<p>(THank you all for your support, I really appreciate your concerns.
Keep the suggestions coming...)</p>
<p>Well my parents total income is around 90K/year and honestly if you look at all our expenses etc just rent alone costs 28000/year minimum and in Australia you can't claim that money on tax like you can in America.</p>
<p>plus we pay almost 25 000 in taxes and 10 000 automatically goes to retirement fund (its law) ... doesn't leave much to food , necessities, etc etc</p>
<p>And I don't see the Global Scholar doing anything for me 'cause they've granted me 27000 + 3000 work on campus.</p>
<p>50K to go to Columbia, 20K remains , 10 K my parents could afford by changing their mortgage repayment from 10 years to friggin 25 years (poor darlings) and then im sure they'll be an additional 10K for misc. expenses. which essentially leaves 20K unaccounted for (after parent and Columbia subsidy)</p>
<p>Sigh. tough . If i call them up on MOnday morning .... what should i say? (calling's better right? )</p>
<p>Calling is more personal than just an email if that's what you mean. I dunno, given that you earn about 90k, a gift of 30k seems like a lot tbh. I know a few countrymen who had to pay the full thing and they only earned about 100k. Also they don't really give all grants to ppl, so even US kids who applied for finaid will prob have to take out some loans. I don't want to sound too negativ but I think unless you have finaid offers from other schools they're not gonna give you 10k more, maybe a bit but prob not 10k. Where else did you get in and did they all give you a finaid offer like this? Otherwise there might be some room to negotiate.</p>
<p>i think the thing with the scholars program is that the financial aid they give you is in grants rather than loans. if you have offers from other colleges (preferably ivy's, then you can probably get something more from columbia by showing them the other offers. if u want i can private message you the name/info for the person who's the head of the scholar's program, but i don't know if that'll help much in terms of financial aid. good luck.</p>
<p>take a job after finishing your first semester. summer jobs can net $5-6k every year.</p>
<p>Loans of that magnitude are not crushing. although you won't qualify for the subsidized loans from the US government, there are commercial loans available, and repayment can be deferred depending on your situation.</p>
<p>Are you serious? 70K with just an undergraduate education is like finding a ten leaf clover. It's more like 50K if you're if you're into engineering. You might get some more if you have good looks and acting skills but if not, then don't expect too much.</p>
<p>You could defer admission for a year and stay at home to just work and save up money.</p>
<p>I'm an engineer and I make 70K+ out of undergrad and I know quite a few who make even more. I think the average for engineers out of undergrad is mid 50K, but varies depending on your engineering major and the company you work for. If you're into i-banking, some of my friends are making up to 100K a year after getting their bonuses. Then again, I know some people making 40K, which is not rare either.</p>
<p>i mean, not everyone gets those jobs, but nog is right, it's not rare. consulting starts at 55-65k plus 5-15k bonus, ibanking is about 60k plus (in recent years) 30-80k bonus, hedge funds can pay even more if you're the right guy at the right time. I mean, every Google software engineer starts at 78k and gets something like 15k in stock after their first year. it's not like having to pay $5k per year on student loans is going to kill you with those salaries.</p>
<p>
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it's not like having to pay $5k per year on student loans is going to kill you with those salaries.
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<p>Depends where you live. If you're living in NYC, where you're poor even if you're making an ibanking analyst salary, an extra $400-500/month means the difference between living in a dump in an outer borough and getting a respectable place in Manhattan.</p>
<p>You can get a highly respectable place in manhattan for $900-1100. I pay $750 in rent in a 4BR/2BA with a big living room and a good location a block from the park, and save (as in put into my investment account) about $2500/month just from salary alone. I eat out nearly every night, go out on the weekends, have nice furniture and almost everything I want from life right now (girlfriend applications now being accepted!). But seriously, my point isn't that I rock, my point is that my situation ISN'T all that special, and look how it's working. I could be paying debt service on probably $150k of debt with that monthly margin I have, and still living a real fine life.</p>
<p>Enough about the numbers. The point is, in my opinion a columbia education (or an equivalent school) is worth it even if you have to borrow every penny for 4 years. The number of schools you can say that about certainly number less than a dozen. Given a chance at a place that can truly make a huge difference in the course of your life, you have to be willing to seize that opportunity and do what is necessary to make the logistics work. I was lucky that I didn't have to, but I would have if necessary. Columbia is a place that nurtures impetuous calculated-risk-takers. It's an investment.</p>
<p>Sounds like you have a good setup that you're happy with, but having 3 roommates in a 4-bedroom apartment isn't for everyone. But we're getting way off track.</p>
<p>I really am not sure if paying 150k for a top school (Columbia or otherwise) would be a good investment for everyone, if the only goal would be to maximize your lifetime earning potential. A lot of the benefits of attending a school like Columbia are intangible and really unquantifiable. And plenty of people take career paths upon which they could have made the same amount of money had they gone to a cheaper school. If Columbia is accessible to you because your parents are rich, or your parents have some money but are willing to sacrifice, or because you're poor and get a great financial aid package, then you don't have to worry about the cost. But the price of 4 years of a top school may not be worth it for all.</p>
<p>call first thing monday morning, EST. like 10am, in time for the morning mail processing. they have a lot of balls in the air and it's important to make yourself the squeaky wheel here so your ball gets the grease. or something.</p>