<p>While most top schools (Av. Act 28 or Higher), give good financial aid, I heard many aren't so good. Does know any schools to avoid if your family is low income? Keep in mind, some schools, like Washington University, 'meet 100% of financial aid', but reject 50% of those who apply for aid, while other schools do not meet total need but offer financial aid to more students.</p>
<p>"meet 100% of financial aid" really doesn't say much. They could be spewing loans left and right.</p>
<p>As for myself, Cornell gave me the worst aid.
After Berkeley, but I wasn't really counting on that one, being an out-of-state EECS applicant :P</p>
<p>New York University - known for gapping</p>
<p>Cornell... horrible. They met my need as much as the school I am going to attend met, but with +15K in loans.</p>
<p>With a EFC of 6000, the University of Wisconsin gave my son a $400.00 grant and loans and that's it. This was even after I had sent a special circumstance letter due to high medical costs last year due to wife having cancer and other son having non-life threatening chronic disease. Even went to speak with financial counselor which did nothing to help his +$20,000 per year shortfall.</p>
<p>brucesprings
Is this an instate school?
My daughter applied to 3 instate schools- all where she was at the top 25% and sometimes much higher of their applicants- only one offered her merit aid.
She did get a merit aid offer from an out of state public school, but since the costs would still be higher than any of the instate schools & of course since she had lost interest anyway- she ended up attending an outof state private.
Privates of course can give much more aid- and state schools aid is generally dedicated to residents, which is as it should be- unfortunately not all states have equally strong schools, but many do have agrements with neighboring states to offer lower tuition in certain programs</p>
<p>I'd like to hear more about this issue too. I'd specifically like to hear about colleges that claim to be need-blind, meeting 100 percent of demonstrated need (there appear to be maybe two dozen colleges that make that claim) and to get a reality check on whether those colleges offer aid that is practical for you.</p>
<p>my daughter school met 100% of need- giving only subsidized loans and grants along with small amount of workstudy
However- I have heard of some schools, most notably Ivies with huge endowments who apparently calculate your EFC someother way, and dont meet the FAFSA EFC.
So it really depends- pays not to apply ED if you need finaid</p>
<p>Is there really any Ivy that offers less than, say, the schools your children attend? That's what I'd like to check--the total out-of-pocket cost after need-based aid at a highly selective school.</p>
<p>I second Wisconsin. For a top-tier public school, their financial aid is absolutely horrible. I got a 400 dollar grant too, which made me turn down the school. I would have went there had they given me good aid.</p>
<p>NYU and BU...the pits.</p>
<p>Michigan gave me absoulte ****. Macalester college also gave me next to nothing... I drove to visit the school and plead my case IN PERSON. Nothin.</p>
<p>Wisconsin was out of state, the other two Big Ten schools he got into (Ind., Ohio St.)which were all out of state gave no financial aid at all, but did give him scholarships worth around $7000 per year due to ACT scores and class rank.</p>
<p>USC tried to force me into work-study, even though I already held down a job that paid 2x as much as a work-study would, and that income was the source of my entire EFC. For a couple of years I had to make up the difference out of private loans, but for my senior year they let a scholarship I got replace the work-study award (instead of my Pell Grant they wanted to take away!!!) after I held their hand and walked them through what would happen if I actually used my work-study award. And the vast majority of my aid was in loans, many of them unsubsidized.</p>
<p>you guys- out of state schools DON'T GIVE AID. this is a huge generalization, but they really don't. my EFC is just over 19 grand, i applied out of state to maryland, wisconsin and indiana, and got nothing from any other than the stafford loan which everyone gets no matter what (dont remember if it was subsidized or not). OOS publics don't agree to meet need, and if you think about it, it's really not their job- the money is from the state, it should go to state kids. that's the way it works and there's really nothing wrong with it.</p>
<p>New York University and cornell</p>
<p>in state Penn state, top 10% very low income student, got app in early, next to nothing in school aid, didn't even get SEOG money.</p>
<p>Boston College is known for practicing "Admit-deny"---- that is providing a financial-aid package that is so rotten that students needing financial aid are shut out. That said, the aid package will improve if you are a highly desirable candidate. </p>
