<p>I got my financial aid estimation for Caltech a while ago, and it made me really stop and think about this whole affording-colleges business. Does anyone have any other estimations to compare with? Also, is the estimation generally an accurate reflection on what they will really offer you?
And what's up with the family contribution? Does that mean that I can't take student loans on it? I really, really want to go to Caltech, but I just don't know how my parents are going to be able to afford what they're expected to pay without selling the house.</p>
<p>Hi Multi,
We have the same problem here - according to the letter our annual contribution (student+parent) will be about $ 20,000, and I don't know how we are going to afford it. Aren't we supposed to hear about the merit scholarships around late March, and how would that fit into the financial aid picture? I think the student can get a loan even to cover the parental contribution, and vice versa. I am not an expert, but learning the procedure as I go on.</p>
<p>My parents' contribution FAFSA web-site estimated at around $4,500. When I received Financial Package from Caltech, parents' contribution was ~$5,000 (pretty close, as you can see) plus ~$1,500 from me. I took out Perkins for $3,750 and my dad got Plus Loan for the remaining ~$3,000.</p>
<p>So, I guess you can cover parents' contribution with a student loan. The only thing is that Perkins, for example, allows you take maximum $4,000. Therefore, you'll probably have to take out a Student Plus Loan.</p>
<p>All scholarships/grants first cover contributions (student's than parents'), then go on to cover all loans, and if there is anything left, your CIT Grant is reduced.</p>
<p>Yup, I am in exactly the same boat ...My family's total contribution, including mine, my mom's and my dad's (parents are divorced, and it is VERY questionable as to whether he will actually pay, though he is technically required to) is over $40000. Even just my mom's contribution is a huge proportion of our income, and we do not have any assets... If this is how my financial aid looks for all of my schools, I do not know what I am going to do. But right now it is looking like it will be very difficult to afford Caltech.</p>
<p>Hrindell, Thanks for the input. Suppose this situation: Parent's contribution say about $17,000, student's contribution about $3,000, and Caltech's contribution (from their fin aid office) $ 26,000. If a student get's a merit scholarship from caltech, say for about $ 29,000, where would it be applied to? In this case, what will be the parental contribution? Please advice and thank you!</p>
<p>T.A.D., </p>
<p>The way they explained this to me, first they will remove your child's $3,000, then yours $17,000, and then the remaining $9,000 from Caltech's Fin Aid. However, since don't have Axline, I could be seriously mistaken. That is why you should probably call FinAid office and ask them this question directly. (They are really nice people).</p>
<p>Lalaloo6,
If Caltech wants $40000 from you and your family, you can ask for a reevaluation of your FinAid package (I think), explaining the circumstances to the FinAid office. This should help.</p>
<p>@ Hriundeli</p>
<p>What do you mean: However, since don't have Axline, I could be seriously mistaken.?</p>
<p>According to the Caltech website, all merit scholarships will be announced in March. I dont think anyone really knows anything about Axline or any other types of scholarship yet. I do believe that the merit scholarships that a student wins will essentially function as "EFC" (other source). </p>
<p>Take TADs example, if the current calculation for his EFC is $20,000, winning a $29,000 scholarship (Caltechs president scholarship amount) in March means that his EFC is actually $29,000 and Caltech need-base $26,000 will be decreased by 9,000 (the need-base at that time will be reduced to 17,000). The EFC will all come from the 29,000 scholarship, which will wash away 20,000 of the original actual (true) out of pocket EFC. That is my understanding. TAD /student will essentially get a free ride if he gets the scholarship.</p>
<p>Oops, it meant to say: "Since I don't have Axline..."</p>
<p>Sorry.</p>
<p>If you're wondering how you can afford Caltech after receiving a financial aid offer that, based on one thing or another, leaves you paying much more than you could reasonably afford, then you should talk directly with the financial aid office.</p>
<p>Seriously. Call them up. If you're in the area, drop by to chat. If you prefer email, then that's probably fine, too, but contact them. I've personally been in this same situation, and I know of several others who were as well. In many of these cases, Caltech reevaluated their financial aid offer based on further discussions with parents.</p>
<p>I'll tell you how it was told to me. When I was a prospective student, back in 2004, I heard (I think it was at prefrosh weekend maybe?) the story of a girl at Caltech whose family had gone through some significant difficulties, and was no longer able to pay for her education to the amount they had agreed to with the annual financial aid package. She went into the Center for Student Services building to announce that she was withdrawing from the school, and they sent her down to talk with the financial aid office, whereupon a new offer was renegotiated on the spot.</p>
<p>Caltech's attitude is basically that finances should never be a reason for not coming to Caltech, and it's been my experience that they're very good at following through with this philosophy.</p>
<p>My recommendation is to not count on Caltech merit scholarships such as Axline (or Upperclass Merit Scholarships in later years). Instead, apply for scholarships in your hometown or others you can identify through the internet. As an unexceptional Caltech admittee with no research experience, I was able to drum up $10K/year through the Rotary, the Masons, the Elks, National Merit, and various and sundry scholarships offered through my school district.</p>
<p>Unlike some other schools I considered, Caltech did not reduce my financial aid package, but applied those outside scholarships directly to my family contribution. I am a senior now, and Caltech has never reduced my aid offer to reflect the amount I receive in outside scholarships.</p>
<p>To answer TAD's question, before I earned an upperclass merit scholarship, I received about $30K/year in aid from Caltech. After I earned a full-tuition merit scholarship (worth about $30K/year), the amount of aid I received from Caltech was still about $30K/year. In other words, winning the full-tuition merit award did not decrease my family contribution at all, and that money merely replaced other aid that I received through Caltech.</p>
<p>However, it is possible to receive a full-ride merit scholarship, and if you aren't receiving $30K in aid from Caltech already, then earning the merit scholarship would improve your financial situation.</p>
<p>Interesting! So my understanding is incorrect. What you (snowcapk) said here really indicates that only external scholarships would decrease your EFC, but the internal merit scholarship would only decrease your Caltech need-based award, because it is all Caltechs money, I guess. Most of the local scholarships actually require certain need-based elements in addition to merit elements.
I would say if a students EFC is 100%, winning an Axline may actually push his decision of matriculating toward Caltech, not MIT and other schools(assuming he has multiple choices).</p>
<p>For the record, my experience when I won an upper-class merit award was very similar to snowcapk's. Because of the size of my financial aid offer, the merit award didn't reduce my family's payments to Caltech at all. In fact, because of the rising cost of room and board/etc, I believe that our payments actually increased the next year.</p>
<p>SnowCap and Michael, Thanks for sharing your insight and experience!</p>
<p>This is :(</p>
<p>hmmm, will have to push for external scholarships a lot more than I was gearing up to do.</p>
<p>Thanks again for your timely post! ( I do have a ton of aid from Caltech
for which I am grateful but my family will definitley not be able to pay what
Caltech has initially outlined as "other contribution" after indicating our family contribution to be 0 :o)</p>