waitlists and financial aid availability

[po' boy]

How does being on a waitlist affect your eligibility for financial aid? I'm assuming that need will be met somehow once you get in (though loans, most likely), but will the amount of need-based *grants* be substantially lower for students who get in off waitlists rather than outright?

Any information would be appreciated.

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[Cobragirl]

Being waitlisted should not affect your FEDERAL financial aid one bit....provided you have designated ALL the schools that you have a possibility of attending on your FAFSA. Your financial aid through federal loans is based solely on your (and your family's, if dependent) income. The amount of your EFC (estimated family contribution) will determine how much of that is "Subsidized" vs "Unsubsidized" money. You pay interest on unsubsidized amounts...

As far as institutional monies, you may very well be in a bad spot. My school has a fair share of institutional money, and it is definitely on a first-come-first-serve basis. Of course, they look at the income factors as well, but most schools are already preparing their financial aid packages (I'll get my budget around May 1st, and my final paperwork around June 1st) for students that have submitted financial aid data. In addition, you should be aware that MOST schools will want your PARENT'S financial data for institutional monies....even if you're independent (on FAFSA), married, been on your own since age 3, or whatever!


Good Luck!

 

[omores]

It likely depends on the school. Some schools just seem to have scads of money and it won't make a difference when you're finally accepted.

I have a theory: for schools with limited money to give away, only those students who are accepted early and get all their information in will get maximum grants. UVM comes to mind -- they told us that we should get our information in by the end of February to get the full grant amount (which was still tiny). Most out-of-staters weren't even accepted until mid-April.

But for schools who are known to be generous, I don't think it matters if you're accepted later in the season, or even off the waitlist two weeks before classes start. Think about it: for you to get off a waitlist, another student will have to have withdrawn, so that's money that has been freed up for you. I stayed with someone at Duke who got off the waitlist in August and mentioned a very generous (i.e. grant-laden) financial aid package.

Good luck!

 

[po' boy]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">But for schools who are known to be generous, I don't think it matters if you're accepted later in the season, or even off the waitlist two weeks before classes start. Think about it: for you to get off a waitlist, another student will have to have withdrawn, so that's money that has been freed up for you. I stayed with someone at Duke who got off the waitlist in August and mentioned a very generous (i.e. grant-laden) financial aid package.•

This makes sense to me. So the question becomes, which schools are generous, and which schools are strapped? I'm interested specifically in Hopkins, Columbia, Duke and Baylor.


[This message has been edited by po' boy (edited April 11, 2001).]

 

[Crafty]

po' boy --

I don't know exact details, but I do know that Duke has a very generous financial aid program. They give you an automatic grant in the amount of 60% of the difference between your Estimated Family Contribution and the cost of attendance.

As for Baylor, I think their packages will be coming out at the end of the month. For what it is worth, Baylor has a policy of matching scholarship offers from other schools. All they require is a a copy of the scholarship offer letter from the other school. Hope this helps.