<p>I posted this on the Architecture forum. Thought I'd post it here too:</p>
<p>I applied early decision to Cornell Architecture last October and got in. The only problem is that I received my financial aid letter yesterday which only awarded only approx. 22,000 in financial aid out of the 54,000 estimated cost of attendance. Only 12,500 of this was as a grant, with 7500 in need-based loans and 2000 in work study making up the other portion.</p>
<p>My EFC was 30,000 and student contribution amounted to 2500.</p>
<p>My parents income is approximately 110K per year and we have a very low amount of assets. The house (purchased for 210K) isn't paid off and my dad's retirement funds are very low. Does this financial aid seem low? To me it seems an unreasonably high amount to have to pay, especially since Cornell promised capping need-based loans at 3,000 for households with incomes below 120K.</p>
<p>It seems doubtful that my parents will be able to afford this amount, and now I don't know what to do. Deadlines to applying to other universities have largely passed. I can't even apply to UT. I feel really dumb for applying early, but there's nothing I can do about that now. I guess I just wanted it too bad. </p>
<p>Is there any way I would be able to pay? Is the price tag really worth it? What can I expect my income to be were I to graduate from Cornell? I really don't want my parents or me to be drowning in debt in five years. Cornell has been my dream school for years now, and it's upsetting that I probably won't be able to go because of money issues.</p>
<p>You can also look into Scholarships, a couple 1,000 of dollars here and there builds up. Dunno about the summer job thing since the recession and such, but you can probably pick up $1000 there.</p>
<p>And the $120K thing, I think they tried to round up $110K to $120K guesstimating that this year, your parents will make more.
Remember that all of this is just estimates.</p>
<p>And if you believe in the Ivy League name, it's probably worth it, though it's worth it to get any college education. Getting any college education is suppose to be an investment with a 110% return. I hopeful that an IVY education is like 120-150% but it's just wishful thinking.</p>
<p>I really think it's worth it. Your family is going to have to make sacrifices, and cmon, what can't you do with living on 20-30K a year? Mortgage can't be that bad.</p>
<p>^ whatever amount in scholarships you get will be deducted from your financial aid too. idk the exact logistics though.</p>
<p>i will tell you, though, architecture at cornell will DEFINITELY be worth whatever loans you have to take out. appealing might not work out, so i'd say start looking at loans that you can pay off later on (aka those that start accumulating interest post-graduation)</p>
<p>Appeal your decision. I don't understand how Cornell can go back on its words, if it promised to cap need-based loans at 3k at your income level.</p>
<p>According to Cornell's Financial Aid Office, outside scholarships reduce the self-help portion of your financial aid. So it will first reduce loans and then work-study. It won't reduce the family contribution or the student contribution.</p>
<p>I just don't know how to convince my parents that Cornell could be worth it. I'm not even sure of it myself, especially in a career like architecture. Are there any statistics out there that would show my parents that Cornell pays off? </p>
<p>Now they're pushing me to apply to schools like the U of Houston. Urg... going from arguably the best architecture school in the nation to one I didn't even know had an architecture program. </p>
<p>Also, would it be a good idea to go to Cornell for a year and then transfer somewhere cheaper? Do sophomores get scholarship offers, etc?</p>
<p>Spending all that money on one year and then transferring is a complete waste. Your first year will be almost entirely comprised of core classes, which won't vary too much from school to school. It's the upper level classes and the out of class opportunities that make a school worth going to in my opinion.</p>
<p>if you are going to pay a huge amount of money to go into architecture at cornell, you need a very good reason why you would pay a lot more as opposed to going to another architecture school that will give you a decent education. Ultimately, it's who you are and what you do that will matter most that will make you a successful architect or not. Cornell has a great student body and nice connections but you need to decide whether that is worth paying so much. And students graduating from cornell architecture don't typically earn more than any other architecture graduate..though it might be easier to find jobs (except for now when the economy is in crisis).</p>
<p>I'm a first year Cornell Architecture student, and to tell you the truth, Cornell B.Arch graduates DO NOT get paid more than architecture students graduating with a similar degree from a state school. Compensation in the field of architecture is very misunderstood; they don't get paid nearly as much as people think they do. Unlike careers in Business and Law, the name of your school will not get you a higher salary. Although it may be easier to get a job with larger firms, specifically Gensler, the founder of which was a Cornell Architecture graduate, the salary at these firms is still on-par with smaller firms. Starting salary for ALL intern architects is generally at $34,000/year, roughly $18,000 less than what it costs to go to Cornell. Even afterward, the salary of Cornell graduates stays pretty consistent with all non-Cornell architects; it's only those few "STARchitects" who really rake in the big ones. And only a few of those are Cornell grads.</p>
<p>I understand your situation completely. This is why I'm transfering out of the architecture program. All of my classmates ask me why I'm doing it, and I never tell them that my number one reason is money - I don't want to discourage them.</p>
<p>I'm a first year Cornell Architecture student, and to tell you the truth, Cornell B.Arch graduates DO NOT get paid more than architecture students graduating with a similar degree from a state school. Compensation in the field of architecture is very misunderstood; they don't get paid nearly as much as people think they do. Unlike careers in Business and Law, the name of your school will not get you a higher salary. Although it may be easier to get a job with larger firms, specifically Gensler, the founder of which was a Cornell Architecture graduate, the salary at these firms is still on-par with smaller firms. Starting salary for ALL intern architects is generally at $34,000/year, roughly $18,000 less than what it costs to go to Cornell. Even afterward, the salary of Cornell graduates stays pretty consistent with all non-Cornell architects; it's only those few "STARchitects" who really rake in the big ones. And only a few of those are Cornell grads.</p>
<p>I understand your situation completely. This is why I'm transfering out of the architecture program. All of my classmates ask me why I'm doing it, and I never tell them that my number one reason is dismal compensation - I don't want to discourage them.</p>
<p>Ok, so my dad received his 2008 W2 form today and the gross income says 127000. Is this what they go by? We've lost money in stocks, but I don't know what kind of effect if any that has on how they count income. </p>
<p>So now I don't know if appealing would get me anywhere. I'll try, but I don't think "We can't afford it" is good enough. Also, am I even allowed to apply anywhere else?</p>
<p>Ugh, I've really dug myself into a hole on this one. 40K x 5 years for B.Arch + interest = oh my god. It almost seems like my only option is state school and then maybe transferring somewhere else.. unless I can manage to pull something else together.</p>
<p>Since you just got your dad's W2, he should complete his taxes so you can update fafsa & profile and resubmit. At that point, Cornell will give you a final finaid award.</p>
<p>what you say is quite off. 34k is definitely on the low end of starting salaries for graduating architects. firms like gensler and SOM (that is if they're still hiring now) offer all starting architects around 50k..quite average for any cornell graduate. and while that may be low in comparison to law or engineering, your salary typically rises much faster after you gain experience because it is experience and not so much your education that really matters in the field. people working for starchitects typically get paid far less than people working for corporate firms due to the cut-throat competition to work for these places and willingness for students to work for free at these firms.</p>
<p>that said, you shouldn't go into architecture for the purpose of making money because the demands and work required are immense. But the salary is quite decent especially later on and comparable to other high paying professions if you are a principal of a firm.</p>