Financial Aid: What Goes On, Really?

Of all the most frequently asked questions about college admissions, financial aid probably comes up most often. Inquiries typically start with the basics, such as “what is the difference between merit and need-based aid?” The quick answer is that merit aid, or scholarships, are dollars donated by people who are either very wealthy or very dead and are designed to entice students from the top tier of the applicant pool, regardless of financial need. Need-based aid generally refers to the government grants and loans allocated through FAFSA, as well as other sources, that are determined by the student’s ability to pay.

Financial-aid questions quickly escalate to murkier turf where definitive answers are scarce. One question we hear on almost a daily basis is whether applying early decision effectively closes the door on getting any merit aid. The answer would seem obvious, since why would a school throw money at a student who is legally bound to attend, scholarship or not? However, the real answer depends on which school you ask. We heard an unexpected perspective at a roundtable discussion among four vice presidents of enrollment during the recent IECA conference in Chicago.

Without naming names, some schools say that, contrary to popular belief, early-decision students are indeed sometimes awarded scholarships. The reasoning is that if a school were to gain a reputation for denying early-decision students merit aid, it would depress the number of quality applicants and the school would miss out on some really great kids. This does make some sense, although a healthy dose of skepticism is also understandable. It’s not so much that these schools are making false claims as it is that the policy almost certainly varies from school to school. So, if merit aid is a consideration, it would be worth researching a school’s position on merit aid before submitting an early-decision application.

A somewhat related question is whether students who are not declaring an intention to apply for need-based financial aid are unlikely to be awarded merit scholarships. Why give money to students who don’t need it? Once again, the intuitive answer may not be correct. One of the enrollment VPs said that providing scholarships to wealthy students actually makes more need-based money available to those less well-off.

Part of the reason is that tuition increases each year, but the scholarship award does not, and overall revenues rise accordingly. So, in a way, these students help support revenue growth. In addition, similar to the early-decision scenario, schools may view the potential scholarship as an incentive to apply even to students who don’t need the money. After all, scholarships are an honor, and not necessarily just about the money. Awarding merit aid makes a student feel wanted, which is a big deal. Once again, some schools are also wary of doing anything that might discourage high-quality applicants.

All of this is to say that navigating the financial aspects of a college application is complicated, and it is best to research, ask questions, and never assume anything. That much you can take to the bank.

21 Fun Facts About 12 Colleges

At the 2019 IECA Spring conference, a collection of colleges was invited to explain themselves, lightning-round style, in five minutes or fewer. Here is some of what we remember about what each of them said.

Brandeis is not a Jewish college, but it is Jew-ish. It is non-sectarian and 50% of its student body is of other backgrounds. Franklin & Marshall is located in “hip, artsy” Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Kirkwood Community College in Kirkwood, Iowa, attracts students from 38 states. Tuition is $6,400 a year, and on-campus housing another $5,500. It has a 5-star hotel on campus. Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin may sound “not very big” but it has three campuses and a conservatory.

Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, posts all assignments via an iPad app. Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was the first to go co-ed and admit students of color. It teaches students how to think, not what to think, and embraces smallness.

Ohio Wesleyan is only 20 miles from Columbus. RIT, in Rochester New York, is career-oriented and is one of a handful of schools offering a co-op program. Sometimes it snows. University of British Columbia also has a co-op program and all students get a three-year work permit upon graduation. Buses are free because … Canada. University of Pittsburgh is actually three miles from downtown but is still an urban campus. Known for sciences, it guarantees undergraduates admission to graduate programs. Ursinus College is near Philadelphia, has an organic farm and 75 outdoor sculptures.

Goucher Redefines Liberal Arts

Washington Post: “At Goucher College, students no longer need to take a broad range of introductory classes outside their major to graduate. For non-science majors, Introduction to Biology has been replaced by Disease and Discrimination, a course that crosses disciplines to explore the inequalities in access to health care. Introduction to Philosophy was dropped for Society in the Age of Intelligent Machines. Math has become Integrative Data Analytics. Responding to a growing national debate over the relevance of a traditional liberal arts education, Goucher and other small, private liberal arts colleges … have adjusted course offerings, lowered tuition, added graduate classes that lead to employment and developed other strategies to attract students.”

“The long-held academic requirements to take a broad range of courses in a variety of disciplines have been replaced with multidisciplinary courses called ‘complex problem explorations.’ Instead of introductory classes, students take courses that might be taught by a biology professor but use a variety of disciplines to look at a contemporary issue …Because employers seek workers who can operate in teams, the college requires students to work collaboratively at times.”

“St. John’s College in Annapolis, a tiny institution with two campuses, wasn’t going to change its curriculum, which is dedicated to teaching the classics. So it took another bold approach, dropping its tuition from $52,000 a year to $35,000 … St. John’s leadership believes that small colleges can no longer rely on tuition dollars to keep them afloat. Instead, colleges will have to rely on philanthropy … St. John’s has used its tuition drop to launch a capital campaign that has so far raised $200 million toward its goal of $300 million. A year after cutting tuition costs, applications are up 13 percent and the percentage of admitted students who are committed to attending has risen as well.”