<p>I just got my estimated package from the financial aid office while i was participating in SBW
i also attended the financial aid workshop, and they said they would re-evaluate my financial aid package if i tell them that some other schools gave me better offers. the dood said they mean better offers as in..
carnegie mellon cost - carnegie mellon FA > other school cost - other school FA
meaning, it would be cheaper to go to some other school
he said excluded from the list are in-state public schools, such as, in my case, UC schools, simply because if i qualify for in-state tuition, there's no way CMU can compete with that
so, here's my question
I got a $10,000 grant offer from georgia tech and their total financial aid package adds up to their full tution (out of state, apprx 30,000)
the offer i got from CMU is around 25k
if i tell this to the FA office, do you think they would consider bumping my FA package close to 30k?
georgia tech is one of CMU's peer institutions, i don't know if this has any significance</p>
<p>yea, its worth a try</p>
<p>i didnt know cmu also reevaluated packages</p>
<p>it's more an academic peer institution not financial</p>
<p>I asked almost the same question as the OP somewhere else, and called them today, and basically, yeah they'll look into it if you give 'em a week to send you the form and like 3 days to review it after they get that form back from you.</p>
<p>Not a fast process by any means, but not the worst i guess, I'm just mad that for some reason their calculated EFC is $5000 more than the FAFSA efc. </p>
<p>Anyway, another question (not to steal any attention from the original purpose of this thread...) However, is it a good idea to wait to accept 'till after I hear back (possible still like 1.5 weeks) about the Aid Package, or should I just accept now, and see what they can do about aid later. Would it make a difference in the money in any way?</p>
<p>Thanks, and GL riyam, I think we're in the same situation.</p>
<p>My D and I would be happy at this point to receive our initial financial aid package in the mail....</p>
<p>And if you call the financial aid representative "dood" they might take some of the initial money back :)</p>
<p>Is there any way to speed this up? I've got three weeks to decide and I am still waiting on Tulane's F-AID! I cannot afford 17 thou a year on top of 10000 in loans.</p>
<p>fax and overnite mail worked for us. I don't think we used a form. We faxed a listed awards on cover letter, copies of award letters. Then followed up on overnite for original award letter. (be sure you keep a copy of the award letters- you will not get the originals back)</p>
<p>Seems to me both offers are very generous, asking much more may seem to be itstoomuch, but good luck.</p>
<p>Our son was accepted to CMU but will not be able to attend given his current financial aid award. It is short by app. $9500. He would love to go to CMU and we plan to appeal. Does anyone have any success stories regarding CMU and the appeals process resulting in a feasible financial aid package?</p>
<p>Definitely PESTER THE HELL out of the office for aid. It can only help you and in most cases they do re-evaluate (if your demands are reasonable). Just keep playing the "Fine, I won't come here" card but do it gently and with social ineptness. Make sure you talk to someone who knows what he/she is doing (maybe call back multiple times).</p>
<p>I don't know if the re-process is slow or not but it definitely is worth it if you can get more money. </p>
<p>A floormate got a total of 30k in grants after he called the office saying that he recently suffered some financial issues and probably could not attend. He had his dad call in though which probably helped.</p>
<p>message deleted...sorry!</p>
<p>Becareful in pushing too hard for FA. There are plenty of qualified waitlisted students who are willing to pay 100% freight. This may sound crass but maybe the FA office must draw the line somewhere.</p>
<p>itstoomuch is correct. There are lots of students willing and able to pay full freight, and the financial aid office is well aware of this.</p>
<p>Is the only way to ask for more aid if you have another "comparable" school offering you more? Is there no other bargaining chip? I mean, I got merit aid (although only about 1400), which supposedly (?) means that they kind of want me, but I <em>seriously</em> may not be able to afford 4 years of this.</p>
<p>You cannot have admissions RESCINDED for asking for more aid. Just make sure you ask/haggle accordingly and I would suggest you get your parents to do it (so they do not feel you are as connected to the situation if anything goes wrong).</p>
<p>"Is the only way to ask for more aid if you have another "comparable" school offering you more? Is there no other bargaining chip? I mean, I got merit aid (although only about 1400), which supposedly (?) means that they kind of want me, but I <em>seriously</em> may not be able to afford 4 years of this."</p>
<p>If you have new financial issues that you feel were not addressed or you feel your aid was calculated unfairly (show them you cannot afford it) then they may readjust your aid.</p>
<p>I think the only situations they were willing to consider for an adjustment (other than competing offers) were things like loss of employment or medical catastrophe.</p>
<p>Or you can even ask for clarification. Perhaps they made a mistake (has happened before) in entering data. For example if your EFC does not make sense or the estimated aid far differing from the real aid. </p>
<p>If you are just trying to get some extra money and not have to take out as many loans, then I don't think there is a good argument for that as everyone wants free money.</p>
<p>eyeball: A friend of mine knows someone who appealed for additional aid last year with great success. If you have a bonafide need, I would document it, send copies of any supporting documents, and present the case. If you have a better offer from a comparable institution, send them a copy of that as well. The sooner the better. Good luck with it.</p>
<p>Looks like I'm gonna be applying to ROTC next year :(
Not like dad will be disappointed though. COL wouldn't mind his son putting some time in haha.</p>
<p>We appealed my son's FA package and sent in several other FA offers for comparison. CMU's response: Not a cent more. Hey smart middle class kids: think twice before spending time, money, and energy on an application to CMU. Their financial aid award was RADICALLY lower than every other school he applied to and that includes NYU which is notorious for poor financial aid. Not only was the EFC 10,000 higher than the FAFSA determined was reasonable for us but my son would have graduated with a very heavy debtload. Really think twice. CMU is a tough school to get into but a tougher school to afford.</p>
<p>^i bet it would be different if he were a girl</p>
<p>im a girl and NO other college gave me a penny based on my efc...while cmu gave me 17000 in grants and another 10000 in loans</p>