<p>Just recently i decided that I would rather go to Penn than Princeton.
After a month of debating.
Today my parents told me that i would have to take 10k in loans every year if i attended Penn and only 5k if i went to Princeton (they recently got the fin aid appeal granted)</p>
<p>Is there anyone out there who has or will be taking out a lot of loans to go to Penn or choose Penn despite it being the more expensive school?</p>
<p>I am, as are friends of mine. I felt it reasonable as a personal investment in my future at a school I strongly wished to attend. While it is certainly undesirable to take on debt, I feel that by taking advantage of the opportunities I’ve been afforded by way of my being a student here, I will be able to pay back all that I borrowed in the future with little doubt.</p>
<p>have any engineering majors made that choice?</p>
<p>i say this because i was planning on majoring in mechanical engineering
but if i am going to have 20k+ in loans when i leave UPenn
and 0k when i leave Princeton
i dont know it is worth it anymore…</p>
<p>Well, I’m going into SEAS with 20k+ in loans so yeah! I feel pretty much the same way as Chi-town about it; if I take advantage of everything Penn has to offer, I’m sure I’ll be able to pay it off.</p>
<p>It’s really a personal decision, of course, but a total of $20,000 in debt to be at a place you’ll be happier for 4 key and formative years doesn’t seem like a lot.</p>
<p>As an adult, you’ll probably take on that much debt–or more!–just to buy a car every few years. :)</p>
<p>I wanted to go to Penn
But I’m just not sure if I should
Since Princeton has a good engineering program too
And I wouldn’t have to take out loans to go there</p>
<p>And the reason why I’m nervous about the amount of these loans is because I want to go to graduate school after this and I know fin aid for grad school is very bad if one gets any</p>
<p>I’m not sure if I should go 20k in debt if I will be 100k (or more) in dept for grad :(</p>
<p>What type of graduate school do you want to go to? If you are thinking about getting a phD in engineering, the best phD programs are free and actually pay a stipend.</p>
<p>Wait, so is Princeton now offering you more financial aid than Penn? Because from what it sounds like from other people, you can appeal Penn to match Princeton’s financial aid. It sounds like they’ve done it for other people, and it doesn’t sound like a huge difference.</p>
<p>None whatsoever. Penn usually matches other schools in terms of financial aid, have you tried that?</p>
<p>in the beginning:
Penn’s offered me an EFC of 16k and 5.5k in loans
that is about 21k
Princeton’s offered me an EFC of 24k and 0k in loans</p>
<p>we appealed Princeton to match Penn and this happened:
Penn’s offer still EFC of 16k and 5.5 in loans
Princeton’s new offer is EFC of 16k and 0k in loans</p>
<p>I liked Penn so much that I would have even tried to appeal Penn’s aid
with Princeton’s revision. But the information from Princeton came 2 days ago
and the financial aid office was closed yesterday.</p>
<p>Penn had also told me on Friday that i would not be able to pay off my loans
with scholarship. And since my parents can only give me 10k (12k max) a year.
You can do the math. I will be in a lot of loans (about 5 or 6k a year) if i can
pay off 5k a year with jobs/work study.</p>
<p>Since i plan on going to graduate school and i am majoring in mechanical engineering.
I dont know if i should accumulate such a large debt in my undergrad when i will be accumulating debt in grad school.</p>
<p>kiditkid,</p>
<p>Is it too late to answer “yes” to both schools? You could contact Penn tomorrow and explain the situation, and see if it will match Princeton’s latest offer (I’d be very surprised if Penn didn’t). Lots of people initially answer “yes” to a school by May 1st, and then later rescind that “yes” when, e.g., they get into another school off of a waitlist.</p>
<p>If you otherwise prefer Penn to Princeton, that’s what I’d recommend doing to give Penn a final chance to match–or even beat–Princeton’s offer.</p>
<p>45 Percenter spoke with wisdom 
Dude, I think you should just call the Student Financial Services on Monday to appeal and then call Office of Admission for an extension on decision. Since you have a valid reason for extension (dealing with financial stuff) they probably will give you more time. Good luck!</p>
<p>Can you answer “yes” today online for both schools? That’s what I’d recommend doing, to technically meet the deadline (assuming that the deadline is May 1st). Then you could call Penn Admissions and SFS tomorrow and explain the situation, as txboy13 recommends.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine Penn passing up a chance to beat out Princeton. ;)</p>
<p>but i dont think i can appeal Penn’s offer with a revision of financial aid from another school.
Because Princeton matched Penn’s aid. If this was possible so many other people would do this. </p>
<p>Penn’s aid was better. Princeton matched theirs. Now Princeton’s aid is better. Will Penn really continue to compete with Princeton. I’ve been doing research all morning and i can’t find anyone who has done that.</p>
<p>i will call the SFS and admin on Monday.
But is it “legal” for me to accept both schools. Because i was not waitlisted to any school</p>
<p>
Yep. At least that’s my understanding. It’s called a bidding war, and no matter what happens, the winner is YOU. :)</p>
<p>At least it doesn’t hurt to try–you have little (perhaps a deposit?), if anything, to lose.</p>
<p>Again, call Penn Admissions and SFS tomorrow morning and lay it out for them–they’ll let you know the score.</p>
<p>Penn has embarked on a major campaign this year to boost its admissions yield, and you can be a happy beneficiary of that.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>As long as you comply with any enrollment deposit requirements, I think that you can hold places at as many schools as you want. Just read whatever enrollment conditions each school sets forth, and make sure that there is nothing that explicitly forbids it. There is certainly nothing inherently illegal about it. That’s why all these schools have waitlists–and rather large ones, at that.</p>
<p>kiditkid,</p>
<p>Just did a little Googling and found this:</p>
<p>[Accepting</a> a Waitlist Offer After Depositing Elsewhere - Ask The Dean](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/accepting-a-waitlist-offer-after-depositing-elsewhere.htm]Accepting”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/accepting-a-waitlist-offer-after-depositing-elsewhere.htm)</p>
<p>Note this excerpt:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Again, review whatever both schools have to say about enrollment and the deposit, but it appears that the most you have to loose is a deposit if you accept the offers of both schools. The thing you DON’T want to do, however, is miss out on a school to which you otherwise would have gone, simply because you missed the May 1st reply deadline!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the encouragement that you guys gave.
Everything turned around after talking to my admission officer.
Now i’m going to Penn without Loans! Whoop!</p>
<p>I would have just accepted my fate if it wasn’t for you all.
Thanks for the support!</p>