<p>How can I get absolutely no aid at all from the University of Chicago if my EFC is about 34K? Even if my parents' tax forms or CSS profile somewhat offset that number to make it higher there is no way that comes anywhere near UChicago's pricetag of 58K a year. Is there something I am missing?</p>
<p>Sounds like an admit/deny. The school admits you, but only if you want to pay full cost.</p>
<p>What are your other choices?</p>
<p>Call them and ask.</p>
<p>I’m quite sure that UChicago is a need blind school so it can’t be that admit/deny thing. I recently appealed so I’m hoping things go well from there.</p>
<p>They are need blind, but they don’t promise to meet your demonstrated need. They say they almost always do, though, so I’d definitely check what’s up.</p>
<p>It could be because your family has other assets. U Chicago uses the Profile in addition to the FAFSA. The EFC comes from the FAFSA alone.</p>
<p>I’m quite sure that UChicago is a need blind school so it can’t be that admit/deny thing.</p>
<p>Yes, it can. A need-blind school can admit you, but then when the FA people are putting packages together, if your attendance is not a big deal to them, they give you a crappy package. They aren’t “blind” when it comes to FA packages; they’re only blind for admittance.</p>
<p>**
Also, your EFC is a federal number. It means NOTHING to colleges** EXCEPT to determine what federal aid you get. And, CSS schools use their own formulas to determine your need. Your parents may have a lot in home equity, etc.</p>
<p>What will you do if your FA package doesn’t change? Will your parents pay?</p>
<p>If you’ve got a FAFSA EFC of $34K its quite likely that there are assets considered for the PROFILE that push the numbers up pretty high – home equity, to start.</p>
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<p>or assets in a small business with less than 100 employees</p>
<p>My parents and I both feel that an education at UChicago is worth the price of nearly 58k a year so we will definitely find a way to pay for it, however it would definitely be nice to obtain some sort of a grant, no matter how small, and some work-study so it would be easier for me to find a job when I arrive on campus later in the fall.</p>
<p>How much of a factor would something such as home-equity have to financial aid? I wouldn’t think that the CSS would completely offset the FAFSA, but then again I don’t know the differences between the two. Both were something that my parents filled and I simply looked over. My parents do not have a small business.</p>
<p>My other choices are NYU Stern and Rutgers. I have a full-ride to Rutgers and surprisingly NYU gave me a 6k scholarship, it may be merit-aid but I have heard that Stern doesn’t give merid aid.</p>
<p>Are you sure you didn’t get any aid? You should have received at least $5500 unsubsidized Stafford loan (yes, loans are financial aid). If you did not, it may be that your aid is not yet processed.</p>
<p>Yes, I did receive that, sorry not to mention it before.</p>
<p>What is your major ? Go to Rutgers for undergrad and save money for Chicago for grad . My 2 cents</p>
<p>
Huge - roughly 5% of the home value is going to be used to raise the EFC. That doesn’t sound like much in terms of a percentage – but if your parents have, say, $300K of home equity, that’s enough to turn a $38K EFC into a $53K EFC.</p>
<p>Go to Rutgers. No undergrad degree is worth spending >$200,000 for vs $0. Save the money and go to UChicago for grad school. </p>
<p>No brainer.</p>
<p>Rutgers is a great school at no cost??? Wow- save your money for grad school like compaq suggested. If you have to take out loans look at what the payments for even just $40,000 a year for 4 years is-</p>
<p>At $40,000 per year, you will graduate with at least $160,000 in debt. I don’t know if that covers room and board, travel expenses, and extras, but let’s use that as a base. I just used the Wells Fargo student loan info for this example, but you could use your own bank. For each $8,000 you borrow at 4.5% (this is low-it will probably be higher) you would owe about $103 per month for 15 years. With a loan of $160,000, you would owe $2,060 per month for 15 years. Yikes- that is a lot of money to pay back, especially when you can go to Rutgers for free.</p>
<p>No one here can give you more than a guess and it would be wise to contact their FA office as soon as possible. It could simply be an error or they may be willing to grant you work study or a small grant if that’s all you need to make enrollment possible.</p>
<p>Ok, I already filed an appeal a few days ago and am hoping that something will change. I am planning to major in economics at UChicago and know that Rutgers will not nearly have the recruiting opportunities from employers that UChicago has for ibanking or consulting. </p>
<p>What other things on the CSS profile would push my true EFC up other than home equity or home business as mentioned above?</p>