Need-Based Financial Aid

What are scholarships? For most of high school, I had thought that scholarships were something that colleges and organizations awarded the top students who had the best applications; however, I luckily realized that is not how it works at many institutions. I attend Haverford College – something that would not be possible without the funding that Haverford provides me. Nevertheless, I did not receive this support because I am “the top student” or because I had the “best application.” Haverford does not award students with funding based on merit. I received and continue to receive this support based on need. Need? What does need even mean? The financial aid departments across some of America’s best colleges have determined what need constitutes. Exactly how much need a student qualifies for will vary across elite institutions but overall is similar. Need is determined through various factors: parental income, savings, assets, medical circumstances, among others. Need based financial aid packages include work study, federal student loans, and grants. At highly selective institutions, packages consist mostly of grants, which do not need to paid back to the school.

From my personal perspective, need based financial aid is nerve-wracking. No matter how many financial aid calculators I used to plug my parents’ tax return information, I did not feel confident that it was possible that a school would want to give me, in my mind, a huge sum of money to attend their school. Why would any college want to give me over $200,000? Why am I worth that much? Haverford believed that my education and I were worth that much, but it took me some time to realize that. When I received the huge red envelope that contained my acceptance to Haverford and my financial aid package, my eyes glistened with tears and disbelief.

Do your research about financial aid at any school in which you are interested. Have those tough financial conversations with your parents. Reach out to us Joyce Ivy Fellows. I want you to know that the best colleges are not out of your reach because you cannot afford to pay all the tuition – or the room and board – or books. Why? Because, you are worth whatever money you need to receive a top-tier education.