<p>Before I was accepted Duke, in PERSON, told my mother we'd pay $2,000 out of pocket and $2,000 in loans. Now we are stuck with $11,000 out of pocket and $2,000 in loans, basically leaving us $9,000 short of what we were planning on.</p>
<p>My mom's finances are pretty **** (she has no retirement, no savings, medical issues [back]) so event that much money is scaring us....</p>
<p>I'm going no matter what (already enrolled) but what do you think the chances are I can get at least a bit more aid, given the estimate we were given weeks ago?</p>
<p>Call the financial aid office and ask them. They are helpful and won’t be offended that you’re soliciting input. If the financial picture given by FAFSA/CSS Profile has changed or doesn’t tell the whole story, I would write a letter/e-mail giving more details as to your circumstances. I would think they gave you a ballpark estimate without the FAFSA information previously based on just your mother’s salary, so they couldn’t be completely accurate without all the information. There must be something in your file that is causing them to feel that expecting your family to pay $11k/year is reasonable based on your financial circumstances. Ask them. Good luck!</p>
<p>Apparently it is because my sister is at school on a scholarship which the net price calc. didn’t include… and they added more because my mom is self-employed.</p>
<p>I’m really sorry to hear about your situation. Our FA office can be stingy at times. I suggest sending in a letter further explaining your financial situation and appealing for more aid. Explain your mom’s financial situation. I really hope you get more aid!</p>
<p>I emailed them and my counselor won’t budge at all…they recalculated once because they made a mistake…but even that (a $10,000 mistake…) only netted me $3,000 a year (which brought us from $14,0000 to $11,000 a year). I’m going either way, as I’ve already enrolled but…gosh I really wish they could give some wiggle room… The net price calculator is definitely not something people should trust. :(</p>
<p>Well, a $10,000 improvement is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Financial aid is re-calculated on a year-by-year basis so if your sister’s scholarship status changes or financial situation is changed in general, you may get more next year. Obviously, $10k/year or whatever you’re at is still a lot of money, but it’s still probably cheaper than your state school. You can apply for outside scholarships to perhaps assist (although it reduces your aid package, but eliminates loans first, so no point in getting more than $2k). It’s unfortunate that you’re not getting exactly what you anticipated, but that’s obviously the risk of applying ED. I’m sure you’ll figure something out and it will be worth it in the end - good luck.</p>
<p>Wait. If I get scholarships my aid package is reduced? So what if I get a $5,000 essay contest scholarship…does that mean I have to pay $5,000 more out of pocket? How is that fair…</p>
<p>Well, if you get $5000 from a contest, the loans that Duke provides will be reduced. So, it seems that if you get $5000 scholarship, your loan package from Duke will be removed first. However, that’s good… you don’t have to worry about repaying those loans back.</p>
<p>Also, there are plenty of work-study positions on campus… you can work as a research assistant, America Reads tutor, and many other positions. This can offset the cost a little bit (maybe $500-1000/year).</p>
<p>No I haven’t won anything yet. But I mean…I don’t see why that would be the case, though I guess it must be true… Why would Duke dig a deeper hole for me if I’m using other resources to fill the gaps? That’s so…ugh. Not a fun situation.</p>
<p>Toujours - a couple of things… first, the issue of reducing financial aid due to outside scholarships is not a Duke decision/issue, it’s a regulatory issue with how financial aid is determined and disbursed. Duke can not award you more aid than your determined need - that would result in what’s called an “over award”, which is not allowed due to federal regulations. The good news is that most schools, like Duke, will use any outside scholarships to reduce your “self-help” aid first - that is, the Stafford Loans and Work Study. Some schools (Dartmouth for example), will even take it one step further in helping you without touching the grant money. If you FAFSA determined EFC is below the institutional determined EFC, they will reduce your EFC to the FAFSA level before reducing your grants. If you are in a position where your outside scholarship grants exceed your self-help aid, it would be worthwhile asking Duke if they would lower your EFC to the FAFSA determined level.</p>
<p>ok, that sounds promising. I know it’s not Duke’s policy but the government’s. </p>
<p>What amount of loans would you think are reasonable for a Duke education? Looking at about $13,000 (11k +2k loans), but subtracting nms money (if I get it) and my maximum scholarship $$$ I can bring that to $9,000 for the first year. </p>
<p>I hate to rain on anyone’s parade, but you really need to assess this financial situation. Does the above cost include personal expenses, spending money, books, transportation costs, etc?</p>
<p>My neighbors were in the same situation with their daughter. She was “gapped” in her financial aid package. That left them short approximately $12,000 per year. To make a long story short, she had to drop out after 3 years and finish at a local school because her parents were buried financially. Due to what they had to pay to the university, they got in way over their heads with credit card debt, parent Plus loans (accruing 8% interest per year from the time the funds are dispersed, plus a loan fee of around 4%), and they got way behind on their bills. They have not paid their property tax in 3 years and the county wants their money. (Foreclosure on their home is coming).
They explained the entire situation to us and told us to never do what they did. And we won’t.
You really need to evaluate the entire financial picture.
Also, their daughter had to work a lot of hours during the school year and two jobs in the summer and she said it severely detracted from her college experience.
I know Duke is a great school. But you really need to separate your heart from your head and see what the total financial picture is.
To be honest, you also have me concerned personally. My daughter was deferred and if she were to get in in March, Duke had told us, when we visited, that our total cost would not exceed $10,000. Even that is a stretch. If they would come back with something higher we could never afford it. Scary.</p>
<p>Well, I know that it may seem an idiotic move but here was my reasoning
note: mum and I talked it over, we’ve figured out a low-impact way to afford it and neither of us feel that it’ll strain our finances more than a bit. We, “made it work”</p>
<p>1) I am not sure that I would have been accepted at the other schools I applied for other than my state schools.
2) I’m paying the same at Duke as I would pay at my state school because they have terrible aid.
3) Duke has been my dream and, given the difference between a Duke experience and a Florida State University experience…we, as a family, decided it would be more than worth it to attend Duke. </p>
<p>As I said previously, the situation has been resolved. Thanks for all the help, let’s let this thread become buried.</p>