<p>My family is astonished. I was accepted to UW-Madison and among others, Emory. But due to Madison's craptastical FA, Emory is more affordable. </p>
<p>So out of a 20k(must have gone up recently)in-state total cost, Madison offered 5k in federal loans.....</p>
<p>According the calculator my family's EFC is 5k. Yet, Madison has decided to TRIPLE it. So much for being the cheap, in-state option.</p>
<p>So my question is: Has the financial aid department been known to exercise any amount of flexibility? My father and I plan to visit campus and meet with FA, but I don't know if it's worth it. I wouldn't want to give FA's ineptitude another opportunity to shine so brightly.</p>
<p>I would give the FA folks a chance and lose the 'tude. Generally instate students get close to 100% of need met. OOS is another story.</p>
<p>excuse my 'tude, it's fun to really be derisive sometimes</p>
<p>That's first time I ever heard that madison's FA meets anybody's needs. We will see. So far, their calculations have been off.</p>
<p>Financial Aid at UW has been incredible to me during my time here. They've made adjustments, I've explained circumstances that don't necessarily get explained in the simple numbers of FAFSA. Generally, you have to also remember that you'll get SO many scholarships during your junior and senior years if you do well at UW, as an in-state student, that it would actually be much more worth the cost than Emory. </p>
<p>But yes, Barrons is right. Attitude gets you nowher and being as polite, pleasant, and empathetic to THEM is the best bet--however irritating that my seem. Also, being confirmed as a student, I've heard, helps. It's much different if you're the "speculative freshman" who's "shopping" all the schools' financial aid offers. UW has people dying to come here that would happily take your place,to be perfectly frank.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies,</p>
<p>I wasn't about to be as brazen with the counselor as I was here. I was just venting. After all, what are forums for?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee them my matriculation. So we'll have to see what they offer.</p>
<p>The attached link show typical instate aid for undergrads with the breakdown of type and any unmet need. It indicates unmet need for somebody with $5000 EFC would be between $500 and $1500 and that most aid would be loans as income goes up. I was surprised there was that little grant money for middle-income students.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/kauffman/Kauffman_2009_presentation_022709.ppt#432,57,Slide%5B/url%5D">http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/kauffman/Kauffman_2009_presentation_022709.ppt#432,57,Slide</a> 57</p>
<p>nice find Barrons. Extremely enlightening.</p>
<p>Sadly, it looks as though there will be very little flexibility. I can only try. </p>
<p>It seems so strange that a private top 20 can end up costing more than the state school. The recession is going to be hitting the middle class harder than I thought.</p>
<p>The UW is working in multiple ways to improve grant aid for undergrads. The new tuition program would also help. After seeing these numbers it's pretty mediocre right now unless you are really poor. Good luck and sorry I came down so hard on you.</p>