This year they got rid of triples and quads. If I recall when we applied for financial aid, the COA (Cost of attendance) was based on a double room, so I suppose that still holds true so if you want a single, you probably have to pay the difference. If they’re back to doing triples (which you should avoid) you would need less money.
I know people on financial aid that got singles. But they had to pay the difference out of pocket. Your financial aid is what they’ll give you. I don’t know of any financial aid that gives you a blank check. Same with the food plan. It is also factored in for a certain food plan, not the unlimited and then if you want to upgrade, you have to pay the difference.
Did y’all get your fin aid package yet? because I submitted everything on time and they’re saying they’re still awaiting review… I mean, what’s the point of submitting it on time? All the other schools award letters go out with acceptance letter if you hit their deadlines… and they won’t give a clear answer as to how much longer I’ll have to wait
There’s a form on your admissions portal on the side of your screen when you’re asked to place your deposit that says “Enrollment Deposit Extension Request,” Where you can request an extension and put “I have applied for financial aid and am awaiting my financial aid package.” Hope this helps!!!
The problem is - if you’re comparing packages, you have to get all of your schools to agree to the extension. I spoke to someone at Cornell today who said that they couldn’t guarantee our appeal would be processed prior to 5/3. I’m not sure how we can make a decision without this information.
I’m sure there’s a way around it if it serves as an option for prospective students. I would speak to other aid offices and have them compromise to the situation. Due to COVID, I’m sure they’ll sympathize.
For low income students with financial hardships that have difficulty paying the enrollment deposit, You can request to waive it!!! On the applicant portal on the side of your screen there’s a waiver!!! Hope this helps anyone, I didn’t see it at first because it’s kinda hidden on the side.
Same here. The person on the phone recommended we ask for an extension, so we have started reaching out to her other schools to try and get an extension there also. Really a mess, but there’s only so much time in the day.
No, she didn’t have any idea when they would be done. She only said that they were being processed in the order of when they were complete. So, I would imagine that appeals would not begin until after all of the regular / initial applications had been processed.
I don’t understand how they didn’t anticipate and plan to process things on a more timely basis.
Cornell is notoriously slow for processing FA applications. Many current students didn’t even receive their packages until school had already started this year. A lot of parents refer to it also as a bait and switch, so just be forewarned of the fact that what you may get this year may not hold true for subsequent years. Student EFC also tends to go way up.
This “bait and switch” concept is really worrisome. What do parents do if they aren’t notified until school starts and then the cost is more than they can afford?
I have a friend working to essentially pay her child’s EFC since there was no way the kid was going to be able to make that much last summer. Other’s said their EFC went from 0 to 20 or maybe it was 30k. Or it may have just been that it was an increase of that much, but regardless that is a lot. My philosophy is to never take loans to go to any college so it’s a hard sell to me either way and many aren’t prepared and then get out and have a ton of debt especially because there are so many extra expenses no one accounts for. Not worth it to me.
I agree, I don’t want my kid to have loans over the federal $27k limit. I would hate for him to start somewhere and then have to leave - there’s no way we could come up with an extra $30k at the last minute.
He loves the school and its his top choice but the financial aid dept is starting to worry me. He has other offers at non-ivy (but almost) comparable schools. We’re just waiting for the financial aid to make a decision.
I would 100% ask them, for what reasons might your FA change in future years. Also if you call them they’re pretty nice. I had to call them after my daughter was accepted although that was ED so not as busy. I just remember last year, how many people were waiting and waiting and then recent comments about the “bait and switch” phrase used. It should not be the case and it shouldn’t be that complicated if other schools can figure it out.
One other thing. A lot of students do work study and that helps a lot, but the jobs are not always the best out there.