<p>OK. I just got off teh phone from FA at UIUC. I was told that the tool I used above IS NOT TRUSTWORTHY EVEN FOR ESTIMATES. It needs work, I was told. So there is NO way to get an accurate estimate of the <em>rough</em> cost of enrolling at UIUC BEFORE I enroll - I was told. They really should take that page down as it might mislead people even w/ the proviso that it is not an exact number.</p>
<p>In another part of the UIUC 's website there are a couple of links to two other outside EFC estimators, collegeboard and another one. BUT , since there is no way to know what the estimated mix of grants and loans would be to take care of the rest of the need, this is largely useless. There apparently is no policy governing how much need will be met. The policy statement is that ‘UIUC does not guarantee to meet 100 pct of need.’<br>
[University</a> of Illinois Financial Aid: Calculators](<a href=“http://www.osfa.uiuc.edu/resources/calculators/index.html]University”>http://www.osfa.uiuc.edu/resources/calculators/index.html)</p>
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<p>do you happen to have a place on the web that you can cite that gives detail on merit based aid (in engineering)? I had heard that there was no any merit aid at UIUC. And now it looks like there is not much need based aid.</p>