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From Northeastern University's Dean of Student Financial Services M. Seamus Harreys
On the below-average Cost of Attendance Northeastern surveys its student bookstore and its students to come up with the estimate. If students live far away or feel that they can show they have legitimate higher travel or personal expenses, the school will increase their COA, which may entitle them to more aid.
On renewing merit scholarships Students must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average, but the average is only checked each spring, and students are given one semester's grace to bring their grades up if they get into trouble. Only a small percentage of recipients have gotten into such trouble, Harreys says.
Comments by graders (who did not know the name of the school when they analyzed the letter)
Clarity Lucie Lapovsky, former president of Mercy College, wanted more explanation of how the family should meet the remaining cost. Joe Case, director of financial aid at Amherst College, called the letter "wordy," but he liked the way it went into specifics.
Cost When estimating how much it will cost to get a degree from this school, consider that Northeastern is a co-op school, which means students typically spend three semesters working and not paying tuition. But only 65 percent of students graduate within six years.