<p>What is unfair about the system is that disciplined savers get penalized compared to big spenders. Those who have diligently saved for college end up paying more than those who have not. I understand the need for economic diversity and making college affordable for lower and middle class. There is realistically no way a family with 50K income will ever be able to save enough for college, so aid is necessary. It’s the upper middle class that has the disparity. The family earning 150K who saved and invested responsibly will end up paying full price, while the family earning 150K and spending most of it will end up paying less.</p>
<p>Well, my son has about 5K in his 529 that my parents set up but we have used it to pay for community college classes while in high school so it is dwindling. My son expects to take 4-5 more colleges classes this summer and senior year so there won’t be much left but that’s the way it goes. He also has about 2k in savings from working but he uses that to pay for all expenses and may buy a used car with it depending on where he ends up. It’s in our name, though.</p>
<p>The thing about earning and saving is that there are sometimes unexpected costs that eat away at modest savings…like my husband’s brain injury 10 years ago…like our middle son’s type 1 diabetes supplies…like our roof that was leaking everywhere…it’s just life.</p>
<p>I’m still not sure why CMU’s numbers were so different from the other estimators I’ve used.</p>
<p>I have joined a facebook group for incoming students and have only seen one girl who said that she got pretty much a full ride. In general, CMU FA is not very good. All I got was a 10k grant and around 6k in loans/workstudy that is going to be reduced, while from other schools I applied to I got 20-86k in scholarships alone. I’m not trying to disparage the school considering I’m going to be attending, but consider your other options. There were several kids in the facebook group that decided not to attend because it just wasn’t a feasible financial move.</p>
<p>I would definitely apply and try to get them to match offers from peer institutions. You won’t get a ton but I know some people that got a few thousand out of it. Also I want to warn you about their financial aid package. The first FA package you get will be based off of your FAFSA, but once you send in your tax returns and other paperwork, your FA package may decrease. This is not uncommon. CMU has a different way of calculating (don’t know specific details), but it’s something about counting things that weren’t counted by the FAFSA. I have heard about some kids getting as much as 10k taken away. Just a word of caution.</p>
<p>"The first FA package you get will be based off of your FAFSA, but once you send in your tax returns and other paperwork, your FA package may decrease. This is not uncommon. CMU has a different way of calculating (don’t know specific details), but it’s something about counting things that weren’t counted by the FAFSA. I have heard about some kids getting as much as 10k taken away. Just a word of caution. "</p>
<p>Yes, pay attention to that. Whatever the reason may be, you should not put your deposit down if financial aid is a necessity until you have all financial papers in and have your “Revised” financial aid reward letter. I did the dumb thing and enrolled because I was happy with my FA letter, but then sent in my Tax returns and started worrying that I’d sent in my nonrefundable $800 deposit and my FA could be dropping. Thankfully my grant only went down by about $700, but I know not everyone may get off that easily.</p>
<p>This is very good to know! It may be that my son will have enough schools on his list without CMU but he’ll know more during the summer. I appreciate being able to go into this with eyes wide open. My son also knows our money situation and is prepared for anything (I hope).</p>