Do William and Mary regular decisions come out with merit or financial aid information?

My DD is class of 2026. Accepted ED and got the acceptance in her portal. I don’t think the financial info was also in the portal— but as noted below, we weren’t looking for it. We did get a hard copy of her aid in the mail a week or two later. But, we knew we would not get need based aid (she had 8 semester of VA prepaid 529 plus 2 years of room and board already banked), so the letter was basically the information was the federal loans all students are eligible for ($5500/ year or so as a freshman). But the answer is USUALLY in the mail, within a couple weeks of decisions. At least for ED.

BUT, I wouldn’t expect what happened in the past to hold this year. WM had already extended its acceptance date from 5/1 to 5/15 (I think) because of the clusterf*** that the FAFSA has become for this class. Given the extended deadline, they clearly they don’t expect to provide need based aid info on the same schedule as in the past. And, even if you called today, I doubt they have an exact timeline nailed down right now, because they are at the mercy of FAFSA processing, including any further hitches in the process.

As for merit based aid, WM gives very little school year merit aid. If your kid was in the running for 1693 or Sharpe, they would know by now. The only possible merit option if the haven’t heard about being a merit finalist is Monroe scholars, which is $2000 for one summer experience (and preferential freshman housing). Which is nice, but unlikely to tip the financial scale.

Sorry Op. I think this year is a hunker down and wait for decisions that may come in a few days to a few weeks later than usual. For every school, not just WM. Thank the DOE for the crappy FAFSA rollout. I have no idea why they didn’t beta test this with one state system or for a handful of colleges first.

And so thankful we did VA prepaid (which I know is no longer an option). We are saving between $5k and $8k a year (depending on tuition hikes) since WM is so much more $$$ than other VA schools. That wasn’t necessarily the reason we did pre-paid— I just slept better at night knowing that no matter what happened with jobs, the economy, tuition increase, our health, emergencies, etc, my kids would have a range of VA state schools already paid for— at least in terms of tuition.

At any rate, good luck to your DC. My DD LOVES WM and it’s been amazing to watch her grow, mature, develop friendships and long term academic and career goals. Thrive is overused on this forum. But, she is. We are very lucky that WM is an instate option. Most of the benefits of a SLAC (smaller classes, only professors teach, smaller student body, if that’s what your kid wants) at half the price of private SLACs. It also has really nice kids and a kind, supportive student body. I’m crossing my fingers that your DC gets good news (admissions and financial aid) in the next few weeks.

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02/29/2024 14:43

Subject: Do William and Mary regular decisions come out with merit or financial aid information?

quote

Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:My DD is class of 2026. Accepted ED and got the acceptance in her portal. I don’t think the financial info was also in the portal— but as noted below, we weren’t looking for it. We did get a hard copy of her aid in the mail a week or two later. But, we knew we would not get need based aid (she had 8 semester of VA prepaid 529 plus 2 years of room and board already banked), so the letter was basically the information was the federal loans all students are eligible for ($5500/ year or so as a freshman). But the answer is USUALLY in the mail, within a couple weeks of decisions. At least for ED.

BUT, I wouldn’t expect what happened in the past to hold this year. WM had already extended its acceptance date from 5/1 to 5/15 (I think) because of the clusterf*** that the FAFSA has become for this class. Given the extended deadline, they clearly they don’t expect to provide need based aid info on the same schedule as in the past. And, even if you called today, I doubt they have an exact timeline nailed down right now, because they are at the mercy of FAFSA processing, including any further hitches in the process.

As for merit based aid, WM gives very little school year merit aid. If your kid was in the running for 1693 or Sharpe, they would know by now. The only possible merit option if the haven’t heard about being a merit finalist is Monroe scholars, which is $2000 for one summer experience (and preferential freshman housing). Which is nice, but unlikely to tip the financial scale.

Sorry Op. I think this year is a hunker down and wait for decisions that may come in a few days to a few weeks later than usual. For every school, not just WM. Thank the DOE for the crappy FAFSA rollout. I have no idea why they didn’t beta test this with one state system or for a handful of colleges first.

And so thankful we did VA prepaid (which I know is no longer an option). We are saving between $5k and $8k a year (depending on tuition hikes) since WM is so much more $$$ than other VA schools. That wasn’t necessarily the reason we did pre-paid— I just slept better at night knowing that no matter what happened with jobs, the economy, tuition increase, our health, emergencies, etc, my kids would have a range of VA state schools already paid for— at least in terms of tuition.

At any rate, good luck to your DC. My DD LOVES WM and it’s been amazing to watch her grow, mature, develop friendships and long term academic and career goals. Thrive is overused on this forum. But, she is. We are very lucky that WM is an instate option. Most of the benefits of a SLAC (smaller classes, only professors teach, smaller student body, if that’s what your kid wants) at half the price of private SLACs. It also has really nice kids and a kind, supportive student body. I’m crossing my fingers that your DC gets good news (admissions and financial aid) in the next few weeks.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your detailed response. I actually went to W&M in the olden days so I remember what a good experience and education I received. I even got married at Wren Chapel. I'm glad to hear that your child is having a wonderful experience there!

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