay for Wellesley? I’m not saying that I got a bad financial aid, in fact it’s the best I’ve received thus far. I just want to ensure that this was a good offer.</p>
<p>Also, in the “Federal Work Study” section, does that mean that I have to work to pay it back? I’m sorry to be incompetant in this, but I’m the one who has to read these things as my mom can’t read English that well…>_<</p>
<p>I just got my financial aid package from Wellesley. Very disappointing… I got about $6,000 in loans! What makes it even worse is that the two other girls from my school who are matriculating to Wellesley received full scholarships! I really feel like it failed me, too.</p>
<p>peeves, you can’t really compare your financial aid package to those of other girls at your high school. Yes, based on where you live, your families are generally at the same income level/status, but it doesn’t mean all your families can afford college. Everyone has a different background that affects their finances in various ways. You don’t know everything about another person’s family’s finances/background.</p>
<p>If you are unhappy with your financial aid package, call the financial aid office and ask about it. If you have a better package somewhere else, tell Wellesley about it and see if they can try to match it.</p>
<p>Peeves, I don’t understand how someone could have $6000 in loans at Wellesley. According to their enhanced financial aid policy, the maximum loan (for families with incomes over $100k) is supposed to be $2625. Or has that policy changed?</p>
<p>We just received the Wellesley FA package today and it is very disappointing as well…from what some of the colleges were saying, I was expecting no more than about 10% of our annual income + about 25%/yr of dedicated savings for college…the offer requires us to come up with 35%+ of our gross income. I’ll have to see the FA from other schools…but this offer fails to fufill the test of “meeting a student’s demonstrated need.”</p>
<p>OnceUponAnEph: Your savings for college are probably being considered in full, which could help to explain the high EFC. It may be lower after it has been spent.</p>
<p>Your savings for college are probably being considered in full, which could help to explain the high EFC. It may be lower after it has been spent. </p>
<p>Seems like you are better not saving for college then…</p>