<p>Hi all - as there are many on both CC and the UChicago facebook group who had terrible and disappointing financial aid offers, a fellow class of 2012 admit wrote a letter to President Zimmer about the situation. Hopefully this will change the system or at least bring some awareness to the problem so that future classes can fall in love with UChicago as many of us have without having to decline the admission because of financial aid. It has not yet been sent and can still be signed; all of us in this situation would really appreciate your support</p>
<p>Great idea. There should be 100's of signatures in that letter. A great many prospective UChicago families are, reflecting the rest of the nation, bordering emotional and financial depression.</p>
<p>You do have to wonder if John D. Rockefeller, who strongly believed in meritocracy, really anticipated that UChicago would be charging more than the average yearly income to attend when he donated $80 million (roughly $1.6 billion in today's dollars) to the school.</p>
<p>To be fair, I do think UC struggles with these types of issues much more than many other schools.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this is not new --- the "ucb" in my signon reflects where I went to school back in 1980 --- when I wasn't offered enough FA to go to my first choice, UChicago..</p>
<p>Nothing will be done. Just to let you know. If you want to do me a favor, though, why don't you ask him why dining plans cost $1000/year more than the food you're buying, even though the food is too expensive how it is. If you want to take it a big step further, why don't you tell him that it's probably illegal (seeing as how they require freshmen to purchase the plan) and you're willing to bring a lawsuit against the university. The latter you should probably do under a disguise of anonymity.</p>
<p>Yes, when there is a response I will definitely post it. I believe it still has yet to be sent, but I'll try to keep you as updated as I am. I think we all realize that it's very hard to change the system, but at least we tried. Thanks to everyone for their support.</p>
<p>On one hand, I do know about six or seven people who turned down HYP for Chicago, even though Chicago's package didn't match HYP. Some of these kids could have really used the extra FA, too, but Chicago was the place for them. It breaks my heart that there could have been more cases.... I do remember quite a few students on these boards from last year who were bitter about going to Harvard-- their first choice was Chicago, and Harvard just gave more money. </p>
<p>I also know, just from an economics point of view or even just common sense, that the school is not more expensive than it has to be for each person. I know that President Zimmer is not taking what he gypped you in grants and stuffing it under his pillow.</p>
<p>And also, our FA packages might not look great when you put them alongside schools that can afford to give more money out to students, but in the scheme of college admissions, I think we're quite generous. Some students are very pleased with their FA packages, and it seems like Chicago's FA does tend to match up with the packages given by its peers, and occasionally bests them. I don't think we can do better than what we are already doing.</p>
<p>In the meantime, good luck with the letter!</p>
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Some students are very pleased with their FA packages, and it seems like Chicago's FA does tend to match up with the packages given by its peers, and occasionally bests them.
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<p>I think the myriads of people I know (and those present on these boards) serve as a testament that Chicago FA isn't satisfactory. This feeling is going to drastically intensify as HYP (et al.) improve their FA packages this year.</p>
<p>^ Could be. Money, like grades, is one of those "black box" issues. Nobody really knows anybody else's situation. Or I don't inquire-- many, many, many of my friends are work/study, but I don't go, "Hey, how do you feel about paying X amount for this school?!?!"</p>
<p>I only comment based on what I've gathered from two of my closest friends. I have had long, long, long conversations with both of them-- individually-- because their "I hate rich people" diatribes were getting to me and I had to explain to them that I was exactly as rich, perhaps even richer, than their abstract idea of "those people." Anyway, both of these friends are pretty grateful to the U of C's financial aid policies.</p>
<p>Well, I must admit that I also know a few people who found that their FA awards were better than other schools', but most people I know (who attend!) aren't too happy with their FA packages. FA seems rather random at times, and all levels of contentment are found within the student population. This may be a biased criteria for judgment, however, as a lot of potential students probably couldn't matriculate due to discontent with FA and therefore do not have their opinions represented within the present student body.</p>
