<p>Okay so I got in to GW Regular Decision, and I'm really happy, because it's a possibility and I could see myself there. Except for one thing: the cost. GW's estimated total cost for the '05-'06 academic year is $49,350. </p>
<p>So I'm asking here, what do I do? I was given no money to GW, yet I got 1/3-1/2 scholarship to American and Miami FL, which are of equal caliber. WHAT DO I DO to tell them how much I want to go? Obviously, I'll say how much I want to go, and I'll mention my merit scholarships. </p>
<p>What do you think, guys? Yes/No and an explanation..</p>
<p>eh, i don't think they will. i'm in the same situation as you are. i was offered money from another school but it didn't match up to the education that i can acquire at gwu.</p>
<p>i'm afraid american and miami aren't of equal calibre either.</p>
<p>I'll give you American, indie. But UMiami is #58 on US News and GW is #52, if I'm not mistaken. </p>
<p>But as a group question, is there anything you can say to the Admissions Office that basically stresses your need for money (I don't qualify for FAFSA, and not to be arrogant, but I thought I would get /some/ money, even if it was only a few thousand per year). It's basically an ultimatum: I want to go, but if I don't get some money, I simply can't. </p>
<p>Plenty of students that GW offered merit aid to are going to turn them down. It is possible that they shift some of that aid over to you. Of course that will only work if you were very close to getting considered for merit aid at GW on the first run. You don't know that, but they know that. You might have been one slot away from a merit aid offer or 100 slots away. Ask them. Worse they can do is say "sorry, not possible."</p>
<p>I can't see letting a statement on a web site scare you off. If you are highly qualified, give it a shot. Rules are made to be broken. If you don't ask, the answer is no for sure.</p>
<p>49k????? Who CAN afford this school?
Seriously! I mean, I'm sure a lot of rich people attend GW, but I doubt that there is a big percentage of people who can afford $200,000 for four years to go to school.</p>
<p>I would definitely consider AU or Miami. Sure, GW is considered a better school for some majors but not worth the insane full boat tuition IMO. In the grand scheme of things, GW is nowhere close to being 3x or 2x better than either school here.</p>
<p>So I actually called GW today, and I was told to send an appeal to admissions, so I did. I gave them about 24 hours (since I'll probably decide within the next day). So I'll fill you in on how it goes.</p>
<p>And to the "Hoo" comment, a lot of us can fork out $196,000 over four years. The issue is: why? Especially in my case where GW and Miami are virtually equal in many aspects, it's foolish to pay $49,000 for GW when I'd be paying $29,000 at Miami for an equal education. But that's not saying I wouldn't mind going to GW..</p>
<p>I had a similar situation, although in my case GW was the school that i kinda "settled" on in a way. Carnegie mellon has a much better engineering program than GW, but GW was offering me full tuition while CMU gave me like, 4grand. </p>
<p>I really thought about it and while my family can afford the 43thousand a year CMU would be, its a lot of money. If you're set on going to grad school, consider saving money, going to an "easier" school and getting a better gpa, so that way you'll be in better shape when you're applying to grad schools.</p>
<p>I gotta say though, I absolutely love the atmosphere at GW, the people seem a lot more social than cmu, and i'm really excited. lol i donno if this helped but i was basically in a very similar situation so i thought i'd share.</p>