<p>Stanford Fund Scholarship 40,575.00<br>
Acad Year Earnings Expectation 2,500.00<br>
Aid Year Totals 43,075.00</p>
<p>Columbia</p>
<p>Federal Work Study 2,650<br>
Columbia Grant 37,733<br>
** TOTAL ** $ 40,383 </p>
<p>This is A LOT more than I was expecting. Is this common? My dad makes a little over 100k, my mom doesn't work and my brother's in his second year at Berkeley.</p>
<p>At any rate, Columbia is trying to make a commitment to lowering students' debt when they graduate, even for students whose parents make $100K+. I'm pretty sure Stanford is doing the same. So although it may not be common now, it will become more common in the future.</p>
<p>My dad is calling tomorrow--just to make sure. It just sounds too good to be true. I could never have imagined that going to Stanford would be CHEAPER than Berkeley or UCLA.</p>
<p>It is the new financial aid initiatives. A little over 100K still allows for a good deal of aid, especially at Stanford and Brown where the threshold is 100K.</p>
<p>Got a kid at Stanford now, and other one got a good aid offer from Columbia last year. Glad to see the pot looks a lot sweeter now. Based on what I understand of the Stanford new formula, this looks right. So it is not a mistake.
BTW, pick Stanford over Columbia. Its so not even close. Visited both campuses.</p>
<p>No matter what school you pick, the amount you will have to pay out of pocket is going to increase once your brother graduates in 2 years (they will take into consideration that there is only one student in college). </p>
<p>Unless your father's raise is an obscene amount of money, your out of pocket costs should remain relatively stable.</p>
<p>Having sent my financial aid information late, I was surprised that I got an answer within a week! Here is what I have.. parents make a little less than 100K but my brother isnt in college yet.. I dont know if sending in information late has anything to do with it, but I got:</p>
<p>$33,388 from Stanford Fund Scholarship
$2,500 for Annual Earnings</p>
<p>This is what I expected and puts me in a better situation, knowing that Emory didnt really give me anything and GT isnt either...</p>
<p>nal1989: Congrats on your FA! Sounds like it's right on to me. My son got a Stanford Fund Scholarship in the amount of $26,300 plus earnings expectation of $2,500. We make a little under $100K, but we will have only one in college and no other dependents, plus we have slightly higher than "typical assets", at least for now.</p>
<p>We are trying to get used to the idea of being awarded need-based aid after all of the years of being told we would never qualify. Sure am glad that I submitted the FAFSA, Profile and IDOC, even when my H said that I was wasting my time. Stanford's new FA policy is fantastic.</p>
<p>Take the money (from Stanford, I agree w/ RedJayHawk) and smile and say thank you. </p>
<p>I am really concerned for those students from households with incomes between $60-90K who apply to second tier schools, which haven't yet or can't match the "no loan" policies. I especially am concerned for those schools with smaller endowments and their students. Ouch, it is going to be a rough ride next year if the predictions are true for financial aid, especially loans.</p>
<p>galdmaom what do you mean by slightly higher than "typical assets" ?
we do have assets but how will it affect the outcome if we earn 100k?
also we have loans that actually is more than what we own. thanks</p>
<p>I understand your nerves waiting for the response. I could hardly stand the wait from mid-Feb, when the announcement about enhancements came out, to the beginning of April. </p>
<p>First, did you figure your assets the way Stanford figures them? Following is a quote from the Stanford FA website about typical assets.</p>
<p>"For applicants who report total annual parent income up to $100,000, we generally consider typical assets to be an adjusted total net worth of less than $250,000. Adjusted total net worth usually reflects the sum of the following amounts:
* Cash, savings, checking
* Investments
* Home equity, capped at 1.2 times annual income
* Equity in real estate other than the home
* Business net worth
We do not include formal retirement assets (401k, 403b, IRA, Keogh) in our analysis."</p>
<p>Our asset total is about 10% higher than that and we got the equivalent of about 3/4 tuition in aid. There are other factors as well, such as, how much money is in your child's name, where you live and if you have any other kids in college. We have no other child in college.</p>
<p>I hope you are happy with your package when it arrives!</p>
<p>thanks gladmom, we are international and like to know what this means "Home equity, capped at 1.2 times annual income"
we were kind of in a rush and I never saw this :-(</p>
<p>J Mom: That means that they take your salary and multiply it times 1.2 and use that figure for home equity. Not sure what the Stanford policy is for international students and financial aid. But for all of us, the FA office calculates their version of your assets and uses that figure in their overall decision.</p>