<p>Univ of Chicago gave my daughter a significantly worse financial award than Barnard -- these are the only two colleges she was admitted to that fit the 100% need guaranteed category. NYU was even worse, but of they don't promise to meet full need. </p>
<p>I don't want to malign Chicago too much because I realized that they might have been relying on different information -- Barnard was very insistent on getting documentation like current tax returns early and I think that the gap might have been closed somewhat if Chicago had the same information. (Tip for future applicants: Make sure all colleges have the same info as early as possible so that you have an accurate basis to compare awards.) But the cost of attendance was $10K apart between the two colleges, and I know of many students who turned down Chicago because of inadequate aid. I believe Chicago does offer a limited amount of merit money, however, which might sweeten the pot for top students.</p>
<p>I think worse or bad financial aid is a relative term as what constitutes bad financial aid?</p>
<p>I think that one of the bigger problems is that we as consumers of higher education (parents and students) do not do enough research to better verse themselves about financial aid and from what I have seen over the past 4 years, they definitely are not doing enough research at their particular schools.</p>
<p>Regarding BU- BU states straight up on their FA page that they give out need based aid that is based on merit. I remember a few months ago Cal mom raised a very eye opening point about BU when she said that they had a chart where you could see where you as a student stood stat wise. Based on these stats, you would have some idea of where you stood as far as getting money from BU. Like many merit schools, those admitted who are at the top of the applicant pool get the money.</p>
<p>BU states:</p>
<p>***Your academic record is an important factor in deterniming your eligibility for Boston University scholarships and need-based grants. Key indicators such as high school GPA, rank in class, and standardized test scores are considered with the strength of your academic program and extracurricular activities. </p>
<p>High school GPA of 3.6
High school rank in the top 8%
SAT I composite score of 1327
ACT score of 29</p>
<p>If your credentials place you at or above this profile, your chances of receiving Boston University scholarships or grants are likely to be excellent or very good, particularly if you have calculated need. If your credentials place you below this level, your chances of receiving University grants and scholarships, or of having your financial need fully met with these awards, are reduced.
***</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bu.edu/finaid/apply/prospective/possibility2.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.bu.edu/finaid/apply/prospective/possibility2.shtml</a> </p>
<p>There is a big difference between need blind and demonstrated need.</p>
<p>The majority of the schools in this country are not need blind so at some schools your ability to pay will be a factor especially if you are late turning in paperwork (have incomplete paperwork), and are not at the top of the applicant pool.</p>
<p>A school that meet 100% of demonstrated need does not mean that you are getting all money and no loans except if you are attending Princeton and a few of the very selective schools that have initiatives in place for low income families (Penn, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth) where you will have reduced or no loans. There is always going to be a self help component in need based FA that consists of loans and workstudy (as the school expects a student to be an active participant in the financing of their education).</p>
<p>If you go to the college board's website, and type in the name of your school, you can find information about your school including the average financial aid package, and how that aid is packaged (% loans/workstudy vs. % grant aid). The college board site will also tell you the schools basis for distributing aid.</p>
<p>The word average is a dangerous thing and should be taken with a grain of salt. You have to look past the work average and see how a school's policy affects you and your family. Just because a school states that they give an average of 20,000 in grant aid does not mean that everyone is getting 20,000. Remember if a student gets $5000 and another gets $35000 it is still a $20,000 average.</p>
<p>Callmefunk raises an excellent point regarding finanical aid at public schools for out of state students. The net-net is unless you can throw a long pass, got a great 3 point shot, are a powerhouse athlete in a sport the school is looking for, or are really stellar stats, *** do not look for aid from state universities where you are an out of state student *. Keep in mind that public univerisity's goal is to provide an "affordable" education for their tax payers.</p>