<p>according to the fafsa my family can only pay 29,000... however, Columbia is saying 38,000. I really cannot afford that extra 9,000 a year. Would Columbia negotiate with my family or are they pretty hard-headed when it comes to negotiating?</p>
<p>Especially if you have a competing offer from another school. There is a fair chance that they will give you more aid. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>I count as an international student (even though I live in the US) so I never filled out the FAFSA but my parents estimated their contribution in the $20,000 range and I too am supposed to pay almost $38,000. I would love to go to Columbia but I have no idea how they’re going to pay that. It’s pretty ridiculous…it doesn’t feel like they’re 100% meeting our demonstrated financial need whatever that means :(</p>
<p>I agree… I am really hoping that they are flexible and are willing to help us out a little bit more! I really want to go but I would have to take out soo many loans.</p>
<p>sharzilla - something sounds fishy about what you wrote.</p>
<p>if you are an international student and have not applied for financial aid then columbia is not going to give you financial aid. you may indeed need money, but unless you apply they wont give you money. second, i think there is something on the cu site about how they are not need-blind for international students, but they do meet 100% of need for them. </p>
<p>Kindred - i know the fear of loans and it is tough, but some perspective from going through the process. The best way to figure things out is to talk to a financial aid officer. They are reasonable people, but they can only do so much. Sometimes it could be that your family forgot to tell them something and they can correct it and give you more money. Don’t approach it as a negotiation in the sense that you can tell them hey I can pay 10k, they are professionals who are making a professional judgment and would not like someone telling them how to do their job. What they will do is explain how they came to a certain number and work with your family to figure out how to pay for the education. </p>
<p>In the end hopefully it allows you to go to columbia. My biggest suggestion though is keep your ears open to what they say so you can figure out more about the process and how best to advocate for yourself.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information!</p>
<p>Admissionsgeek: I did apply for financial aid. I’m actually a Canadian citizen so I don’t need to apply for the international aid - I basically send what a US citizen sends except the FAFSA because I can’t qualify for that.</p>
<p>hmm, generally, how good is columbias financial aid anyways? especially for the upper middle bracket (like 150kish?) does it tend to be good usually or do people tend to have problems?</p>
<p>^^Guys, just ask for more money, it won’t hurt you. they won’t revoke your admission. The worst that’ll happen is that they’ll say no.</p>
<p>Yea…I’m waiting to see what I get from my other schools then I’ll call them about it.
And I’m in the upper-middle income bracket so as you can see, the aid isn’t great 
I might apply to the Harvard waiting list just because it would cost me $20,000 less to go there on the slim chance that I somehow get in haha… Otherwise I’m just going to prepare to be a very broke kid in NYC :P</p>
<p>I just sent them all my missing documents for a finaid letter. Does anyone know how long I’ll have to wait before I get it?</p>
<p>asiantofu: I had to send in more documentation today too (apparently my fax machine produces illegible faxes…) and they predicted it would be between 1 and 2 weeks before we heard back. Hopefully it comes soon, this wait is unbearable!</p>