<p>This is probably a stupid question, but is it possible to have the FA office at U. Pitt. re-evaluate/re-assess my financial aid package? I understand that Pitt only does so if have been any considerable changes in my family's financial situation (such as divorce, job loss, etc). I was wondering if I could perhaps call the office during the week and ask them if it is possible for me to increase the size of my subsidized loan (or perhaps even obtain a grant of some sort). After taking into account my full tuition scholarship and work study ($2500), the cost of attendance comes to at least $7500 per year (before loans), which is rather cheap considering the rising cost of a college education. My EFC is about 8900, and I'm sure they already considered (from FAFSA) the fact that my brother will also be attending college during the 2010-11 academic year. I know a few people who managed to have their universities match funds/packages from another, more generous university. The latter option is out of the question for me because Pitt already my cheapest choice.</p>
<p>Also, does anybody know if Pitt rewards any scholarships/grants for being a National Merit Commended Scholar? I'm not sure if they took note of the fact that I am one.</p>
<p>Any input would be much appreciated. Again, a definitive answer is not pivotal, as I am just looking for opinions on the matter.</p>
<p>Let me make sure I understand your FA situation:
You are OOS for Pitt
You have a full tuition scholarship
You have $2500 in work study
You have $5500 in Stafford loans
Your EFC is $8900 and that number reflects that you have a brother in college (what is the estimated income for an $18K EFC?)
In effect you are currently expected to pay less than your EFC and only about $2K after your Stafford loans at an out of state college and you want to see if you can get a better deal? Just out of curiosity what is your next best college FA offer?</p>
<p>Correct to all of the above, and my family has an income of around 90k. I’m not expecting a better deal, I was just curious if such a thing was even possible. My next best offer was from the University of Notre Dame, where I received a near full tuition scholarship, $2300 in work study, a $500 Perkins loan, and a $3500 subsidized stafford loan.</p>
<p>I also forgot to mention, one of my loans from Pitt is unsubsidized ($2000) while the other is subsidized ($3500). </p>
<p>I might also add that my brother did not receive any substantial aid from any one school, which is why I am curious about what more I can do to alleviate the financial burden. In fact, his cheapest choice is Case Western Reserve University, which is literally 20 minutes away from our home. They gave him a $20000 scholarship, $3000 in grants, ~$6500 in loans, and $5000 in summer work/ work study. This package (most of which can hardly be considered aid) leaves an $8000 gap between “aid” and COA (which for us does not include on-campus housing). I actually received the same amount of aid from Case, but the only difference is that I received a $22500 scholarship and a $1500 grant.</p>
<p>You are already at the max for subsidized Stafford loans ($3500). Sophomore year it will be $4500, and your total Stafford max will be $6500. They have given you scholarships and aid exceeding your EFC, and you say they don’t consider adjustments unless there are extraordinary circumstances, so an appeal would seem to be a waste of everyone’s time. But you can try!</p>
<p>Btw, I would not consider Case’s offer of $23K in gift aid to be unsubstantial, just perhaps not enough to be affordable for you! Perhaps you and your family would have been better prepared if you had a clear understanding of how financial aid works, had a firm number for what your parents could contribute each year, knew your loan limits, and targeted your college search accordingly. But, congrats on your full tuition scholarships…did you apply for any outside scholarships that are still pending?</p>
<p>Since your scholarships and such are leaving you with an amount that is less than your EFC, I don’t see how or why UPitt would give you anything more.</p>
<p>I understand, and yes I do have outside scholarships pending. Would Pitt allow me to use any scholarship checks that are made out to the university? I have heard cases in which other colleges did not allow one to use such scholarships to overlap his/her EFC. I would imagine that Pitt wouldn’t make a big deal about it because they overlapped my EFC with financial aid to begin with. I was hoping to replace the unsub loan with any scholarships. Btw, when my brother and I were in the process of applying to college, we had no way of telling how much any one school would award in terms if financial aid (due to the economy in it’s current state and the increasing number if people who were affected by the recession). Nonetheless, that’s not to say we weren’t prepared for it all. Thanks for the congrats though sk8ermom :)</p>
<p>Remember that you have to go back to the financial aid office for the next 3 years for Sophomore, Junior and Senior year…</p>
<p>since the amount that you are expected to pay at Pitt is less than your EFC, why not just leave the Pitt finan aid office alone…you never know whether they might get up on the wrong side of the bed next time they determine your fin aid for soph year.</p>
I’m sure if you explain to Pitt FA that your brother did not receive any substantial aid from any one school and that his cheapest choice is a $53K private school in a different state, they will give your request adequate consideration.</p>
<p>Seriously, UPitt isn’t going to give you more money just because ANOTHER school didn’t give your brother any aid. UPitt is not going to subsidize your brother’s costs by reducing yours. Your brother does not have to go to an expensive private school - that is a luxury, not a right…and certainly not UPitt’s concern.</p>
<p>Your EFC was ~8900 so your brother’s was probably in the same range. From Case’s point of view, they provided scholarships, grants, work study and loans to get to $8K. That’s under your EFC so technically they met his need (though he would have preferred without the loans and WS). And your need was more than met. So the issue is?</p>
<p>confounded, I just meant prepared for EFC and loans the schools would expect you and your bro to pay. You were both very lucky to get packages that more than met your need! Ask Pitt if outside scholarships will reduce loans first.</p>