<p>I am a junior at the University of Chicago, and I just received my financial aid package for this year. From 2012-2013 to 2013-2014, my EFC decreased by 70,000 (e.g. my family is expected to pay much less this year). However, my financial aid decreased significantly this year by more than 10,000. How can this be? Do you think it's a mistake?</p>
<p>^Did you lose any merit scholarships as part of financial aid?</p>
<p>Call the financial aid office and ask them what happened. My understanding is that UChicago is good with need based aid, so there may be a mistake. If not, at least you will know what happened.</p>
<p>gariale - I don’t understand. If your EFC was more than $70,000 last year, how were you receiving financial aid at all? Or was this a typo?</p>
<p>Maybe income decreased by that amount??</p>
<p>On specific cases like this one, often it’s only the financial aid office that can tell you what’s happening here. Do be aware that UChicago uses PROFILE, not FAFSA, so if there is a family business involved or other such dealings, the same decreases may not be reflected on the PROFILE. Not saying this is the case with you, just telling you a possibility. Also, UC keeps the student contribution in line with what assets the student has as of the first year, so if you had a fund at that time, even if it is now depleted, your student contribution will reflect what the freshman year amounts were.</p>
<p>Are your parents self employed?</p>
<p>I will be calling the office first thing during their business hours. It’s a complicated situation, but basically I was previously only receiving merit-basied scholarship and govt. loans my first two years. Now, due to my family’s changing circumstances (employment etc.), my EFC decreased by 70,000. I did not lose any merit-based scholarships, but I believe I lost some other kinds of need-based scholarship that I was receiving last year.</p>
<p>I don’t quite understand…but I was just wondering if anyone would be able to have any answers before I went to the Financial Aid office.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>
Could those need-based scholarships are first come first serve and you filed your financial aid forms late?</p>
<p>You EFC decreased by $70,000? If your EFC last year was $70,000…or more…that would have well exceeded the cost of attending ANY college in this country and you would NOT have been eligible for a nickel of need based aid.</p>
<p>What was your EFC last year…and what is it this year?</p>
<p>It may very well be that your EFC added to your merit award meets the cost of attendance and the school will not offer you more. Financial aid does NOT cover the EFC.</p>
<p>If COA at UChicago is $63,000 & your EFC DECREASED $70,000 from last year- how were you recieving ANY financial aid to be reduced?</p>
<p>Did you maybe mean your family INCOME decreased by $70,000?</p>
<p>And I’m still wondering how a third-year student at UChicago could not know the meaning of “e.g.” . . . 
</p>
<p>From 2012-2013 to 2013-2014, my EFC decreased by 70,000 (e.g. my family is expected to pay much less this year).</p>
<p>this doesn’t make much sense. The highest an EFC can be is $99k (for FAFSA), so if your EFC decreased by $70k, then your EFC would be now $29k or less.</p>
<p>However, UChi doesn’t use FAFSA to determine aid (other than federal aid), it uses CSS Profile, and the “family expectation” never exceeds COA…so impossible to be “$70k less” since $70k is more than the school costs. </p>
<p>Do you mean that your family’s income decreased by $70k? If so, that sounds like a business loss or similar and UChi added those back in.</p>
<p>Gariale,</p>
<p>How did things turn out? My son’s aid also decreased this year and I wasn’t expecting that.</p>
<p>^^^
Was any of your son’s aid last year from a one time merit scholarship? What increased? </p>
<p>It’s not unusual for loans to increase and for “student contribution” to increase each year.</p>