<p>I recently recieved "Likely" letters from UPenn and Cornell and obviously was very happy to hear the news but these schools' daunting price tags are worrying me. I haven't heard anything from financial aid from either (Cornell gave a very vague mention of a scholarship I was a finalist for). I am going into engineering and already have a 20k per year merit scholarship from Michigan (Top 10 engineering program). The chances of either of the ivies matching that solely based on my FAFSA are slim to none. Is there any chance of appealing to fin aid offices citing my other offer saying I would rather go to their school but the price is preventing me? I know many other posts touch on this matter but most are very general and I was wondering if ivies worked differently. Thanks for any insight or info.</p>
<p>What I have seen with the ivies is that they give money only to meet aid. They may reconsider a calculation, particularly if another like school has come up with different numbers based on the same info, but I’ve not known them to even try to match a merit award. They do not give merit money.</p>
<p>Ivies don’t only use FAFSA. They use the CSS Profile or their own forms as well. UPenn doesn’t offer merit aid while Cornell offers a limited amount. I doubt they consider UMich to be a peer institution.</p>
<p>S’s ivy matched the offer of another (non-ivy) school.</p>
<p>I believe the OP is asking whether the Ivies might match the merit offer he/she received at UMich. I would venture NO. The Ivies do not give merit awards. They might look at the need based award from UMich…but not merit. </p>
<p>1moremom…yes, the Ivies will look at other need based awards but really from schools that they consider peer schools (not just Ivies). We know an Ivy League student who had a higher award at Amherst and her Ivy matched that need based award. Her Ivy clearly felt that Amherst was a “peer school”. But these were need based awards…not merit awards.</p>
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<p>Most of the Ivies give financial aid so keep that in mind. Cornell is the only Ivy in the top 10 engineering rankings with Michigan ranked higher than Cornell so Cornell might be interested in what Michigan is offering. The other Ivy engineering programs are ranked lower than Cornell so again possibly some interest in what Michigan is offering. Bottom line though of all the schools you mention acceptance to Michigan engineering is nothing to sneeze at since it’s a higher ranked program nationally and internationally than the others you mention. Michigan Engineering alumni are everywhere in the world so it’s going to come down for you to fit and cost and not brand awareness.</p>
<p>You are right Thumper1. This was also need-based and a a peer school. I didn’t read the OP carefully.</p>
<p>Like some of you noted, Michigan is generally not considered equally with the ivies but the only reason I thought mentioning Mich might help would be because of it’s engineering program which is ranked higher than Cornell and much higher than UPenn (otherwise I might have mentioned the full tuition offer I got from Pitt but I realize the schools aren’t comparable).</p>
<p>I should have been more clear about the financial situation. I haven’t received need based money but the reality is that without at least 15k off of an ivy tuition and expenses (around 55-58k for these two) my family would not be able to send me to either forcing me to go to mich when I want to go to one of the others. Any chance that would help me?</p>
<p>No. They’re going to determine need based on your CSS/PROFILE financial information. If they judge that your family is capable of paying the full costs, you will not receive any financial aid. Appealing this decision is unlikely to succeed.</p>
<p>Some of the ivy methodology is more generous than other college’s finanicial aid determination processes, so I’ve known kids who have gotten some help when other schools have deemed them full pay, but I’ve not known an ivy to come up with money to meet a merit award without financial need basis. It does not hurt to try, however.</p>
<p>Cornell’s website says they will match offers from other schools you were accepted to (only the “higher ranked” ones.)</p>
<p>On their website they explicitly stated “Stanford, MIT, and Duke.”</p>
<p>I don’t know how it would be for Mich, but if Penn gives you more but you’d prefer Cornell, give it a shot. They’ll want a copy of the offer.</p>
<p>instantly, your financial aid at the Ivies will be based solely on your financial need as measured by the CSS Profile (or in the case of Princeton,their own form). The FAFSA only deals with federally funded aid which is a drop in the bucket in the amount the Ivies cost. What you really need is institutional aid…but this is based SOLELY on the Ivy schools’ computations of your financial need based on the CSS Profile or the school form (which Princeton uses). </p>
<p>Merit awards at other schools will not matter one bit. Some of the Ivies have financial aid calculators on their sites so you can put your numbers in and get a guestimate of the institutional aid they will offer. See if the school you applied to have this feature.</p>