<p>so i applied for early admission to duke and was accepted. i didn't know that i was supposed to fill out the college board css profile and consequently didn't recieve a financial aid package with my acceptance letter. i'm still going to recieve the aid, but i'll just have to wait a while to know just how much. the problem with this is that i had to submit an enrollment decision already and i have to withdraw any pending college applications. </p>
<p>because my family makes under 40,000, parental contribution and loan requirements have been eliminated.
my only worry is that there is fine print i don't know about. because i have to drop my other applications, i'm pretty much screwed because i'm going to duke either way. </p>
<p>so my question is, what do they mean when they say i wont have to take out loans and my parents wont have to contribute? does the grant money i'll receive cover room and board, meal plans, books, etc?</p>
<p>my main concern is room and board. if that's not covered it'll be over 10,000 a year that i'll have to pay for.</p>
<p>To anyone else reading this thread…please check YOUR deadlines and make sure you adhere to them…completing all required items for financial aid consideration.</p>
<p>To the OP…I hope you did that Profile (and FAFSA) today.</p>
<p>If your parents make $40K/yr. and they don’t have equity in a home, stocks/bonds or other assets, you should get loan free aid to cover everything. You’ll get some work study, but that’s about it. Your only issue will be if your parents have assets in addition to the income.</p>
<p>If this new policy applies to you, your parents won’t have to pay anything but as a student you will. You are expected to pay an amount based on your summer earnings. For instance, first years in the 2009- 2010 school year are expected to contribute $1,900 from summer earnings ([Duke</a> Financial Aid: Self Help](<a href=“Homepage | Karsh Office of Undergraduate Financial Support”>Homepage | Karsh Office of Undergraduate Financial Support)). In general, colleges expect the cost of text books, travel expenses, and other incidentals to be covered by work study and summer earnings.</p>