Part 2: The Financial Fit

Boo! It's Halloween, or as we like to call it in Admissions, Early Decision Eve.

With this pending deadline, we wanted to provide some further information about Financial Aid at Barnard.  Below are four points that will help you understand how Financial Aid at Barnard works. 

Need-Blind: We are need-blind in our review of first-year admissions applications for US citizens and permanent residents. This means that admissions officers are unaware of a student’s financial circumstances when evaluating an application or debating an application in committee, maintaining “blindness” to financial circumstances until a decision is made.

Meeting 100% of Demonstrated Need: Barnard guarantees to meet 100% of demonstrated need for all admitted students.  Our Financial Aid office determines need using the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and the CSS Profile used for private institutions.  Visit our Financial Aid website and fill out the net-price calculator to get an idea of your family's need.  At Barnard. the majority of our financial aid packages are made up of grants and scholarships (money you don't have to pay back). The average first-year students entering in the fall of 2015 received $47,069 in grant money. Students financial aid packages also include work-study (where the student gets a job on campus that helps with their expenses), and a small portion of the package will be low-interest student loans. We try to keep these as low as possible and have done so quite successfully; the average indebtedness of a graduating senior last year was $17,039 for the full four years.

Need-Based: We only offer need-based financial aid at Barnard. Need-based aid is financial aid based entirely on what a student and/or family needs financially in order to attend an institution. We don't offer merit-based aid.  Merit-based aid can be based off of things like standardized test scores or GPA. 

Need-Aware: We are need-aware in our review of international citizens and applications from all transfer students. This means that we will consider a student's financial need in our admissions decision making. Any student who is not a US citizen or permanent resident is considered an international student for financial aid purposes (regardless of where they live). 

Want to read more about Financial Aid? Visit the Financial Aid website and check out their FAQ's on Early Decision.

There will be no difference in a student's Financial Aid package if they apply Early Decision or Regular Decision.  For applicants and families, it is important to remember that Early Decision is a binding agreement signed by the student, parent/guardian and guidance counselor, indicating that if a student is admitted to Barnard, they will attend. Therefore, families will not be able to compare Financial Aid packages from multiple institutions if the student is admitted in Early Decision like they can in Regular Decision. If you are interested in applying Early Decision, we encourage you to use the net-price calculator to help determine if the financial aid package works for you and your family before committing.

If you have any questions, please send me an email! Best of luck to you!

Megan