how do people manage to afford for ivy league schools? like cornell? do they have good financial aid program? how much should i expect free money from them?
<p>This link is to a EFC (expected family contribution) calculator I found via a quick google search: <a href="http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml</a>. I'm not entirely sure how accurate it is, and keep in mind that it is an estimate, but it shouldn't be off by more than a few thousand. For the Ivy league schools, make sure you select 'Institutional Methodology'.</p>
<p>The Ivies state that they "meet all need". Basically, they'll pay for whatever you can't afford. However, for many families (middle and upper-middle class), the student's EFC is not in line with what the family actually feels they can afford.</p>
<p>wait, so ur saying if the tuition is 40 k, and my efc is about 8k (i havent tried that calculator, just saying) then the college is going to cover the rest 32 k by itself? and i dont have to pay it back?</p>
<p>Most of the ivies guarantee to meet "demonstrated" financial need. So really, they have to decide, based in your family income, assets, and other info., what they feel you should be able to pay. I have heard numerous times, of students applying to a school, and then learning that they were going to get much less in aid than they expected, based on various calculators they used.
So, make sure that you also apply to schools that you can afford.
Also, it is not necessarily "free money". Some of the financial aid could be in the form of student loans, that you would have to repay, and some could be in the form of work-study.
You really need to investigate this carefully.</p>