Seriously cannot afford ED fin aid package

<p>So today I got my ED financial aid package and it is absolutely terrible. Cornell expects my parents to pay 43000 upfront and the rest is all loans. I applied ED under the impression that Cornell would give me $18000 in grants like their fin aid estimator said under "institutional methodology."
Is their anything I can do? Is my package up for negotiation at all and why is it so off from the estimator?</p>

<p>I can’t give you an answer as I’m wondering the same thing, but I just wanted to say that I’m in the same situation! (thought luckily not as severe)
the Cornell estimator estimated a little more than $10,000 less than what they asked in the mail today</p>

<p>You can appeal your financial aid award if you feel it is inadequate. Cornell’s method of calculating financial is quite different from many other institutions. For instance, Cornell considers home equity when calculating an award. I don’t trust financial estimators, I found that my estimations were way off from what I was awarded. </p>

<p>The process to appeal your award can be found here: <a href=“https://www.finaid.cornell.edu/special/appeals.cfm[/url]”>https://www.finaid.cornell.edu/special/appeals.cfm&lt;/a&gt; I had to appeal my financial aid award 2 of the 3 years I was at Cornell. My financial aid counselor was very helpful. I hope things work out for you!</p>

<p>Is it also possible to call the fin aid office or is sending the appeal form the only way to negotiate my package?</p>

<p>You can call, but they’ll probably ask you to send the appropriate documents as well. This is what happened in my own experience.</p>