Cornell and Financial Aid

<p>I've been thinking about applying ED to AEM at Cornell, but I'm worried about the financial aid. Aid is a big factor for my college plans, and I don't know if my family will be able to afford it. My mom got off the phone with an aid officer and she said that each student is expected to contribute 10 grand a year for Cornell. She also said that loans were a big part of the aid package, opposed to gifts (that most other ivies give instead of loans.) does anyone know about this 10000$ a year thing, or anything else about financial aid that could help me out?
thanks</p>

<p>As discouraging as it may sound, don't apply ED if financial aid is a big factor for you. The $10,000 figure seems about right. Below is a list of universities that meet 100% of need, each with a pair of figures that show the average of first year loan amount and the average of yearly loan for all undergrads, respectively. You will notice that Cornell's figures are significantly higher than those of any other school in the list.</p>

<p>Harvard University (MA) ($2489 $2,377)
Princeton University (NJ) ($0 $0)
Yale University (CT) ($1,447 $2,410)
University of Pennsylvania ($3,143 $4,049)
Duke University (NC) ($3,700 $5,009)
Stanford University (CA) ($2,675 $2,860)
California Tech ($1,798 $1,318)
Mass Inst. of Technology ($3,321 $3,897)
Columbia (NY) ($3,465 $4930)
Dartmouth College (NH) ($3,168 $4,318)
Northwestern University (IL) ($2,424 $4,148)
Cornell University (NY) ($10,400 $8,157)
U. of Chicago (IL) ($4,474 $5,484)
Rice University (TX) ($2,532 $3,069)
Univ of Notre Dame (IN) ($3,603 $5,278)
Emory University (GA) ($3,129 $4,890)
Georgetown University (DC) ($2,010 $3,634)
University of Virginia* ($3,771 $4,395)
Tufts University (MA) ($2,911 $4,219)
Boston College (MA) ($3,707 $4,721)</p>