<p>I truly believe that I have a chance if I apply early decision, however, I cannot afford to pay 50,000$ a year, no way.</p>
<p>What if my package wont be big enough? I can't reject the admission.</p>
<p>My moms income fluctuates between like 30 and 43k every year.
Its a two person household, no kids in college, no support from father.</p>
<p>can I take such a big risk and apply?</p>
<p>If I’m not mistaken, your mother wouldn’t have any contribution since she makes under 60k. There’s stuff you’ll have to do since your father isn’t supporting you, though. Check the financial aid website if you need any help.</p>
<p>[Financial</a> Aid](<a href=“http://www.finaid.cornell.edu/]Financial”>http://www.finaid.cornell.edu/)</p>
<p>Also, I don’t think applying ED would hurt since your mom has such a low income. You’d probably get very high amounts of aid, if anything.</p>
<p>Well would I have extreme loans?
Or could I get enough aid to cover practicallyy all of the tuition?</p>
<p>the cornell FA website says that you must include information on BOTH parents even if one is unwilling to help you pay for college. The only exception to this is if you are unaware of the whereabouts of your father or there are extenuating circumstances regarding your situation.
[Family</a> Circumstances | Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.finaid.cornell.edu/special-circumstances/family-circumstances]Family”>Family Circumstances | Financial Aid)</p>
<p>Careful, you say “no support from father” but if your father is alive, I’m pretty sure Cornell will require him to fill out the non-custodial parent PROFILE and will expect him to contribute (and will compute your aid as if he is contributing, even if he isn’t)</p>
<p>Cornell does limit the loans of students from lower-income families, but on top of your loans, they will expect about a $2500+/year contribution from you from summer income, $2K in work-study earnings during the school year, and possibly some contribution from both of your parents as well. </p>
<p>There is a calculator on the financial aid site that you can use to get an estimate of what your package will look like, but since you are in a “tricky” situation (parent with fluctuating income, plus a non-custodial parent) it may not be accurate enough to rely on.</p>
<p>The main issue with ED is that you can’t compare offers. That’s a big sacrifice. Who knows if your second-favorite school might have given you a much more attractive package. If you are Cornell-caliber, you can almost for sure get merit money at a number of other very good schools. How it all plays out and how much you end up paying out of pocket and in loans is very hard to predict/compare in advance.</p>
<p>I don’t think we even have the coordinates of my father anymore.
He’s on a different continent, to say the least.
And I have no money saved up for college either</p>
<p>I’d have to agree with Islander. Given your current financial situation, Cornell’s bound to provide you great aid. I’m sure they’d be aware that given the circumstances, you would not be able to afford the education. Most reliable method would be to call the financial aid office and explain your predicament.</p>
<p>I was in that same situation. I applied early and got in but was worried about finaid. But they offered me alot of help. My dad makes about 32K, mom is stay home mom, and 2 younger brothers. Cornell gave me a 51K grant. </p>
<p>And also, the only way you can reject an early decision admittance is if you cant meet the financial expectations. So either way you’ll be ok.</p>
<p>I am not implying that your family is involved in this, but schools are aware that there are families who claim the father is out of the picture and living on another continent. My daughter had a friend who did just this and she received full financial aid at the University of Chicago. Meanwhile her dad was alive and well in a very lucrative profession far from the U.S. When this girl finished her Jr year of college her mother left the U.S to live with her husband full time instead of the twice a year visits. They actually claimed that her father was declared dead and provided some type of paperwork from India. </p>
<p>I would like to think that Cornell would be a little bit more insistant on receiving real documentation because frankly this sort of stuff is just not fair to kids who trully need the aid. I would suggest not taking any chances and do your best to locate your father so that you can either prove or at least know if he has the funds to pay for your college degree. I wonder why your mother has not thought of this sooner…like when you were a child. I am sure she was hoping to see you attend college and the divorce degree should have addressed this back than. This of course is not your fault but in the real world of financial aid they are not going to just take someones word about these things or everyone with less than good morals would be claiming similar situations.</p>
<p>To everyone curious about “estranged parents” and how Cornell will deal with it, here is the answer from my experience, having actually gone through it (my mom made very little money, but father (divorced) made close to a million a year but wouldn’t give us a dime and we never spoke):</p>
<p>I had the same issue with my father, and Cornell WILL ignore him if you “don’t have contact with him.” This doesn’t even mean you don’t know his whereabouts, it simply means you don’t speak. The process is simple: you must have a member of the community (a church leader, a counselor, or even a court of law) write a letter saying “Student does not have contact with father.” That’s it. Send that to Cornell and they will ignore his income and information, as they did for me. I had my pastor at my church write the letter, it was very easy.</p>
<p>That being said - since your mom’s income is under 60K, you will then receive a financial aid package that pretty much covers everything with scholarships and grants. The only exception is, there is a STUDENT contribution of about $2,500 per year, which they assume a student can make over the summer if they work. If you cannot work, simply tell them, and they will give you a federal loan (interest paid by government until 6 months after graduation) for the $2,500, which will be the most you pay out of pocket, they even give a little money for books and stuff.</p>
<p>So, bottom line: get a letter about your dad, do your FAFSA and CSS Profile, apply early, and Cornell will take care of you. If you can’t work over the summer, the MOST you would have to pay is $2,500 in the form of a loan, or about $10,000 total (4 years) for a Cornell degree.</p>
<p>Very very worth it. Don’t worry, even the poorest can afford Cornell.</p>
<p>You can reject the ED if you can’t pay. The only disadvantage is that you can’t compare packages. Cornell’s likely won’t be the best, but especially the last few years, they definitely have made sure it’s affordable for any financial situation. The cap on loans ensures you won’t be burdened after you graduate.</p>
<p>Based on what’s been said above, you’ll probably have to go through a few extra hoops, but it’ll be worth it.</p>
<p>Dawn</p>
<p>Your question has a pretty specific fact pattern, and unfortunately doesn’t tie into the strengths of this board. In other words, the consequences of wrong advice are MAJOR and few if any of us really know the answer.</p>
<p>The only advice I can give is (1) check the estimated aid calculators – there are links on must college sites and more importantly (2) discuss any possible ED decisions with your Guidance Counselor.</p>