Comments for Richmond Admissions Blog http://admissionsblog.richmond.edu Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:49:15 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Richmond Scholars Deadline and Early Decision by Tom http://admissionsblog.richmond.edu/2008/12/05/richmond-scholars-deadline-and-early-decision/#comment-1168 Tom Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:49:15 +0000 http://admissionsblog.richmond.edu/?p=203#comment-1168 Absolutely - only 45-50 of our 800+ first-year students become Richmond Scholars. Absolutely – only 45-50 of our 800+ first-year students become Richmond Scholars.

]]> Comment on Richmond Scholars Deadline and Early Decision by Dave http://admissionsblog.richmond.edu/2008/12/05/richmond-scholars-deadline-and-early-decision/#comment-1163 Dave Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:16:00 +0000 http://admissionsblog.richmond.edu/?p=203#comment-1163 If i am not accepted into the Richmond Scholars program, can I still be considered for the school regularly? If i am not accepted into the Richmond Scholars program, can I still be considered for the school regularly?

]]> Comment on Considering Early Decision? by Tom http://admissionsblog.richmond.edu/2009/09/30/considering-early-decision/#comment-1159 Tom Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:43:14 +0000 http://admissionsblog.richmond.edu/?p=424#comment-1159 Allie, Great question. The answer is (I think) a good one, and lies not in our own policies but (perhaps surprisingly) in the government's. Our commitment at Richmond is to meet 100% of demonstrated need for all students, every year. Demonstrated need is basically whatever is left over to meet the full cost of attendance after your Expected Family Contribution (or EFC), which is determined by the FAFSA. Now, when more than one student is in college at the same time, the FAFSA will divide the EFC between them, effectively halving the EFC for each college. Say your EFC is $20,000. Richmond would award you about $30,000 to meet the full cost of attendance. But say, next year, you have a younger sibling entering college, and your family finances will be about the same. The EFC will be divided between the two of you, so your EFC at Richmond will only be $10,000. Next year, Richmond would award you about $40,000 in need-based aid to meet the full cost of attendance. So having more than one student in college can mean some significant increases in need-based financial aid. For some families, it might mean they qualify for aid when they did not before. (If your EFC is $60,000, you won't receive any need-based aid from Richmond; but if a sibling enters college, your EFC is cut in half to $30,000, and suddenly you qualify for $20,000 in aid from Richmond.) Keep in mind that this works the other way too; your EFC will go up once your sister graduates from college. Our merit-based aid programs do not take financial need into account, with the exception of our Bonner Scholars program - all the others are based strictly on academic and personal merit, so merit scholarships are not taking family finances into account. (But then, students who are counting on merit aid may not want to apply early decision, since scholarships are not awarded until March, well after the enrollment deadline.) Your parents will also want to be sure to talk with Connecticut College about how they award aid - because your sister may qualify for more as well, once you are in college. I hope that's not too confusing - I tried to make it as straightforward as I could. I hope Early Decision will be a strong possibility for you! Tom Allie,

Great question. The answer is (I think) a good one, and lies not in our own policies but (perhaps surprisingly) in the government’s.

Our commitment at Richmond is to meet 100% of demonstrated need for all students, every year. Demonstrated need is basically whatever is left over to meet the full cost of attendance after your Expected Family Contribution (or EFC), which is determined by the FAFSA. Now, when more than one student is in college at the same time, the FAFSA will divide the EFC between them, effectively halving the EFC for each college.

Say your EFC is $20,000. Richmond would award you about $30,000 to meet the full cost of attendance. But say, next year, you have a younger sibling entering college, and your family finances will be about the same. The EFC will be divided between the two of you, so your EFC at Richmond will only be $10,000. Next year, Richmond would award you about $40,000 in need-based aid to meet the full cost of attendance.

So having more than one student in college can mean some significant increases in need-based financial aid. For some families, it might mean they qualify for aid when they did not before. (If your EFC is $60,000, you won’t receive any need-based aid from Richmond; but if a sibling enters college, your EFC is cut in half to $30,000, and suddenly you qualify for $20,000 in aid from Richmond.) Keep in mind that this works the other way too; your EFC will go up once your sister graduates from college.

Our merit-based aid programs do not take financial need into account, with the exception of our Bonner Scholars program – all the others are based strictly on academic and personal merit, so merit scholarships are not taking family finances into account. (But then, students who are counting on merit aid may not want to apply early decision, since scholarships are not awarded until March, well after the enrollment deadline.)

Your parents will also want to be sure to talk with Connecticut College about how they award aid – because your sister may qualify for more as well, once you are in college.

I hope that’s not too confusing – I tried to make it as straightforward as I could. I hope Early Decision will be a strong possibility for you!

Tom

]]> Comment on Considering Early Decision? by Alexandra M. Stabile http://admissionsblog.richmond.edu/2009/09/30/considering-early-decision/#comment-1152 Alexandra M. Stabile Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:21:12 +0000 http://admissionsblog.richmond.edu/?p=424#comment-1152 My sister is a sophomore at Connecticut College which has a very high tuition level. I am considering early decision and my mother and I wondered if consideration is given at Richmond in financial aid decisions to the overall family fiscal impact of two expensive college tuitions. Thank you, Allie My sister is a sophomore at Connecticut College which has a very high tuition level. I am considering early decision and my mother and I wondered if consideration is given at Richmond in financial aid decisions to the overall family fiscal impact of two expensive college tuitions.

Thank you, Allie

]]> Comment on Mythbusters: The Perfect College by Considering Early Decision? « Richmond Admissions Blog http://admissionsblog.richmond.edu/2008/10/02/mythbusters-the-perfect-college/#comment-1118 Considering Early Decision? « Richmond Admissions Blog Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:33:13 +0000 http://richmondadmissionsblog.wordpress.com/?p=174#comment-1118 [...] search does not end with the discovery of one top-choice school (this was the case for me; see my post from last year on “the perfect college”). But for some the search does end this way. Some students [...] [...] search does not end with the discovery of one top-choice school (this was the case for me; see my post from last year on “the perfect college”). But for some the search does end this way. Some students [...]

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