<p>Hi! I'm an admitted ED student who's quite confused about their financial aid situation...</p>
<p>My Columbia estimate for my family contribution (with CSS profile) was ~ $18,000</p>
<p>Yet after submitting FAFSA, I've been told that my expected family contribution (according to FAFSA) is ~$27,000, which is $9,000 MORE!!!</p>
<p>Does Columbia follow FAFSA or its own estimate? Every time i call financial aid I'm told that my case is still under review and I should just wait...</p>
<p>Does anyone have experience with this situation?</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure that Columbia doesn't even process FAFSAs until the end of February no matter how early you turn them in, so you might have to wait a bit. Anyways, I think that their FA is based off of family income and assets, not necessarily what the FAFSA EFC is. Someone brutally correct me if I'm wrong.</p>
<p>They determine how much your family needs in grants and how much you can really pay.</p>
<p>Columbia is already being very generous with you. You could appeal if you're under the impression that 27k might be too great a burden for your family to bear.</p>
<p>I did that, and they gave me more money (but this was 4 years ago, when Lehman Brothers was still around). The worst that can happen is that they'll say no.</p>