<p>perro, the problem is that when you have more money you have a higher standard of living. Car payments, house payments, etc etc run higher and the amount of disposable income available remains quite low, making it hard to pay a high tuition. That's not to say the system is unfair. After all, one can argue that the parents should have saved money or cut down on spending in anticipation of college. On the flip side, the same families can argue that they went through the trouble of hard work to earn all that income and they shouldn't be forced to live below their means because of that. The point is to not be so quick to judge other people financially :)</p>
<p>Thanks fellow Cornellians, perhaps a little explanation would help. I live with my mom and stepdad. My stepbro lives with us a third to half a year too. I can expect about zero contribution from my biological dad, he's far away, so that source's not any good. of the 120,000 my mom and stepdad make, my mom makes only 50% , but on FAFSA and Profile etc, all the family income is listed, and my mom is willing to give me 10,000--20,000 or so a year, which is very generous of her, but my stepdad is the one who needs management or accounting classes because his income covers everything he needs or wants to spend it on, and what small amount is left over won't be spent on my college education at all. Do you think if I explain this single-parent contribution situation and appeal to the aid office, Cornell will adjust my aid package?</p>
<p>hard work doesn't equal lots of money. and vice versa.</p>
<p>I appreciate your point Shizz, it was on page 2 of 2 and sorry didn't see it. Yeah, a higher standard of living...man forgot what quote it is , but "money sure is a corruptive source." </p>
<p>I basically have two schools to decide between, U of Arizona or CU, right,? now I'm leaning toward UA like 60% for it and 40 for CU. I would really appreciate an IVY league education, but 10 or 20 years down the road, I don't think it will matter that much if I can get in and graduate from a good medical school, go through residency, and become a doctor. Good thing doctors get well compensated here in the USA, and I promise to my future child(ren) if they can get accepted to a first-rate university, I would definitely save up enough money to send him/her/them there. I cannot bear to see my posterity suffering the frustrating situation i'm in. </p>
<p>I should also blame myself for not getting enough outside scholarship aid etc even though plenty of opportunity is out there, but in my rigorous studies in hs to prepare for ivy league i just didn't have enough time...everything seems too late now, but I will still try.</p>
<p>I mean fair enough or whatever. So its a weird situation. But i'm sure you can figure out something. I wasnt trying to be offensive but it didnt sound at the time like your situation warranted a sob story. After hearing your story it sounds strange enough. Your stepdad seems like a real piece of work. Anyhow, best of luck, maybe you could talk with the financial aid office or try to get your stepdad to stop being such a jerk.</p>
<p>Perro, when did you get your FA package in April? Did they send you an updated FA package after you sent in updated tax returns? If so, when? How come the ED'ers seem neglected for FA? lol</p>
<p>hey, we don't get our finaid pkg until july, so maybe the fact that ED's are definitely going here, they aren't priority? idk. don't worry, you won't get yours in july...i think</p>
<p>For ED i think i got mine in april. And yes they updated it when the tax stuff was finalized. Im not sure when because honestly i didnt deal with the whole financial aspect of it myself. I would assume that ED's are "neglected" because of the fact that they have a binding agreement with the university saying that they will come not matter what. Yes, i realize said contract can be broken for financial reasons, but still it gives the school a little bit of bargaining power and wiggle room to free up some money to use to entice undecided RD kids. At least thats what I figure.</p>
<p>thanks Perro et al, in my stepdad's annoying words "We [my Mom and him] make TOO MUCH MONEY, and of course we CAN"T GET ANY AID." </p>
<p>To him, loans and w/s are not aid, at least not free aid. If it was just my mom and I with 60,000 a year, i'm sure Cornell wouldnt then force us to fork over half of the family income just be able to send me to Cornell, that would be too cruel a thing to do taking away 50% of a fam's money., and I'd choose state u or even working for a year or two. I will email the FA office, and also see if my stepdad is willing to help any at all, as a loan even.. He acts like a real jerk sometimes, and I would NOT want to take any of his money just for free either. If (and that's a BIG IF) he lends me any money, I will pay back every cent. You're all great people, I would really miss everything associated with Cornell. Hope I can attend.</p>
<p>I understand some of us have unique situations. My parents make 32k / year and (luckily ironically) because of that I am anticipating a generous offer from Cornell. Not to focus on Shawn33402's case, but everytime I see families making 120k+/year in "financial strands", I feel like "we have a higher standard of living situation" doesn't really convince me as a good reason for "needing" much financial aid.
