<p>I was actually pretty happy with my aid "estimate" that I got in January, but I hear we should be receiving "real" offers soon. </p>
<p>As much as I wouldn't mind the aid increasing,
Has Chicago actually offered LESS "for real" than originally intended? Because that would suck.</p>
<p>I think you will be ok as long as your reported financial figures have not changed much.</p>
<p>I applied EA and got my letter today.</p>
<p>on the bright side: my estimate had a $9,000 grant which has now grown into a $9,500 grant.
on the (very) dark side: the estimated cost of attendance jumped from $50,800 to $53,610.</p>
<p>not pretty.</p>
<p>My aid jumped to match the same ratio as my estimate, a little bit more even.</p>
<p>Does anyone know the scoop on National Merit Finalist scholarship money? Is it $1,000? $2,000? Is it for one year only, or all four?
Thanks!</p>
<p>54K? Guess I know where I'm not going next year... :(</p>
<p>1,000/year for those not receiving FA.
2,000/year for those receiving FA.</p>
<p>But I don't know if there's a minimum amount of FA you have to be receiving to qualify for the 2,000/year.</p>
<p>I suppose I was worried for nothing- my grant increased a little! Very exciting.</p>
<p>my FA is $0. so i'm pretty disappointed, as you could imagine.
it was $0 in the estimate too, so it stayed pretty consistent for me ;)</p>
<p>Any current students or knowledgeable folks want to give me the scoop on work-study? If it's on your estimate, does all of that have to come from actual work-study programs during the year, or can some of it come out of actual money from the summer or something like that? I don't know if the way I worded that makes any sort of sense. The booklet was a bit vague.</p>
<p>my FA package is similar to somethingsilly's. I received a $9900 grant and a $2700 perkins grant. The 54k is daunting but it sure as hell is an incentive for me to not screw up in the next 4 years.</p>
<p>I'm almost positive that UChicago has a process that involves a (probably painful) formula without any sort of human review.</p>
<p>My expected family contribution from...</p>
<p>Swarthmore: ** $300 **
Claremont McKenna: ** $1,750 **
UChicago: ** $15,000 **</p>
<p>On the plus side, it's down about 25% from the EA estimate, and it actually made me laugh when I read it :-p</p>
<p>My EFC from UChicago is $7700...now for a month thinking whether or not it's worth it. Great.</p>
<p>uhh i didn't get mine today. should i be worried?</p>
<p>Deankoontzftw- my own contribution is going to be a little more than that if i include all the loans. i am going to work and use savings, probably totalling 6-7000 a year, and then take 5k loans each year. i dont think graduating with 20k debt will be terrible.</p>
<p>My grant got larger, but not enough to match the ratio of my EA estimate, so I end up paying more despite the reported numbers having gone down.</p>
<p>
[quote]
uhh i didn't get mine today. should i be worried?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>not at all.....</p>
<p>
[quote]
Deankoontzftw- my own contribution is going to be a little more than that if i include all the loans. i am going to work and use savings, probably totalling 6-7000 a year, and then take 5k loans each year. i dont think graduating with 20k debt will be terrible.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yeah, but my household income = <$30K. I'm genuinely surprised that UChicago expects my family to pay 1/3 of its total income a year.</p>
<p>Does the 7700 include your contribution as well? If so, then I would say that your parents would not need to contribute anything, and that you could take the 7700 on your own. The college EXPECTS you to take loans and EXPECTS you to work while in school, which would be about that ina year. 4000 in loans and then 3700 in work. PM me if you'd like.</p>
<p>The offer already included a work study program, if that's what you're alluding to when you refer to working during the school year. Plus, I'm fairly certain that I would be working mainly to have extra money for food, going out, partying, and paying for necessities, such as my cell phone plan. I sure can't say that I'd be able to store all, or even most, of the money I would earn from working.</p>
<p>Right now this education, albeit amazing, is looking unrealistic.</p>