Duke financial aid taking forever....

<p>Is it just me or...is anyone else having this issue? I am in the appeal process, and they take forever to respond...they asked me to fax something over, I did, then I email them asking them when they can let me know about the appeal. They reply back saying it will take another 5-7 business days. Then, she replies back two hours later saying in essence "Ooops we didn't receive the fax you sent two days ago. Can you send it again?"</p>

<p>Is this just bullcrap or not? My family's combined income is like...close to 120/year so I'm not sure if its even worthit doing the appeal (stepdad's business sold had increased the income to like 180k). I kept hoping for Duke but they just aren't pulling through. I think I'm going to accept my scholarship/admissions officer from UMich.</p>

<p>I would wait until you get the results of the appeal before making a final decision. UMich is a great school but it's no Duke. How big is the price difference we are talking about anyway?</p>

<p>He received a "$20k/year engineering scholarship, which is almost effectively a half ride (around 45k/year for out of state), while Duke gave [him] nothing." So, it's about a $100k difference over 4 yrs. See <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/492189-duke-vs-umich.html#post1060179098%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/492189-duke-vs-umich.html#post1060179098&lt;/a> </p>

<p>I was in a similar situation. Accepted to Michigan in BME with a $10k/yr scholarship OOS and chose to go to Duke. Admittedly, Duke's financial aid gave me a lot more than nothing and Duke ended up costing less than Michigan so my choice was a bit easier! :) Good luck!</p>

<p>bluedog, did Duke originally give you nothing and then you appealed? I was in the appeal process, I still feel bad for giving it up =/</p>

<p>Oh yeah and that 20k/year, Michigan increase it to 26k/year to try and get me to go there....Gah I feel so terrible for not even waiting to see how much Duke could give me.</p>

<p>wait for duke.... but 26k a year would be REALLY tough for me to turn down, especially since it's Michigan. Michigan is an incredible.</p>

<p>It is taking forever for me too! They waited until after I was accepted to tell me to send dad's business tax returns, told me to send them to IDOC, and a week later said to fax to them b/c they didn't have it. Today was day 7 of the "5-7 business days" in which they were supposed to respond - I'm calling tomorrow if I don't get an email. It's getting close to the May 1 reply deadline (when you consider visiting and everything) and I wish they'd just hurry up and tell me.</p>

<p>i know someone who got into MIT but not UMich haha</p>

<p>idk what that really has to do with any of this, but i thought it was funny</p>

<p>I think the reason financial aid is taking so long could also have to do with the fact that current students' financial aid packages are being calculated now as well. Figuring out financial aid packages for several thousands of people is no joke...</p>

<p>@Predator. No, I didn't appeal. Duke's initial financial aid package was pretty generous for me.</p>

<p>Actually, the Fin Aid office at Duke responded really promptly to my appeal; over the last 2 weeks, we've already exchanged 4 or 5 emails regarding my appeal, and even though I only got an extra $600 from it, I was glad they were willing to respond and listen.</p>

<p>We have also not received a FA offer from Duke. On Tuesday they requested that we submit our 2007 tax returns through IDOC. It seems that they are not going to provide this information until the May 1st deadline approaches. It is disappointing in that Duke is the only school that did not provide their FA offer along with the admission letter.</p>

<p>Are the policies outlined at New</a> Financial Aid Support no longer valid? My annual income is < $10,000 but my expected parent contribution is $1750 and I have $5000 as loans in my package.</p>

<p>@Hellfire.</p>

<p>Your annual income or your parent's combined annual income? That's a big difference. Most students incomes are less than $10,000, so you aren't atypical at all. If your parents make less than $10,000, then, yes, you should get a full ride.</p>

<p>I meant my parents' income.</p>