I was recently accepted to Princeton and although my financial aid package was good, it simply does not give me enough to support the cost of attendance. the issue sit hat my father makes decent money on paper but there are a lot of undocumented financial handicaps that were not recorded on my financial aid app. I am DEFINITELY sure that i want to go to Princeton and i am int he process of writing my appeal to the financial aid office. any tips on how i should structure this email? I called and they said they would be happy to read it and provide the needed assistance.
All of these undocumented financial handicaps need to be sent to them along with an appeal letter.
yeah im listing them in the letter
Don’t just list them though, make sure to attach the actual documentation showing proof of it so that they don’t have to ask for it later. Good luck!!
But they aren’t things I can attach though, like my father’s older brother passed away 4 years ago and my dad has been financially supporting his brother’s wife and 3 kids. Like there isn’t a document for that, but it’s a financial handicap supporting two families.
@jacobson123 I’m sure that they’ll need some sort of proof that this is true, maybe somehow showing a bank statement and highlighting the expenses paid for the other family along with a letter from the other family verifying the support being given. I would go ahead and give the financial aid office a call to explain your situation and ask what steps you should take
ah okay. will Pton match my fin aid ward from carnegie mellon?
Not likely - they have their own way of calculating FA which is entirely need-based. Other schools may offer merit-based aid or have different ways of calculating need. However it would be worth asking.
No carnegie is need based also
Your award at CM may in fact be need-based but they do also offer Carnegie Mellon Institutional Academic Scholarships which are merit based - which Princeton does not and would not match. For other students reading this post it’s worthwhile to double check whether any part of the award offered is merit based when comparing awards to what Princeton offers, since sometimes there will be a combination of award types within a FA offer.
nono it was need based grant i read it over
Sorry for the ambiguity…I intended the bulk of the comment to be directed to other students who might be in a similar situation…just to double check the FA offer when making comparisons to Princeton’s offer.
By the way, heartfelt congratulations on your offer of admission! Princeton is a great place. I hope your FA works out!
If you are comparing need-based aid at CMU and Princeton, there really is no comparison. CMU said we had no financial need, while Princeton offered a very generous financial aid package. Also, CMU’s costs were higher than Princeton. CMU uses FAFSA while Princeton uses their own methodology.
While I am speaking from my own experience and may be wrong, I cannot think of any circumstance where CMU would offer more need-based aid.
its wierd, cmu gave me more need based than PU