<p>I just got my financial aid from duke and they gave me 1.5k in loans and 1.5k in work study for a total of a 3k "financial aid package" that I have to really pay back/work for.</p>
<p>Considering schools like UPenn, Columbia, and WashU gave me 4-6x that amount in SCHOLARSHIPS alone, I am wondering what happened at Duke?</p>
<p>Anyone got any ideas?</p>
<p>Make an appeal. Tell Fin aid about the discrepancy.</p>
<p>Wow, that's really strange. I suggest you call the financial aid office ASAP. Ask for Kelly Kay; she's extremely helpful.</p>
<p>Yeah Kelly Kay is pretty good. I kinda got screwed with finaid here, too. I've heard vastly varying stories - some people can make one call and get their package increased. My parents and I have had no luck in getting our packaged increased even though a lot of other schools offered me more as well.</p>
<p>My father went so far as to beg and plead in person for any kind of financial aid, and ended up getting nothing. C'est la vie. I would give it a shot, but if it doesn't work out at Duke, you've definitely got some other great options.</p>
<p>mine is worst they only gave me a loan for less than 3000, the rest i have to come up with my self. its almost like im being punished for saving money for college.</p>
<p>Apparently Duke really sucks for finaid. They only gave me 6.5k in loans and work-study things...no grants. I wasn't really considering attending before, but now there is no way in hell I will choose Duke.</p>
<p>Jeez, we're not going to have any CC '10 Dukies. They rejected most of them, and the admits can't afford it. :(</p>
<p>Or you could be like me - can't afford it, but came anyways. :p</p>
<p>same here!</p>
<p>Yeah I always found it strange - the whole punishment for savings thing. Luckily my Dad got wind of that before he started my college fund - so instead we saved nothing and got more aid - sounds kind of counterintuitive but that's the way the system works.</p>
<p>I was actually extremely happy/grateful; about 5k in loans, 2k grant, 2k in work study. This is a lot more than I got at Wash U (st. louis).</p>
<p>FYI...work-study is a blessing in disguise. Most employers prefer to hire W-S students because they only have to pay 1/4 or 1/2 of the pay; the government pays for the rest. There's a ton of interesting jobs available. For example, I plan on majoring in Earth Science, so I'm working as a lab assistant in the Nicholas School.</p>
<p>Geez..and I thought 29 k in fin aid was bad!</p>
<p>i got $34k.. most of it grant $... duke actually calculated my family's contribution to be about $5k less than every other school i got in... strange</p>
<p>they calculated my EFC to be like 14k more than FAFSA... :(</p>
<p>I e-mailed 2 people so far at Duke and hope they reply. It's ok, I have no problems going to Wharton</p>
<p>Actually, for the (roughly) half of our student body on financial aid, the average package includes nearly $21,000 in grant money.</p>
<p>So say the statistics they give tour guides, anyway.</p>
<p>my financial aid package was awesome!!! 34000 total, about 30000 in grants alone! :D DUKE IS SO FREAKING AWESOME!!!</p>
<p>omg my financial aid package is really good too!!!! :D duke is soooo cool!! hehe choco88 i totally agree with you :) duke is freaking awesome</p>
<p>bluedevilmike, if I am not satisfied with my financial aid offer, is it better to call the fin. aid office or email my fin. aid counselor. And also, how do I go about asking for more money. I didn't really get into any other schools of equal prestige, so I can't show them other offers since the other schools aren't of equal caliber (BU). So what do I do? I mean, they want me, they accepted me, they want a high matriculation rate, but I couldn't go with a $20,000 debt each year (they gave me $25,000 in grants, but it still isn't enough).</p>
<p>choco, what was your EFC if you don't mind me asking?</p>