<p>Hello all! I've a few questions that I hoping some of you other new Columbians could help me with.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Can anyone tell me what the typical financial aid package might be? I know this would vary from person to person but I'd like to know what a typical scholarship award might be.</p></li>
<li><p>What sort of timeline are we looking at for housing assignments? I was a Regular Decision applicant and was admitted in early June.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>I think a typical scholarship award has been in the $7k to $10k range this year (caveat: my sample size is pretty small). </p></li>
<li><p>First comes approval and then assignment. Have you been approved for housing yet?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>It’s been about 2.5 weeks or so since I submitted the application for housing, so I’ve not heard either way. I have already submitted the deposit and intent forms, so now I’m just kind of waiting. The fact that this is going on so late in the summer already kind of makes me anxious. I’m the type that likes to have everything squared away and ready well in advance.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Columbia, and New York City in general, rarely work that way. Take a deep breath and try to chill. Everything will work out.</p>
<p>I got financial aid more or less in that $7k - $10k region – > When I called up housing services, they told me that the housing committee is meeting 2nd July to determine housing, I’m guessing they would let us know soon after that.</p>
<p>I think the range already provided is accurate if you’re a typical incoming student (meaning you didn’t list a parental contribution of 30K). I’ve been in PTK and I assume my scholarship will come from that, which from what I’ve looked into should be around 8,000 - 9,000.</p>
<p>I got lucky in the sense that the housing allowance (GI Bill) that makes up the majority of my annual income isn’t declared when I do my taxes so it looks like I’m living off about $4,500 a year. For tax season and Federal Aid this is great. I think I received $3,000 to $4,000 in grants alone and then I was offered several sizable subsidized and unsubsidized federal loans. So while the scholarship from PTK or GS’ endowment isn’t going to cover all of my expenses the financial aid package offered to me is making it possible for me to borrow without using any private loans. When all is said and done it looks like I might borrow around $10,000-$30,000 for my next 2-2.5 years at Columbia. Well worth it in my opinion.</p>
<p>Also, most GS reps I’ve seen at my community college over the last year made it pretty clear that the process goes on kind of late in the summer (part of the deal with the extremely flexible almost-rolling admissions). Every time I spoke to them they urged me to apply early because it would help me get housing and hear back from financial aid sooner. I got accepted early, but some of us have been waiting a couple months to hear back from housing. That said, it’s Columbia. If they want me to move in a week before classes I’m still going there. Good luck!</p>
<p>My financial aid package came out to $31,000 a year which means they expect me to come up with $40,000 a year. How is anyone paying for this? By the way, my expected contribution was $0, so this must be the best package they offer. Scholarship was $8,500.</p>
<p>AshleyE - do you mean $13,000? I’m using a combination of the GI Bill and federal loans. I’ll pretty much do anything to avoid the interest rates associated with private loans.</p>
<p>Here is the breakdown of my resources, budget and financial aid package for 15 credits per semester:</p>
<p>Resources:
Parental Contribution - $0
Student Contribution - $0</p>
<p>Total Resources - $0</p>
<p>Budget:
Tuition - $45,360
Fees - $4,377
Living Expenses - $16,245
Books & Supplies - $1,400
Transportation - $1,035
Personal Expenses - $3,690</p>
<p>Total Budget - $72,067</p>
<p>Financial Aid:
GS Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship - $8,500
Federal Pell Grant - $5,645
Federal SEOG - $1,400
Federal Work Study - $2,500
Federal Perkins Loan - $3,400
Federal Direct Subsidized Loan - $4,500
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan - $6,000</p>
<p>Total Awards - $31,945</p>
<p>Total Budget - Total Awards - Total Resources = Total Need</p>
<p>$72,067 - $31,945 - $0 = $40,122</p>