Poor Financial Aid?

<p>I'm wondering what everyone else got for financial aid, roughly. I got about 12,000 (7000 grant + 5000 "Uchicago Scholar"), and there's no way I can even fathom affording UChicago with this aid (45K a year? not happening).</p>

<p>Is such meager aid usual? Should I call up the admissions office and ask what the heck is going on? Or should I just forget about UChicago and apply to some other schools?</p>

<p>I didn’t get a financial aid letter of any sort…I’m in the 100-120k income bracket, but my parents are still paying off immense student loans from my brother’s college. I wasn’t expecting the world (heck, I wasn’t even expecting to get in), but still. I sent the admissions office an e-mail and will call if I don’t get a response in the next week. :slight_smile: Want to see if it was a glitch or actual ineligibility.</p>

<p>There were 3 letters total in my account. The other two were linked below my admission letter. Are you sure you didn’t get any aid AT ALL? I’m in or above that bracket.</p>

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<p>Found this in a section of the admitted students’ site. So I guess we have some waiting to do! This should explain why some people who applied didn’t get finaid letters at all. No idea why mine’s one of the ones that’s backlogged, since I applied so early on, but eh!</p>

<p>@OP
I have the same feeling too. Apparently, Chicago is very stingy with its aid…The amount in grants it gave me is even poorer than the FAFSA4caster amount predicted, which sucks. This pretty much means I won’t be going to Chicago</p>

<p>I’m in the 100-120k income bracket also and I got an estimated 28k Uchicago grant. is that normal?</p>

<p>Just so you all know:
The EA Financial Aid “Estimate” is not precise… not even close. I got some number last December when I was accepted EA, and, as I remember, the actual document I received wasn’t very descriptive and also not very helpful. For example, that document (at least for the Class of 2014) didn’t have anything about work study, student savings contributions, summer contributions, family contributions/college savings plans, Odyssey Scholarships, or loans. </p>

<p>When you get your real Financial Aid offer in March/April, it will be INFINITELY more detailed and helpful. That’s not to say you won’t have questions about it, because the process is incredibly complicated and confusing. Basically what I’m saying is, don’t be overly discouraged if your FA “estimate” isn’t what you’d hoped for, because it is likely that your parents won’t be paying what this “estimate” says they’ll have to pay (this is because that list of all the stuff in the first paragraph will be factored in). That being said, DON’T TURN DOWN UCHICAGO RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF YOUR “ESTIMATE.” The next few months will be [possibly equally as] agonizing [as the past month and a half] because you will be waiting to see if you actually can come to this wonderful school. (And by “wonderful” I mean “I REALLY FREAKING LOVE THIS SCHOOL A WHOLE LOT. YOU SHOULD TOTES MAGOTES COME HERE.”) </p>

<p>If you have any questions about being a first year or something about FA (my knowledge is limited, however), then feel free to message me. (Seriously, message me. We’re on break an I’m really bored.)</p>

<p>^thanks for the encouragement</p>