When they say they meet 100% demonstrated need, they do. Your family makes enough to pay $25k. If you don’t want to pay that much, appeal, and if that doesn’t work, consider other options. $54k is a lot of money and you should be thankful you’re getting that much for a school that costs $55k in tuition only. You got FULL TUITION. FYI, I’m in-state for UCLA and I have to pay around $20k to attend after getting full tuition via Cal Grant. Stop complaining because people would kill to be in your position.
@hhjjlala No offence, but you see my grant and suddenly you think you know anything about my situation??? Don’t go tell me that I should be happy and don’t go tell me what I can and can’t afford because you don’t know me. You can’t say anyone would “kill to be in my position” because YOU DONT KNOW MY POSITION. And the schools tuition is $61k according to the email they sent me so I’m guessing it’s gone up? If I only had to pay even $8k and my family and I felt we couldn’t afford it then even then we would have the right to be upset just as much as anyone.
You have to pay $20k? And you’re happy with that? Good for you! Idgaf. You and I live different lives. And idek what your point is as $20k < $25k so I guess that means I “would kill to be in your position”…
@ammielove I totally understand where you’re coming from. You may not be able to pay $25k out of pocket, but getting $54k a year is A LOT compared to others. I recently got into Pomona and Amherst, and they only offered me about $10k, so I would still have to pay about $60k a year… I would LOVE to have $54k a year, but that number is relative to the person and their family’s financial situation. For example, my friend also got into Pomona and after aid, only had to pay $1,300, but this was still way too much for him and he rejected his spot there. He actually laughed and said, “Ha! NOPE.” Then I said, “That’s so much money wth”
And he responded with, “Yeah, but think about that in terms of my financial situation.” So, I understand where you’re coming from when you say it’s still way too much!!
In my case, I have two other brothers (I’m a middle child), and my parents can’t afford to drop $60k a year JUST on me, so I decided to take out parent plus loans. ALTHOUGH, I would only recommend taking these out if you are certain about the career you want to go into and are CERTAIN that it pays well enough for you to pay it off later.
I wish you luck with at the college you choose to attend!
@DreamforIvy thank you for understanding! And I know that relatively it is a good package. Somewhere else I applied I was only offered $15,000 (it wasn’t based on financial need). I am also a middle child but my elder sister and I will both start university this autumn (we are in the same school year), so my parents would have to suddenly drop $50k on both of us. For the majority of university both my sisters and I will be at university at the same time. There’s more to people’s situation than just one number. Good luck to you too, I hope things work out well!
If anyone’s wanting to know the estimated total cost of attendance 2017-18 it’s $79,646 so significantly higher than what is written online. Idk if it’s because I’m international, maybe there are some additional fees associated with being international which they include (healthcare?).
Right now I’m just hoping the dollar crashes (sorry) lol.
Calm down y’all. Go for a run, play video games, watch Netflix, or do well this remaining semester for senior year so you don’t worry about your acceptances being rescinded. Good luck everyone!
@ammielove If you can not afford a college, go to one which you can afford. It does not have to be a brand name school. There are many other very fine colleges/schools in and outside USA which you can afford. One would like to go to Oxford or Cambridge in UK, but can not.
@ammielove I’m pretty sure Columbia pays for everything if you have need-based need… even if you’re international if i remember correctly.
@grtd2010 Idk what you are saying about Oxford and Cambridge but I have an offer from Cambridge already.
@johonmilla yes but ‘full demonstrated need’ is a vague number to define. So many universities claim to meet 100% yet chances are their financial aid offers won’t all be the same. Some people will have two universities claiming to meet 100% need which will offer /very/ different aid. There is no standardised formula to work out what you can afford.
@ammielove ok tough luck for you then, go to another school.
Sorry, didn’t realise it was so offensive to not be happy with /my/ FA. Of course your feelings about my FA are more important than my own!?! Came on here hoping for advice for what I could do but instead I get attacked tf. Why are some people here so bitter? - is this a really touchy subject or something and I’m just not aware of it??
@ammielove I’m sorry you feel attacked, and you are completely justified for feeling unhappy with your FA. You were “gapped”, meaning your financial aid didn’t meet your family’s actual need. Have you looked at outside scholarships? What do other school’s offers look like?
@LookAtThisNet Guess I’ll be going to the University of Cambridge then, wby?
@yonceonhismouth thanks. I have been looking for outside scholarships but I can’t find any that I am eligible for. I’m thinking about getting a bank loan but my parents are already in a lot of debt so it probably wouldn’t be very feasible. I haven’t heard back from any other US universities yet but right now my plan is that if I get in somewhere else with higher aid to ask Columbia if they would be able to match it. I don’t know if Columbia do this but that’s what I’m hoping for rn. If this all fails then I think I’m just going to have to go to university domestically. 
@ammielove ucla but even if I did get into Columbia I wouldn’t get a lick of money, that’s why I’m surprised by your reaction to your package. From what I’ve heard Columbia is notorious for gapping.
How heavily does Columbia weight connections? One of my LOR was written by a grad student at Columbia, and I was able to fill all the spaces for contacts at Columbia with alum and current students that I know. How much do you think this would benefit me, if at all?
@LookAtThisNet Idk how I’m supposed to know that Columbia are “notorious for gapping.” Never even heard of gapping until today and sorry but I don’t know all the details about american universities. And I’m surprised by my package bc I had not expected it to be so expensive. In the uk university is nowhere near this cost as the fee is £9250 and is the same at all universities. I did not expect to have to pay $25,000 and i do not feel it matches my need.
@LookAtThisNet I guess the attitude is just different. From my perspective the idea that someone should have to choose to not go to the university they want to because it’s expensive is unacceptable. If you were good enough to get in then nothing should stop you going. I guess the tv portrayal of debt crippled american university students is truer than i thought?
@ammielove Damm Daniel! I’d never heard about gapping either! I’m really sorry about that and I totally agree with you. If it isn’t your true “demonstrated need” then you could totally call the financial aid department and discuss your situation with them. I’m sure that, at least to some extent, they’ll understand.