Yale and Princeton

[BlueSkyGuy]

<p>IDK at our school which is full of science nerds its usually the other way around with Y and P with more choosing P. But Y rocks.</p>

[iPhilosophe]

<p>I appreciate all of the advice and information everyone has been so kind to post so far. On the issue of home equity, I misstated what I had meant to say. I was disappointed that Yale does consider home equity and other illiquid assets, whereas Princeton does not.</p>

[Nikkor50mm]

<p>^Can you link us to a Yale webpage that explicitly states that? I’m pretty curious about this as I’m applying this fall.</p>

[fuzzyfirebunny]

<p>

Being courted to inflate applications and being courted to be a member of the community are two entirely different processes and feel entirely differently.

</p>

<p>I agree. I got generic letters from nearly all the top schools saying “We have marked you as a possible match for our school”, blah blah blah, plus the pretty viewbooks with pictures of laughing students and all that… once you actually get accepted though, you learn so much more about what makes the school unique. Things I’d never considered in depth about Yale before, like specific extracurricular strengths or the different natures of each RC, became apparent. And I loved it :)</p>

<p>

I was disappointed that Yale does consider home equity and other illiquid assets, whereas Princeton does not.

</p>

<p>Um, no. I’m pretty sure they don’t. Granted my mom did most of the financial stuff for me (yay Mommy!), but I distinctly remember her telling me that the mortgages on our house didn’t count in the financial aid consideration.</p>

[ECazndb8r]

<p>^correct, as in, Yale doesn’t count it, believe me, my financial aid package would have been much much different if illiquid assets counted</p>

[orchard]

<p>

I was disappointed that Yale does consider home equity and other illiquid assets, whereas Princeton does not.

</p>

<p>They do not. My financial aid packages from Yale and Princeton were virtually identical.</p>

[Descartesz]

<p>They do consider it:

We will review this estimate and may make adjustments according to Yale’s policies and any additional information or special circumstances that you may submit. The calculation considers factors such as:</p>

<pre><code>* Parents’ total income, both taxable and non-taxable

• Parents’ assets (cash, savings, home equity, other real estate and investments)
• Family size and number of children attending college or private school
  </code></pre>

<p>

[Yale</a> University Financial Aid > How Need-Based Financial Aid Works](<a href=“Welcome | Student Financial and Administrative Services”>Welcome | Student Financial and Administrative Services)</p>

<p>The fact that orchard and ECazndb8r report satisfactory FA packages nevertheless just goes to show that the effect of this factor can’t be judged in advance. Yale might be very generous in other considerations. At any rate surely it would be best to see the offers before allowing this factor to influence a decision to apply or attend.</p>