So long story short, after a painful Ivy Day, I had lost all hope for today’s admission decision. To my surprise, I got in. This delight was cut short by an examination of the financial aid package they gave me, only a few thousand in loans. My parent’s EFC was high but it would certainly be almost impossible for us to pay near full price. To give some context for the second question, my parent’s had already planned to move to Raleigh before all this happened.
I guess my first question would be about financial aid appeals. Has anyone had experience with this/recommends pursuing one?
Second question: I know Duke requires students to live on campus for 3 years but is there any way I could possibly avoid the additional financial burden this would have and simply live with my parents instead (which would only be a 5-10 minute drive from campus)? Has anyone had any success with such an appeal?
Thank you so much for any advice!
First of all, congratulations on your acceptance! And then secondly, I’m sorry that the financial package wasn’t what you guys needed it to be. I personally have never had experience with the appeal, but considering how many friends I’ve had with families who have made tremendous sacrifices so they could be at Duke (federal loans, PLUS loans, private loans), I’m not sure the appeal process is extremely helpful.
As to your second question, you have to live on campus for 3 years as far as I know, even if your family lives 10 minutes away. Yes, Duke benefits financially from this, but also yes, living together with your peers really build the class and school spirit.
But I would give them a call. They’re generally very nice over the phone and can outline some options (or lack thereof) and you and your family will have to make the tough call. Let me know if I can be of anymore help.
I have a pretty bad financial aid package too! They actually made an inaccurate correction to my FAFSA that increased my EFC by $10,000, so I have to fix that, and I’ll probably have to appeal for more aid. The net price calculator had my family paying about $42,000, not $60,000. What gives, Duke? Lol anyway, let me know how it goes! I’m going to deal with it tomorrow or next week.