<p>Wash U is very expensive school which only care about money. How many of you guys has same problem paying for that expensive tuition fee with only half tuition-award?</p>
<p>make sure u call the financial aid office. Most times, aid packages are negotiable. they are very liberal about giving out money.</p>
<p>haha, i want to get in first</p>
<p>well, cant afford it anyway (despite 99,999 efc)</p>
<p>google bill wilbrodt [sp?], talk to him.</p>
<p>Financial aid is what eliminated Wash U for me. I was choosing between Wash U, UCLA and Berkeley (in state), with no aid. Based on the value of my family's house (Bay Area real estate prices), we were pretty much excluded from any need based aid, except for loans. Although I realize that there are students who need the aid much more than I do, it just doesn't make sense that they expect you to take out a second mortgage to finance an education. I'm excited for Berkeley...and for spending $100k less on my education.</p>
<p>I can't go to WUSTL because that school is way too expensive and i feel like they only care about your money. I got 60% of tuition but still the rest of amount and the living expense are expensive for me. So right now, i have chosen Columbia over WUSTL as they beat WUSTL a lot more in giving out grants.</p>
<p>Quagmire - home equity is not included in the financial aid decision, and if your parents included this as part of their assets, made a mistake. FAFSA asks for the value of parent's investments - not including home, and not including retirement accounts. Provided your parents were not sitting on investment-property, living in a home that has gone up in value should not have been a primary factor in setting aid.</p>
<p>It is too late now with Wash U., since your decision has been made and deadlines past. But you should contact the financial counselor at whatever school you are planning to attend and see if you filled out the forms correctly.</p>
<p>WashU offered to you what most people would consider a decent aid package of 60% tuition scholarship. You sound as if you expected a lot more and are angry - "they only care about your money" -when that didn't happen. WashU was obviously interested in having you attend by making this offer. But, by not giving you a full ride (if that is what you were hoping for) they had money in their budget to offer to other students thereby giving THEM a hand up in meeting the financial challenges a school like WashU presents. This plan gives them the opportunity to have mulitple qualified students attend. Anyone considering any school in this price range needs to consider their own financial situation realistically. Definitely apply, hope for the best in FA and if it doesn't work out move on -which you did with Columbia - another great school which was willing to offer more for what you had to offer to their student body. WashU made the choice to spread their funds out to attract multiple students to their school rather than "spend it all in one place" and you got to make a choice concerning how much you were willing to pay out pocket for your top tier education. A business decision for both of you.</p>