<p>@Eurozan. your family should do the CMU Early Estimate submission to see where they will fall with you. They were right on target with what they said in terms of the total offered and the percentage in each category.
I also suggest you do a FAFSA estimate so you know what EFC would be calculated and what you might expect from all schools. If this differs drastically from 10k, you need to discuss everything with your parents. Keep in mind, you can borrow, work summers and work in school to increase your options.</p>
<p>They don’t want to loose a good student and tried to help within reason. examples:
When we’ve had issues with payments, they worked out an extended payment plan without interest.</p>
<p>When external scholarship funds were late, they removed the interest charges.</p>
<p>When there was a job loss, they recalculated the EFC and adjusted the package.</p>
<p>They increased the initial offers both times given offers elsewhere.</p>
<p>They were never rude and always treated me respectfully when I called with a question. I did not find the same to be true when attempting to negotiate with other schools before the deposit was placed.</p>
<p>They stuck by the FAFSA EFC – but they gave some merit when other competitor schools had given Merit.</p>
<p>The reality is that FAFSA models are really a shock regardless of where you go to school – they don’t match what families believe they can afford and are often 2-3x the amount and then you’re screwed big time. A good question for any school upfront is to know how much of the financial aid package is going to be straight scholarship/grant vs. loans and work study. One of the reasons our family could not afford Cornell is because of the mandatory student self help-- which really is ADDED to the EFC rather than a part of the EFC. That was a student summer job, work study and student loan-- all total $10k more than the EFC. <strong><em>– go screw yourself cornell. No other school pulled that “magic”. Just the same, Cornell was third or fourth choice anyways for both S and D - so no loss there, just *</em></strong>ed that they didn’t have that info in front of applicants-- but I give this as an example of the weird things out there and it’s important to read carefully upfront at every school you consider.</p>