<p>So my family just received our FA notice..ya..quite late, but only b/c Cornell is rather lame and lost some of our information.
Anyhoos.
Snapshot:
So I live in a family of 4. Only my dad works, makes around about $45,000-$50,000 a year. We bought a new house just last year..mortgage per month is about $1500 ($18,000/yr). That plused in with insurance (like $7000/year) and other expenses..we can't really afford to contribute much.
Wellll..so my dad, being the not so smart person he is, filled out on the CSS profile and said that we can contribute $5000 dollars...um...well, we can't.</p>
<p>This is the breakdown of my FA decision:
Total family contribution: $7,180 ($2180 summer saving expectation, $5000 parent contribution)
BTW. *** is summer saving expectation??? I mean I have a job, but it's VERY VERY part time, and I DO NOT MAKE THAT MUCH MONEY!!!!!!!!! EVEN IF I SPEND NONE OF MY WORK MONEY, I'D STILL ONLY HAVE LIKE $500...***. Somebody help clarify this thing for me plz.</p>
<p>Grant: $29,640
Federal Perkins loan: $4000
William D. Ford Federal direct subsidized loan: $3500
Federal work study eligibility: $1800 (also, what does this mean? Does it mean they want me to work during school to earn at least $1800 to pay off my tuition or what?)
Recommended alternative loan: $2830
Total fin. aid package: $41,670</p>
<p>Can somebody please help me out!! Because my parents are currently fighting with each other about not being able to afford my tuition blah blah. And I think it's about to turn into WWIII. Also, I realllllllllly want to go to Cornell. So, for those of you that have talked with Cornell's FA personnels, did you have any luck arguing for more money? And if so, what arguments did you use?</p>
<p>I would really appreciate any help on this topic!!!!</p>
<p>I can help with a couple of the questions. With work study u get a job and the government pays the salary up to that number. </p>
<p>You could always say that if they give u more money u will DEFINITELY go. (And perhaps mention that ur dad was mistaken about the contribution and that it is putting a toll on the family.)</p>
<p>I'm a GT so I'm not at Cornell yet. With the college I'm at right now I mailed them a letter comparing all my other packages I got (Although I doubt u have those if u applied ED) and told them I would definitely go if they gave me more money. The package multiplied a million fold and they gave me a ton. Try wat u can! GL!! (and make sure to tell em how very much u want to go!!)</p>
<p>about the summer contribution part: it's the money you should make the during the summers while you're in college, not now. if you can get a good corporate internship, they can go up to $5000 a summer.</p>
<p>Um, is getting another job for yourself an option? $5000 a year doesn't seem like too much for you to make up. I mean your family has to be able to contribute a couple thousand right? Good luck, and hope to see you next year.</p>
<p>are you serious? no offense but that is an INSANE amount of financial aid. you got over 3 times as much as some people i've talked to...and they were mad about the amount they got...</p>
<p>and i believe you mentioned in the ED decision thread that you're a hollister model? i remembered b/c it took me by surprise- i'm not a stalker really. but anyways, i'd expect quite a few bucks to come from there....</p>
<p>Asianjewel Cornell gave you a 30K grant, which is a tremendous amount of money. You should be grateful for this amount. If this is the school you want to attend, you must think of this as an investment in your future and there are sacrifices you and your family will have to make. Most students do work over the summers and during the school year. In fact, in a lot of families both parents work to send their children to school. Otherwise you can go to a school where your family can afford.</p>
<p>wow, i agree with sillyrabbit and fedmom1080. that is quite a sum there. i think you were very lucky to come to that amount and i think you should be very thankful. like fedmom1080 said, this is an investment on your future, you need to make some sacrifices, you can't just be expected to be given.
seriously though, other needy students need money too...save some for them</p>
<p>Thanks Acerbic! But I was wondering how much it would be for next year (07-08). People that got accepted ED and have received their financial aid package should know.</p>
<p>Those r wise words, u did get $30,000 in grants...which is a very very large amount. Sacrifices are in order, and how you want to deal with them is ur choice. Hopefully u can find a solution because it sounds like u like Cornell a whole lot. Depending on ur major/job choice u will most definitely be able to make a whole lot of money in the end...(ps u don't have ANY outside scholarships? I mean I'm sure ur school will give u some, and then u should definitely apply for some outside ones...wat about hollister? I'm sure u could try to work something out with them because I'm assuming it's not everyday that one of their models goes to Cornell. I recommend going to ur guidance office and taking a look at scholarships they offer [my office had a giant book of outside scholarships to look at - photocopy or take - then apply for] [[or look online and such]]. There are MANY scholarship opportunities out there!) Best of luck!</p>
<p>oooo...I think someone needs to sing Kumbaya^^lol.
Well, I think that you have received a reasonably generous FA package and to disregard that would be a waste! You have so many options when it comes to making up for the 5000...if you are truly passionate about Cornell, dont let something as meager as this sway you! just think about the outcome of the education youll get...good luck! ;)</p>
<p>wow....why is everybody on this forum so f***king bitter? Stop hating about "omg...u got 30K? That's NOT FAIR!! WAH WAH WAH!"
I come here to ask for some help, I really don't appreciate all of this rudeness.
Plus even though I got close to 30K, my family really can't afford this. My dad only got this job that pays him around 50,000 last year (it used to be $20,000...yeah, four people were living off that!!). So we barely have any savings, like honestly, we probably only have like $2000 in the bank right now. </p>
<p>Also, I was just surprised at the sum because my other friends who got into Stanford/Duke/other ivies all seemed to get more grant than me even though we're all probably in the same income bucket. But whatever, I guess it varies by school, and Cornell just has less or something.</p>
<p>To all the people who attempted to help me out, thank you, I really understand a lot more now =)</p>
<p>Oh. and....my job is supposedly a hollister "model", but really, I don't model. It's just my job description, I just stand there, wear their clothes, smile, look pretty, help customers pick out clothes, fix clothes...etc..yeah..not very glamorous. And the pay is like minimum wage. so um..no...no big bucks there. haha. The only perk about working there is probably just the fact that everybody who works with me is "beautiful"...even the managers who are like 26..look...super hot. But Hollister and Abercrombie run sweat shops....seriously.</p>
<p>Thank you goldtx...i have a crapload of loans...and it's gonna be A PAIN to pay off. After four years, I will have accumulated probably ~$60,000 just in loans...and think of the interest!! gawd.</p>