<p>Can someone tell me what the financial aid is like for Columbia?
Basically I want to know how much aid (w/o loans) people get for various income brackets.
Especially interested in incomes over $100,000
If you could leave an example of your actual financial aid package that would be really appreciated.</p>
<p>hey,</p>
<p>financial aid at columbia is completely need-based. we do not award scholarships based on merit or talent. it is completely based on your family’s income, assets, and financial situation.</p>
<p>we are also a grants-only school meaning we don’t give loans. when you get a financial aid package, you do not need to pay it back – it is a gift from columbia.</p>
<p>here are the guidelines: if your family makes under $60,000 a year you will come here with a full ride. if your family makes between $60,000 to $100,000 per year, you will see a significant price reduction (usually you will be asked to contribute about 10% of your income to columbia, so if your family makes $90,000 you would be asked to pay about $9,000 per year). after the $100,000 bracket, most families still get some sort of aid, but it is based on a lot of things: how many kids in the family, how many kids in college, if anyone has lost a job, etc.</p>
<p>last year, the highest income to receive financial aid from columbia was a family that made $230,000 a year.</p>
<p>the average financial aid package at columbia is $38,000 per year, contributed by columbia’s grants.</p>
<p>over 50% of our students are on financial aid. pretty soon (perhaps in august) there will be a sliding scale available on our website so that you can put in your family’s income and details and see an estimated financial package.</p>
<p>hope this was helpful. i know its sort of vague, but thats because aid is on a case by case basis.</p>
<p>-cc 2013</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your response. It was very thorough and explained a lot. I didn’t know that loans were never included. I’m glad to hear that there will be some type of tool on the website soon so that I can use to get a better idea of possible opportunities.</p>
<p>If anyone else wants to post the actual financial aid package that they received that would be great.</p>
<p>So you mentioned after the $100,000 bracket there are several factors taken into consideration. About what percentage would you say families in that bracket typically pay. 15%? 20%?</p>
<p>Basicall I want to know will a family that makes let’s say $105,000 versus a family that makes $99,000 have to pay much more than 10% simply because they’re in the higher bracket. (since it’s only $6,000 more)</p>
<p>Sorry if that’s confusing…</p>
<p>Wow i didn’t know columbia was so generous.</p>
<p>@Iwantcollege09 are these rules still the same for transfer students?</p>
<p>unfortunately i do not know the answers to either of your questions! 
I believe it is the same for transfers, but again, not 100%</p>
<p>THAT’S AWESOME! Thank you so much iwantcollege09!</p>
<p>I didn’t know Columbia was so generous. I always worried about the cost so I never really looked into this school. Now I hope I can get aid (:</p>
<p>My family makes around $170K/year and I’d say we pay a little over 80% of the total cost. If you’re closer to $100K/year, I’d say you can expect anything from around 20% to 50%. It’s not cheap, but definitely affordable. Columbia’s not quite as generous as Harvard and Yale, but it has much better need-based financial aid than almost every other school in the country.</p>
<p>Columbia has an extremely high sticker price, as the total cost for attendance (tuition+room/board+fees) next year is about $60,000. But they make sure not to charge families more than they can comfortable pay. Even so, keep in mind that around 50% of students don’t receive financial aid. The Ivies are still dominated by the upper and upper-middle-classes.</p>
<p>So for the $100,000 to $120,000 range, do you think being expected to pay between $10,000 and $20,000 a year is typical?</p>
<p>I know that that is really specific but if that sounds close or way off then I would like to know.</p>
<p>Thanks pwoods for being specific about your financial situation.
If anyone else is willing to reveal details like pwoods it would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I’d expect to pay $20,000–$30,000, but I have no direct experience.</p>