Hi,
I got accepted Ed to the class of 2021 at Cornell. As a Canadian, I didnt apply for aid because of how little is available to internationals. However, talking with my parents recently it seems as if they weren’t completely honest with me regarding their financial situation, and the 70k per year is not affordable(or would place a tremendous burden, they are being vague about it), which sucks to find out now as rd has passed for all American schools… They suggested that I write a letter to appeal for aid, and I spent the whole night telling them how that’s impossible and against school policy.
It seems that Waterloo is still open for application. And as a Canadian interested in cs it would cost less than 20k usd per year to attend(thank god for strong US dollar). Problem is it’s not prestigious enough in their eyes, and they convinced me they would get the money one way or another for Cornell.
Cornell has been my dream school for a long time, should I take their word and go, or should I go to Waterloo? Is Cornell worth the extra 200,000? Will going to Waterloo make me less competitive for the computer science job market?
Then there’s the fact that I want work in Silicon Valley after college, and us colleges have 3 years of opt…especially with trump idk if nafta might be changed so that cross border employment might become more difficult in the future.
Do you know of any cs schools in America still open to application and cost as much as Waterloo(pipe dream ik)
Should I take a gap year and reapply for financial aid?
I have been losing a lot of sleep over this, Thank you for taking your time answering these questions, any advice or suggestion is appreciated.
No. Cornell is clearly unaffordable for you (as it is for most people, actually). I can’t think of any good reason for your parents to take on debt of this kind. Let Cornell know of your financial situation, and take a look at other schools. If you were admitted to Cornell you are a strong enough student that you will have good (and affordable) options elsewhere. Good luck!
Based on what you have said so far, I would say you (or more accurately your parents) cannot afford Cornell. Go to Waterloo and look to transfer someplace else next year.
I don’t think appealing to Cornell for aid is really proper - after all you applied ED on the premise that you could afford it. Plus, I doubt much will come of it.
I am not a fan of a gap year which is essentially a year wasted in one’s academic/social prime. I think that is especially true in your case in that the only reason for taking off a year would be to go to a more exclusive school later. You might not even be accepted given the vagaries of selective schools. Plus, all of the selective schools will cost about the same as Cornell so there is no value in waiting.
Of course you should appeal to Cornell for more aid! Cornell meets demonstrated need. Submit paperwork with accurate info, and together you and your parents should speak to someone in financial aid and explain the situation.
I agree, no harm in talking to Cornell Financial Aid. I also think there is nothing wrong in taking a gap year and re-applying to schools that give merit aid money. You might do well at a school like U Rochester or Case Western for merit aid. Gap years do not have to be a wasted year. Most kids do really well from taking the time off and go into college more prepared to work.
If you are still interested in Cornell, you need to contact them immediately and find out if it is possible to file a financial aid application at this point. Then you will know if it remains an option for you.
Nowhere is it written that you must start college this coming fall. If you don’t like the options that are available to you at this time, take a Gap Year and create a better list for yourself.
Waterloo CS has a sub-10% acceptance rate. The COA for first year in 2016 is $31K CDN, so more like $25K USD. Tuition is higher for subsequent terms. It’s similar in prestige to Cornell CS.
You won’t get the college perks at Waterloo, but $200K is a huge difference. For CS recruiting at Waterloo is excellent ; all the big technology companies recruit there. I would apply immediately.
What do you mean by financial burden? Like would your parents not be able to afford it without going into massive debt? Or do they mean they could come up with a significant amount of the tuition other than by loans? All of those loans would not be worth it in the long run
Waterloo is as prestigious for CS as Cornell butbis very hard to get into. Apply immediately but you may have to take a gap year.
Do you have siblings?
Waterloo is one of the best schools in the world for CS but extremely tough and extremely tough to get in to.
If you can get in, paying full price for Cornell makes no sense if you are definitely going to study CS.
$200,000 extra to go to Cornell is IMHO insane. Taking on this much debt looks to me like a big mistake, even for someone going into a relatively lucrative practical field such as computer science. Cornell is a very good university, but Waterloo is also a very good university. Of course this is $200,000 in US money, which right now translates to about $266,000 in Canadian dollars. This is a LOT of money.
I don’t think that you have passed the application deadline for Dalhousie either. There are also some very good smaller universities such as Trent and Acadia (and probably Mount Allison) that you can still apply to. You have probably missed the deadline for scholarships, but not for admission in September.
I think that your realistic choices are Waterloo, or Waterloo for a year and transfer, or find another university in Canada that hasn’t passed the application deadline, or take a gap year and reapply.
I would argue that Waterloo is better for you by a large margin. If you’re looking for jobs in CS I bet Waterloo is better than Cornell, plus it’s USD 200,000+ cheaper.