Were your student’s “meets need” financial aid offers similar?

[Anonymous]

I know that schools vary in how they consider home equity, but I was still surprised DC received “need” offers that were $20k apart (Skidmore being the generous one and University of Richmond the stingier one).

[Anonymous]

princeton offered us 70k, harvard offered us 20k, stanford offered us 30k. yale matched princeton, but offered us about 35k at first. mit also matched princeton, offered 40k at first. harvard and stanford declined to match.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:princeton offered us 70k, harvard offered us 20k, stanford offered us 30k. yale matched princeton, but offered us about 35k at first. mit also matched princeton, offered 40k at first. harvard and stanford declined to match.

Wow! Princeton is the outlier. How did their analysis differ from the others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:princeton offered us 70k, harvard offered us 20k, stanford offered us 30k. yale matched princeton, but offered us about 35k at first. mit also matched princeton, offered 40k at first. harvard and stanford declined to match.

Wow, congrats! And thanks for sharing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:princeton offered us 70k, harvard offered us 20k, stanford offered us 30k. yale matched princeton, but offered us about 35k at first. mit also matched princeton, offered 40k at first. harvard and stanford declined to match.

Wow! Princeton is the outlier. How did their analysis differ from the others?

They are always the most generous…if you insert the same info at all Ivy schools into the NPC, Princeton always comes back with the most aid (assuming you are wealthy enough to not get 100% from everyone).

I think they allow you to have more assets, don’t count home equity et al.

[Anonymous]

Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Harvard and Caltech were the same. Yale matched. Other ivies offered less. Some T25 offered more need-based aid than the mid and low tier ivies.

[Anonymous]

Some are more generous than others. They varied widely. We went to the stingy ones in person and asked for more. Some gave more. Some lost out.

[Anonymous]

I don’t remember the exact dollar amounts, but a few years ago, Northwestern offered what amounted to us paying for just food all 4 years. Notre Dame was barely affordable & only if kid graduated in 3 years. Boston College offered a package with some grants & some loans that was nowhere near the other 2. We had a second kid starting college the next year, so went with the cheapest option.

There was a confusing detail to our finances due to both paternal grandparents dying in the same year. BC & ND both called & asked for further clarification on this issue, so I preemptively called Northwestern and asked if they too needed the issue clarified. The nice financial aid worker quickly checked kid’s file & said, “No, that won’t be necessary.” That’s when I knew that Northwestern students must be pretty well off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:princeton offered us 70k, harvard offered us 20k, stanford offered us 30k. yale matched princeton, but offered us about 35k at first. mit also matched princeton, offered 40k at first. harvard and stanford declined to match.

CONGRATS!
You must have a super star kid!

[Anonymous]

Anyone else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:princeton offered us 70k, harvard offered us 20k, stanford offered us 30k. yale matched princeton, but offered us about 35k at first. mit also matched princeton, offered 40k at first. harvard and stanford declined to match.

Did your DC go to one of the schools matched the offer? I always wonder what happens to years 2 - 4: does the school keep the aid level similar to the match, or does it go up closer to the original offer?

[Anonymous]

Best humble brag post of the day, esp. the low key lowercase use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:princeton offered us 70k, harvard offered us 20k, stanford offered us 30k. yale matched princeton, but offered us about 35k at first. mit also matched princeton, offered 40k at first. harvard and stanford declined to match.

Did your DC go to one of the schools matched the offer? I always wonder what happens to years 2 - 4: does the school keep the aid level similar to the match, or does it go up closer to the original offer?

yes, he ultimately chose one of the more generous schools. we also have a daughter (incoming junior) at princeton, so i honestly have the same question that you have, especially for after she graduates (since the schools take into consideration how many kids you have into college). a bit scared for what the bill will look like once she graduates but the finaid office told us that they had marked the specific adjusted formula they used to calculate my youngest’s need and would continue to use that after she graduates.

im still really shocked by how generous princeton is. truly a fantastic school that deeply cares about its students and their families. also surprised by yale. they matched pton in a heartbeat, no questions asked. other schools made it such a hassle and many didnt even match at the end of the day (looking at you, harvard). have some pretty awesome kids

[Anonymous]

Pomona 70+k Wesleyan 80+k Denison 50+k

[Anonymous]

Duke gave full ride.
Penn gave nothing.

Non custodial parent is wealthy, lives in another country with another family and doesn't provide support. Duke looked into it and gave full ride, Penn said the non custodial payment should pay.