<p>CMU says that they meet 100% of demonstrated need, but to my understanding, that sometimes means getting a lot of loans in my financial aid package that I'll have to pay back after college. My family has an EFC of $0. How much should I be expecting in loans (based on your experiences), and how much debt is worth incurring for a CMU degree? Can I expect loans to go down after the first year if I do reasonably well freshman year? How much can I cut down on costs from work during the school year?
Thanks :)</p>
<p>Financial aid includes: grants, loans, work-study and scholarship(small amount for very attractive students)
They will meet full demonstrated need as calculated by the university for ED students only.
They will review financial awards for the most attractive candidates on regular decision.
They will include the maximum student loan $5500 for freshman, $6500 sophomore, $7500 jr and senior, and they may include work-study (amount varies).
You may be able to get pell grant (do not need to pay back) with EFC=0, really depends on your family income.
If you are minority with good grades, you will have a better financial aid.
Financial aid does not increase with your grades and will be adjusted every year if your family financial situation changes, and can be reduced if you do poorly.</p>
<p>Check the Financial Aid forum, you can learn a lot about the process and its unpredictability, as well as way to find scholarships.</p>
<p>So if the max loan for freshmen is $5500 and I apply ED, then does the rest of my cost of attendance (> 50k) come from just grants and work-study? I know you said that CMU ED meets full demonstrated need, but $50k seems like a lot to give away. With so many bright students at CMU, I’m not counting on receiving the “small category of very attractive students” scholarship. I am looking at a few scholarships on my own, but they are for smaller amounts of money. Also, it appears that some scholarship results will be announced in mid-2012 whereas the deadline for accepting CMU ED will be much earlier. I do think I’m eligible for a pell grant - I have a sibling that received it this year. With EFC 0, can I expect that my parents will not have to pay anything out of their pockets?</p>
<p>Sorry if I’m asking stupid questions, there are a lot of details in this process</p>
<p>And I’ll check out the financial aid forum :D</p>
<p>NO, they will not give 50k, that is no guarantee that your EFC=0 when calculated by the university. If you apply ED you can not compare packages with other schools. You should only apply ED if you have no financial need or money is not a problem. </p>
<p>Please, read the financial aid forum, you need to learn as much as you can about it, CMU is not generous with financial aid. There are a lot of details and uncertainty in the process. At the financial aid forum there are parents (swimcatmom, kelsmom, thumper1, and many others) that are expert in this and will be able to help you.</p>
<p>Yeah, listen to lillymom for sure. She knows her stuff. </p>
<p>And 5500 is not the max amount of loans by far. I have 5500 in subsidized loans plus a 4k perkins loan and 2k in unsubsized loans, + 2800 in work study and some other loans through Wells Fargo.</p>