All about financial aid

Today Alicia Reyes, the director of college aid, came to our Monday morning staff meeting to give us some talking points. She shared a bunch of things I didn't really know, which is too bad because I give a lot of sessions on financial aid! Anyway, here is what I learned, and that I can pass on to you.

The number one complaint of families, it seems, is that the parent contribution is too high. Well, I can't tell you antyhing about that. But I can tell you the number one complaint of the financial aid office--that people are waiting until the last minute to apply for financial aid, or to complete their forms. Please complete your aid application! If you need to hear about financial aid in order to make a decision about which admissions offer you'll accept, it's very important to get that financial aid offer before May 1. And to get it before May 1, you need to complete your application like now. Most people who have expressed an interest in financial aid have applied and are complete. The financial aid office has been mailing decisions since late last week, and will continue to do so throughout the month. To ask if your application is complete, call 773-702-8655.

National Merit

Apparently there are three kinds of National Merit awards. I just thought that we got a list with all the National Merit finalists who ranked us as their first choice, and then gave them all some of our own money -- $1,000 for students with no financial need or who didn't apply for financial aid, and $2,000 for students who do have financial need. Because this is our own money from our financial aid coffers, getting that $2,000 award makes your institutional grant (a.k.a. your grant directly from us) go down. And the grant is renewable for four years (which is apparently wrong on our website.)

However, there are two other kinds of National Merit awards as well! Some are sponsored by the National Merit corporation, and are awards of $2,500. And the third kind are sponsored by other corporations, such as BP or Citibank. These awards can range in size from $500 to $6,000, and last from one to four years.

The only way you can get a National Merit award from us is to rank us as your first choice. As the National Merit people finalize lists and make their decisions, the type of award you get may change over the next month. Be on the lookout for mail from these people--that is how you know what kind of award you'll get. If, for example, your award changes from one of the ones we fund to one that is funded by a corporation, we will send you a revised financial aid letter.

Our merit scholarships

I already knew this stuff, but it's a question every year. If you got a merit scholarship from us, it means you are a super hero and you should definitely enroll here. If you also applied for financial aid, we will use the merit scholarship to waive your student contribution first, usually through summer employment and term-time employment, which you should see reflected in your aid letter. However, if you still want to be employed in the summer and during the school year, and you want to use the award to reduce your parent contribution or your loans instead, you are welcome to do so. The merit award does not reduce your need-based grant aid, but you can use it to reduce any other part of the package we give out.

Appeals

Financial aid appeals are accepted, but the family must provide us with new and documented information. Alicia said something that I found pretty interesting. We required all these forms--the CSS PROFILE, the FAFSA, our financial aid form, signed copies of your tax returns with W-2s and schedules--and this allows us to put together a financial aid package most of the time. However, not all of the time! Sometimes we need more information, such as from a noncustodial parent, or about a home business, or something that can only be captured in a letter. I'll address noncustodial parents below.

Appeal letters must be signed, and the office prefers to receive them by fax at 773-834-4300. The letter must state why you are seeking an appeal. "I receive a better financial aid package from another college" is not a reason.

Non-custodial parents

Besides complaints about the size of the parent contribution, the other biggest complaint we get is about non-custodial parents. Our friends the federal government grant financial aid based on the financial situations of the two biological parents of the student in question, and so do we. It doesn't matter how many times people have remarried, dropped off the face of the earth, whatever... this is the information we require.

However, sometimes not everything works out, and a noncustodial parent can be out of touch or refuse to fill out information. If that is the case, the student can request a waiver of the non-custodial parent profile. This requires a letter from the custodial parent describing the situation, and a letter from a disinterested third party--not a family member, but a person of the cloth, a counselor at school, a therapist, etc.

What about this whole crazy lender issue?

Due to issues with the way the federal government is providing incentives and guarantees to those who provide student loans, some companies have opted out of providing educational loans at all this year. However, we believe that the banks we've listed in our brochure will be amenable to providing student and parent loans if you want to take them out.

You can download our brochure here.

If you have any other questions about financial aid, you should call the aid office at 773-702-8655 or put a comment here. Remember that even if you don't feel that you need financial aid now, if you are a US citizen or permanent resident you can apply for financial aid on May 2, during the summer, or any time during your four years here. Whew, that was long. I hope it's all correct!