It's a shame that there is no actual way to prove Shawn33402's situation in terms of the single-parent contribution thing. I really hope that Cornell would consider that as a factor in re-evaluating the financial aid application. However, for those who are part of a family that has a relatively high income and say the family cannot afford to pay the required amount, they should really look into why schools didn't offer much financial aid for them. Really, except for those with really unique situations (like that of Shawn33402's canse), I think it's bulls--- to say "oh we got not much room for post 2ndary eduation for my child(ren) because we have a higher standard of living."</p>
<p>Wouldn't it be wise to provide your children with the desired education rather than running bimmers/mercedes?</p>
<p>In the end, I think we need to agree that the system is fair for everyone. You might feel that you deserve more aid, but someone in a similar financial situation would be faced with the same circumstances. The whole "higher standard of living" thing is ridiculous. Your parents send in their W2 forms with the amount of property taxes they pay, along with house value, mortgage payments, and car payments. That right there is enough information to determine what "standard of living" you're at. I don't see what other extravagancies a family could have. I'm not trying to attack anyone on here, but everyone has a sob story. My parents drained away my college fund on lawyer fees when they got divorced 4 years ago. I am taking the maximum amount of loans (with some grants) because I realize that this package is offered to anyone of my economic status. This might sound ridiculous but I actually take a sense of pride in paying for part of my college education, because it was my idea to attend a school that costs $43,000 a year.</p>
<p>It's a huge shame when a parent doesn't want to contribute because if you don't foot the bill (huge loans) then it basically amounts to a lost opportunity. It's also not fair for anyone to attack his parents' views on financing school. Some people think that a child should work his way through college because it'll toughen him or her up. Other parents feel it is a responsibility as a parent to ensure their kids obtain the best education possible. Both philosophies can be correct.</p>
<p>Anyway, call the financial aid office and see what you can work out. Although I personally don't think you will have too much luck, you never know if things could bounce your way. If you are smart enough to get into Cornell, then I'm sure you'll succeed wherever you end up. Keep us updated and good luck.</p>
<p>p.s. are you from Arizona? if so, whereabouts?</p>
<p>Anyone out there who was accepted to CALS (college of ag & life science) get their financial aid yet? I am a NY resident with an income of 45,000. Anything comparable?</p>
<p>THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE</p>
<p>As repeated again, did any EDers receive updated FA packages?</p>
<p>I got my finanical aid package today - $20,000 in grants!!! Thank you hotel school.</p>
<p>congratulations to you all who got good aids. If I go to Cornell, I will definitely have to work year-round w/ FWS and summer jobs etc. But like someone said, I believe "toughening up" is a necessary process. I'll feel better to have paid part of my college education.</p>
<p>to shizz, I'm from Anthem, Arizona, it's just north of Phoenix.</p>
<p>Heh, I love cornell, but I'm not entirely sure that I can pay for it with the financial aid package they gave me. I applied to Arts and Sciences, and although they had a higher tuition, I didn't think twice, because that's where I wanted to go, and I know that usually state funded schools give less financial assistance.</p>
<p>Cornell gave only $16,000 need based grants, as opposed to 22,000 at Union, 21,000 at RPI, and $17,000 (merit/need-based) at U of Rochester.</p>
<p>Unfotunately, my father has recently been diagnosed with Leukemia, but has gone back to work, so hopefully I can make a case to Cornell to revise my financial aid package. Union was able to increase my package from 15,000 to 22,000 after I talked to them, so I hope that Cornell can help my family out a bit. </p>
<p>As much as I place a value on education, I can't place a burden on my family like that when I could go to a school offering me more financial aid. Plus, I'm not in a position to spluge on an undergrad degree when I want to continue to higher education, but Cornell would help me reach higher education, so it's a paradox. </p>
<p>Hopefully things will work out.</p>
<p>yeah hope they will , StPlayrXtreme, good luck to you too. and you also said my feelings.</p>
<p>I don't want to splurge on undergrad degree when I want to go to med school, and go through residency, be a real doctor, etc. etc. I doubt about an undergrad degree's influence 10, 20 years down the road, even if it's Cornell. However, Cornell sure would help me bettering the chances at med school admissions, even if by a little, a tiny percent,, though it will mostly be up to me with GPA and MCAT etc. </p>
<p>I'm really not into medical career just for the money. However, how i wish to be rich with a surgeon's tremendous earnings to pay college loans back in just a few years.</p>
<p>i've talked to a few undergrad cornell alum doctors, and they have all said that they value their cornell degree a lot more. i know of even one who hangs his cornell undergrad degree in his bedroom rather than hanging it his office for everyone to see because he likes to sleep with it nearby and the victory is a lot more personal to him. </p>
<p>anyways, it's really a trade off shawn, the more money a specialist makes, the more training he/she needs, so surgeons might spend up to 7 years as residents/fellows before starting to see the expected bajillion dollar income, whereas another specialist who might not make as much will be done in 3 years, and by 7 years will have paid off all their loans. so be careful how you say things. it might take a surgeon 10 years to pay off debt b/c of extra long schooling whereas only 7 years with family</p>
<p>thanks for pointing that out quynh2007, of course i also realize the time /money tradeoff issue because I like to research into my choice of career, though i know far less than many of my peers, most likely you included, so i will be happy to learn more. </p>
<p>It's my remiss sayig paying off in a few years, but by that I mean after i can open a practice or join a group practice and actually earn big money as a "practicing" doctor in the real real world . However, I want to be a doer more like a surgeon rather than medical researcher, GP, internist etc. My uncle is a kidney surgeon in china, and my dad used to be abdominal surgeon in china too. Doctors don't get well compensated there. However, through their influence, i want to do surgery. Even if it means i won't get huge income for so many years and may take 10-20 years after i graduate from med school to pay off all student loans ,including undergrad loans.</p>