<p>Asian Male
GPA: 3.815(weighted)
SAT: 2240(780 Math, 700 CR, 760 Writing)
AP: Calc BC(4), US History(4), AP Eng(3), AP Comp Sci(5), French(4)
Senior AP: Eng2, Euro, MacroEconomics, Statistics
Activities: FBLA, Math Honor Society(VicePresident), Academic Team
Sports: no school sports
Volunteer: Local Hostpital and library
Work: Part-Time at consulting company(fixed computers and such)
Rank: High school doesn't rank(doesn't release info about percent either), very competitive high school(princeton, NJ), class of 600. </p>
<p>I want to go to cornell enigeering and have thought about applying Early, but am thinking about financial aid due to the current economic crisis. My parents combined income is around $85K/year and we have a $300k mortgage. Will Cornell's FA package be more loan based for me if I apply ED? Their new rules about loans seem very nice, but are they only for me? For example, is the $3000 cap only for me or for my parents as well? </p>
<p>Would I have a good chance if I apply ED? How much would my chances decrease for regular admissions? Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>The $3,000 cap is only for need-based loans. The family contribution is based on income and family assets and there is no cap on that. I think the financial aid website has an aid estimate calculator...use it to get an idea of what your family contribution might be.</p>
<p>What I mean to say is, does the $3000 loan cap apply to me only or also to my parents?
Will my parents be required to extra take loans in addition to the grant money? Lets say tuition costs 45k and expected contribution is $20k. Will I get something like $20k grant, $3k loans, $2k jobs or will parents be required to take a loan for more than $3k with smaller grants.</p>
<p>If its not too much to ask can some post how much financial aid they recieved from cornell? It'd be great if it was for ED and income between $75K-$100K.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>ED aid is really no different from RD aid. Although...some RD applicants are able to negotiate better FA packages with Cornell because they receive multiple aid offers from other schools. </p></li>
<li><p>The $3,000 need-based loan cap only applies to you. So...if you have an expected family contribution of $20,000....your parents have to get a loan or pay out of pocket. So if tuition is say $45,000 for one year: $20,000 EFC-$3,000 need loan (usually federal loan) = $22,000 to be covered by grant and work study (or expected employment if you don't qualify for work study). So...if you parents needed to borrow money...you'd still be taking out a loan for $23,000.</p></li>
</ol>