<p>I know that some people did get great packages from Chicago, and I'm so glad that they are able to attend because of it. I think that the frustration that many of us feel (feel free to chime in, if there are other viewpoints) it over how UChicago calculates our EFCs and the lack of care/helpfulness we've encountered with the office. </p>
<p>This is only my experience, but my Chicago EFC was 2.5 times that of my other schools' packages, and the only explanation I got was that Chicago didn't take into account business loss (a HUGE portion of my parents' income). When we called to ask about it, the finaid lady said that their 'formula was very strict' and really gave the impression that she/the office didn't care. I'm devastated that I won't be able to come to UChicago because of this. Yes, I realize that there are exceptions, but this type of experience seems to be closer to the norm this year, especially among middle-income families. Just my two cents' worth.</p>
<p>You need to look at what those "other schools" are, of course. If you're comparing financial aid packages to Harvard's, Chicago's will be lower; their endowment eclipses Chicago's. If you're comparing Chicago's financial aid package to a safety school's, you need to fact in the fact that, as a superior student, you are being offered the types of scholarships and grants that most students aren't getting. </p>
<p>There are definitely financial aid issues which need to be addressed, and there is a massive campaign in place already to try to improve financial aid. I know that when you look at endowment numbers, tuition costs, or other schools' financial aid offerings, it may not make sense why Chicago can't just give you enough money so that paying for college won't be a hardship for your family, but I do think that Chicago recognizes the problem and is taking steps to alleviate the financial aid crunch, most notably with the Odyssey Scholarships (which especially effect middle-class students whose families make <$75,000 / year).</p>
<p>Anyway, I totally support your cause and wish you luck, but the U of C does know that many student need to turn down the school due to finances. I think that they lament that fact, and I do think that they are working to improve the situation.</p>
<p>Chicago ended up being the second cheapest school to which I was accepted after aid. My family is lower-middle class, and the aid I was offered at safety schools was nowhere near what Chicago gave me. Other schools gave me very generous merit aid, but simply didn't have the means to match Chicago's need-based aid. While I agree with the intent of the letter, the phrasing of it was rather strong and unnecessarily negative. Whenever I've spoken to anyone about appealing financial aid offers, they always stress the importance of not sounding ungrateful of deserving of more money, which I think that letter does. Its not as though President Zimmer doesn't believe everyone who is admitted should be able to attend. I'm sure the financial aid office wishes their packages could allow everyone to go there, and there is probably need for an overhaul in the way information is looked at and what factors are taken into account - cost of living, for example, which the Odyssey Scholarships don't take into account; 75,000/yr is much different in, say, Southern Connecticut than it is in Kentucky.</p>
<p>think Chicago really does well with the funds it has when compared to schools with comparable endowments. It tries to direct its discretionary aid to those families that really need it, rather than buying off wealthy students from other schools in a pointless admissions battle, clearly the route that HYPSM are collectively going to steal the cr</p>
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UChicago in contrast limits its merit aid only to those funds that were donated with non-negotiable earmark conditions – e.g. the recipient must be a winner of a national math or science competition
<p>An article in the Maroon a few years ago I believe. </p>
<p>It is my understanding that the merit aid awards given out each year - there are only about 100 full rides - were raised from a handful of donors with that explicit pupose, and accounts for the reason why we have so few (Zimmer is trying to change this). As the recent testimony by schools before Congress has demostrated, so much of the money that comes into acadmic coffers is for quite specific reasons (e.g. a gallery in the wing of the campus art museum, a new section in the Judaica library, a high powered computing center, etcetera). I understand this sentiment as my fiance and I give every year, but both only to research programs we feel strongly about, rather than the general endowment.</p>
<p>Would really like to see a cite to this article, if you can locate it! My understanding has been that the faculty decides who gets scholarships and a committee reviews the candidates. I've never seen reference to money earmarked for specific awards a student has earned.</p>
<p>BTW -- the merit $$ at UChicago consists of ~20 full tuition rides (not 100% rides) and about 100 $10k/yr. rides.</p>