<p>So I got my likely letter a couple weeks ago and Cornell is my number one school right now by far. Financial aid is the only concern.</p>
<p>My family's EFC (at least on the FAFSA) was ~30k. If Cornell gives us that 20k (or whatever it happens to be) in loans and scholarships, is there any way they'll maybe let me take some off my EFC and get them to give it to me in loans (if not scholarships...)? Is that something they'll do? </p>
<p>Also, does anyone know if their calculated EFC is usually about the same or lower/higher than the FAFSA one? I know many schools recalc it so I wasn't sure if Cornell did this.</p>
<p>Their calculated EFC is usually roughly equal to the FAFSA one.</p>
<p>But I am not sure what you are asking about in the beginning?</p>
<p>“My family’s EFC (at least on the FAFSA) was ~30k. If Cornell gives us that 20k (or whatever it happens to be) in loans and scholarships, is there any way they’ll maybe let me take some off my EFC and get them to give it to me in loans (if not scholarships…)? Is that something they’ll do?”</p>
<p>I can’t quite decipher what you are asking regarding the EFC and loans…but, what I think you’re asking is if you can get a loan to cover it. You may use a loan to cover the EFC and student contribution, in addition to the grant and federal loan money Cornell offers you to cover your net financial need (cost of attendance - EFC + student contribution) The downside is that would most likely be a private loan. Private loans are credit-based and usually have a higher interest rate than federal loans.</p>
<p>My Cornell calculated EFC was usually 1-2 thousand dollars higher than my FAFSA calculated EFC.</p>
<p>Yeah, I was asking if like for some reason my EFC comes out to 30k, is there any way I can get any/all of that covered by Cornell loans, rather than having to pay that much out of pocket each year?</p>
<p>best solution would be to talk to a financial aid counselor either over the phone or when you get here…</p>
<p>each student’s case is a bit different but “Cornell loan” is different from private loans which are different from subsidized loans, etc…</p>
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<p>When I was at Cornell I was told that you could only ask for a Cornell loan once you’d been denied by two alternative loan lenders (ex. Sallie Mae, Citi, Wells Fargo, Key Bank). If you need a loan to cover your EFC you should first talk with a financial aid counselor and discuss your options. Your two options are probably a federal parent PLUS loan or an alternative loan. Each options has a few negatives (ex. the PLUS loan repayment begins 6 months after the 2nd dispersal. The alternative loan repayment doesn’t begin until after your graduate but they often have higher interest rates and you’ll end up paying more for the loan). If your parents are denied the PLUS loan and you are subsequently denied by two alternative loan lenders…then you can ask for a Cornell loan.</p>
<p>All of this information can be found on Cornell’s FA website!</p>