<p>I'm in love wiht U of C, and if I make the huge assumption that I can get in, the only concern left is about financial aid. I don't know what my parents make or what my EFC will be. But in general, I'd like to hear about your financial aid packages as compared to other elite schools. Please list the amount you recieved (specify grant or loan or expected work), final cost, and your family's income for both U of C and anywhere else you got in. I guess the question here is that if I get into U of C, should I roll the dice at places like Harvard and Princeton that have better fin. aid programs (at least in reputation)?. THANK YOU!</p>
<p>It's probobly going to be hard for you to get exact figures out of people but just know that U of C is fairly competetive in this department. The offer is going to be based off of the numbers the FAFSA and Profile tell them so they will be along the lines of other schools (except for those with tuition payment for people making under a certain amount, even though they would still cover a LOT of the costs in that case).</p>
<p>Harvard and Princeton do waive tuition past a certain point and one or both is probobly no-loan but from what I have seen, its rare for uchicago to require you to take many loans. The loans they assign are the subsidized federal kind (government pays the interest while you are in school, you can begin repayment at anytime) which even if they have you max them out, wont put you that far in debt and are much easier and cheaper to pay off than ANY OTHER loan you will ever get in your life. I rememer my parents accountant telling us to take any bit of the subsidized loans that they offer even if we have the cash at hand to cover it since it is better to keep that cash in the bank then end up having to take an unsubsidized loan later.</p>
<p>FA depends on a lot of factors but most people get pretty good packages from here. The only sore spot is if you get right close to the line where they say that you should be able to afford the full cost because your parents will obviously not think so. Just dont be like my suitemate and not apply to financial aid because you think it will improve your chances of getting into teh school and then continue to not apply for aid your second year despite the fact that its free to apply and you really have no idea whether or not they will offer you aid...</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info. I definitely won't be pulling a "not even apply". My parents wouldn't even be able to retire lol!</p>
<p>This table may be of interest: <a href="http://collegeaid.uchicago.edu/prospective/average_aid.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://collegeaid.uchicago.edu/prospective/average_aid.shtml</a></p>
<p>The table was about right for us. The offer was comparable to Columbia's and a little better than Cornell's. Do the calculators at:
<a href="http://collegeboard.com/parents/%5B/url%5D">http://collegeboard.com/parents/</a></p>
<p>Chicago's parental contribution was close to the Institutional Methodology figure for us.</p>
<p>momoffive</p>
<p>drummerdude,</p>
<p>The IM estimator at collegeboard was also good prediction of Chicago's finaid package for my son.</p>
<p>Now would be a good time to have the money discussion with your folks - they need to come up with an estimated EFC based on 2005 income - and then decide if that is managable for your family. Some of us can manage it (with a lot of scrimping, saving and borrowing) - and other families can't (perhaps because of a family business or high property costs). In any case, its better to have this discussion now than next year. This happens every year on cc - kid is admitted to top school, parents won't or can't pay - grief and misery all around.</p>
<p>If they are on the borderline of saying yea or nay to the efc - you will have a year to kind of work on them. If paying efc would put your family in a horrible situation (and that is true for many), then you need to look at merit-based schools. If you look for a poster on parents forum named curmudgeon, he has enumerated his daughter's results with both need-based and merit schools, and it is very encouraging. </p>
<p>When discussing this with your parents, be aware what some parents consider their financial situation private from their kids. If they are touchy about this, don't force the issue - just try to get the information of whether or not the institutional methodology EFC might be ok or not.</p>
<p>I think Chicago's financial aid is a hit-or-miss process, more so than many comparable universities (Duke is this way too). They really come through for some people and don't for others. I was one of those who got in and really wanted to go but simply couldn't because of horrible financial aid. I received excellent financial aid from my other top choice and went there instead. When you need financial aid, it's wise to apply to a range of schools to compare offers. :)</p>
<p>Good advice.</p>
<p>I have to say that I was very disappointed by Uchicago's package. in comparison with other schools, though granted, liberal arts colleges, uchicago offered me, on average, 4k less, translated into loans.</p>
<p>might not seem like a lot, but it edges my family's efc towards the next 10k mark.</p>
<p>great a good thread on finaid- finally!</p>
<p>If you ahve a special situation with your financial aid, how do you communicate that with the fin aid department, and when?</p>
<p>call them and ask to talk with a financial aid officer. they might be able to help you. set up an appointment or something.</p>