Financial Aid Question-Is this Normal?

[Lovethefall]

I have a question regarding financial aid and would appreciate feedback.

I have been accepted by a graduate program but it is very expensive. I spoke with financial aid and they said I would have to enroll before I would be considered for financial aid and informed of what I would receive-and would not find out till this summer.

I don't understand how one can make a big decision as this without having any idea of finances.

Is this normal and have other people experienced this? Thanks for your input.

[Asherah, BSN, RN]

I have a question regarding financial aid and would appreciate feedback.

I have been accepted by a graduate program but it is very expensive. I spoke with financial aid and they said I would have to enroll before I would be considered for financial aid and informed of what I would receive-and would not find out till this summer.

I don't understand how one can make a big decision as this without having any idea of finances.

Is this normal and have other people experienced this? Thanks for your input.

Well just to clarify, did they state that you would have to submit your letter of intent to attend the program, or actually enroll in courses? Some programs are a bit delayed and do not submit their financial aid packages until after the deadline by which you have to accept their offer of admission (in which case the most you would have to put up to potentially lose is roughly a $500 deposit in most cases).

I've never seen a school actually make someone wait until the term begins and enroll in courses (when you would be charged the full tuition) to see what the aid will be like. That's just plain ridiculous!

[Lovethefall]

From what I understand (as the financial aid officer is not too helpful) I must submit my deposit and decide on a plan of study. After that is complete they will determine my financial aid award. Yet she implied that it would be several months before they decided awards. It just leaves me in a tough situation not knowing the financial details.

Thanks for your response.

[Sarah Bellum]

I'm in the same situation and I agree with you but apparently it is standard practice.

[Asherah, BSN, RN]

From what I understand (as the financial aid officer is not too helpful) I must submit my deposit and decide on a plan of study. After that is complete they will determine my financial aid award. Yet she implied that it would be several months before they decided awards. It just leaves me in a tough situation not knowing the financial details.

Thanks for your response.

Well, I'm still unsure of how long they're going to make you wait, but I'm in the position where I had to accept my offer of admission by March 12th and submit my deposit ($500) and now I have to wait until April/May to recieve the financial aid package from the school. However, I think that in my case the wait is due to the fact that they have an accelerated class starting in the summer and they need to process their aid packages before they process the fall cohort.

While you're waiting, can you contact the financial aid director/administrator and get any rough idea of the average amount of aid granted to their graduate students? At least then, you can have an idea of how much you will have to make up for with grants/scholarships/private or federal loans.