Cornell Financial Aid Award Match Initiative

Received my FA today. Unfortunately, it was the worst package of my “100% need met” schools.

net price = COA - grants

primarily considering the following,

Cornell: net price of 41k (+ 7.5k loans)
Vanderbilt: net price of 31k
Rice: net price of 38k

This is without the National Merit Scholarship at Vandy, which would replace work study, reducing Vandy down to a net price of 29k/yr.

From Cornell’s FA website, they would strive to attempt to match offers from other Ivies, Duke, Stanford, MIT, excluding all the other great non-ivies. Considering Cornell/Vandy/Rice are peer schools, would Cornell still increase grant/ lower loan to bridge the gap between itself and Vandy? Anyone have any experience with this in the past, successful or not?

You can only ask. I have known kids who got some concession from Cornell with a Vanderbilt counter. But I’ve seen Cornell simply refuse even when the offer is from other Ivies. It all depends upon the specific circumstances. Can you not get the National Merit Scholarship at Cornell?

Last year, someone I knew tried to get CMU, a school that actively encourages those who have better offers to submit them for a possible match, to match Vanderbilt, could not get them to budge.

Cornell doesn’t sponsor NMFs.

Hmm, hoping for the best then. 10k is pretty significant. I think I’m more conscious of money than my parents are haha.

@hagzzz I’m not sure Cornell would draw the same conclusion as “Considering Cornell/Vandy/Rice are peer schools…”.

I was just wondering if any of the accepted students here have received their financial aid decisions. Are they sent by e-mail or by post? I’m an international student, by the way.

@KunjiBoy‌ how are they not.
15,16,19 usnews
14.9, 11, 14 acceptance rates
Vandy and rice have higher sat ranges

@hagzzz , I suppose you can mention that “15,16,19 usnews, 14.9, 11, 14 acceptance rates,
Vandy and rice have higher sat ranges…” to Cornell’s financial aid.

So, if you want to go to Cornell and need FA, you pretty much have to apply and be accepted to the other Ivy’s. What a convoluted process!