<p>I am very interested in Pitt's engineering program. However, i am worried whether i can afford it or not. I am an in-state student and i dont think i will be getting merit aid so does any one know how well Pitt does in giving financial aid to needy families? My EFC estimator said the family contribution would be $7500</p>
<p>Pitt does not meet need. If you look at the Common Data Set <a href=“http://www.ir.pitt.edu/cds/documents/CDS2010-11PittsburghCampus.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ir.pitt.edu/cds/documents/CDS2010-11PittsburghCampus.pdf</a> section H, you’ll find that 3/4 of students who were determined to have need were awarded some scholarship or grant aid. Less than half had their need fully met. It looks like they will probably award some grants, have self help (you’ll need to work), and some Stafford loans. How much can your family actually afford? You need to apply to some other affordable schools as well.</p>
<p>Since your EFC is beyond the Pell amounts, you may not get any or much in grants at all. </p>
<p>You’ll likely get $5500 in student loans and maybe some work-study.</p>
<p>What are your stats? Hopefully, you’ll get some merit.</p>
<p>Can your parents pay at least the $7500 of their EFC?</p>
<p>Did you apply to any schools that would be affordable or give merit for your stats?</p>
<p>i applied to lehigh which is rediculously expensive. My parents can definitely afford the said $7500. My stats are 4.0 weighted GPA, 29 on ACT, 5 on AP Calc exam, an rigorous (4 AP courses) in senior year.</p>
<p>My parents can definitely afford the said $7500.</p>
<p>You may need to ask your parents if they can pay more than that. </p>
<p>I don’t know if an ACT 29 is high enough to get much from Pitt in merit. UPitt seems to target its merit towards high stats and OOS students…according to what’s been reported on CC.</p>
<p>Just the basic costs for UPitt is about: $27k (not counting transportation and personal expenses)</p>
<p>Since work-study essentially goes towards “personal expenses”, you may not get enough aid to make UPitt affordable unless your family pays a lot more money (like $20k per year). </p>
<p>Have you tried the UPitt net cost calculator? If not, you should:</p>
<p>I put tried the UPitt NPC with a fake income range of $70-80k as an instate student, and this is what I got:</p>
<p>Estimated total price of attendance: $27,000
a. Estimated tuition and fees $14,154
b. Estimated room and board $8,900
c. Estimated books and supplies $1,050
d. Estimated other expenses
(Personal expenses, transportation, etc.) $2,896
Estimated total grant aid:
(Includes both merit and need based aid) $1,096 </p>
<p>**Estimated net price:
(Price of attendance minus grant aid) $25,904 **</p>
<p>A very small grant of $1100…the family has to pay most of the cost. </p>
<p>With a $5500 student loan, your family would have to pay about $20k per year… a lot more than EFC.</p>
<p>[Net</a> Price Calculator](<a href=“http://www.npc.pitt.edu/pittsburgh/npcalc.htm]Net”>Net Price Calculator)</p>
<p>If you look at my earlier post “Less than half had their need fully met.” That means your family will pay more than your EFC.</p>
<p>In-state costs for Pitt and Penn State are relatively expensive, and they don’t offer much in the way of financial aid, either merit-based or need-based. Are you within commuting distance of Pitt? If so, that could still be your best option for a cost-effective engineering program. If not, look into SUNY Buffalo and WVU, if there is still time to apply there. You could get a small merit grant at Buffalo but I’m afraid the deadline has passed for those grants.</p>