<p>how is the financial aid at cmu? would i get more financial aid if i applied ed? thanks</p>
<p>CMU is stingy with financial aid for middle class families. Applying to any private college ED, CMU included, is likely to net you lower financial aid, not higher, because you have no other peer-college finaid offers to bargain with.</p>
<p>To be honest, CMU at first WAS pretty stingy with the aid. They will try to re-evaluate your package though if you give them a better offer from another private university. They did for me, and now I have pretty good financial aid! So don’t let financial aid stop you from applying.</p>
<p>As far as ED goes, I have no idea. If you have heavy need I wouldn’t risk it.</p>
<p>Well, our experience was CMU was somewhat stingy—not the highest or lowest. It is possible that ED offers are more generous, though, but there is nothing to compare it to, so it is difficult to say. I agree with everyone else that you should apply RD because we they are very good about re-evaluating your offer in comparison to the others you’ve gotten.</p>
<p>Well ED could net you more aid depending on your EFC, I know it most likely did for me. According to their financial aid page…</p>
<p>While early decision students are not eligible to participate in this aid review process, we will meet their full demonstrated need as calculated by the university. </p>
<p>I would say I’m about middle class with my dad making 90k annual. CMU gave me 35k in grants with the rest in loans and work study adding up to 43k in aid. I also have a brother in college that probably effects this aid also. So I guess if you had a low EFC and applied ED you’ll probably get good financial aid.</p>
<p>Nightvisitor: How did your offer compare to your EFC? Did you wind up paying more or less than the EFC? </p>
<p>The fact that you have a brother in college cuts your EFC in half.</p>
<p>The offer covered my EFC nearly exactly. My EFC was around 15,200~ and the tuition i’ll be paying for next year is 15,330. This doesn’t include work study though. So if that’s included it covers more than my EFC.</p>
<p>I applied ED and CMU met my full need.</p>
<p>Well, RD can result in a better deal. Depending on offers from other schools, you can wind up paying less than your EFC after a second round offer. Of course, applying to other schools is expensive, too, and you have to take the other schools seriously. If you don’t visit or interview in person, for example, they are likely to offer less. If you’re sure you want CMU and you can handle the EFC, ED could still make sense.</p>