<p>Norcalguy maybe you misunderstood. I’m not talking about parents taking out loans. We know several kids whose parents probably make $120,000 (not positive) and they took at over $50,000 that the students will be responsible for paying back. We also know a kid whose parents make more than that but was forced to quit and go to a cheaper state school, as the $57,000 cost became overwhelming.
I think it is awesome that the OP got a full ride and will be able to go to Cornell. I don’t begrudge him one penny of that. I only said that, after receiving a FULL RIDE it would be wrong to ask for more money so he can travel home several times a year. I don’t think asking a kid to either work in the summer and during the school year or to take out $1600/year in loans is unreasonable. There are kids - yes kids- taking out a whole heck of a lot more than that who will be straddled with tremendous debt. Many many families are making enormous sacrifices (ours included) to send our kids to Cornell. Why isn’t it OK for the OP to make some sacrifices too?</p>
<p>My family contributes about $7k annually toward my education while I take a personal student loan of about $25k annually. This is how I have some perspective and don’t think it is in any way unreasonable to take a $2k loan every year for additional expenses such as flying home multiple times a year.</p>
<p>Cornell has travel costs for the FA based on the location of students. However, it is unlikely that Cornell’s aid covers two round trip costs. Cornell may give additional loan if the actual travel costs are more than the aid and that the student cannot cover it. So don’t expect any more Cornell’s grant for high travel costs.</p>