Is Cornell financial aid good? Or do they squeeze you?

bongoboy · 12-22-2005, 04:52 PM

Do you feel like you're being held upside down and shaken for the dough? Or does it feel more like dear old Uncle Ezra is taking good care of you up on the hill? I'd like to hear from current Cornellians, and ED acceptees who recieved need assessments.

SchoolDuh0610 · 12-22-2005, 07:24 PM

It's based on the info you give them. They hit you pretty hard with the loans, but I thought they were generous overall.

bongoboy · 12-22-2005, 07:25 PM

Are you an ED applicant this year or a student? Either way, what was the financial aid letter like?

SchoolDuh0610 · 12-22-2005, 07:43 PM

ED applicant. Umm here lemme type it up. 3 letters. One on top says:

The Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment has completed its review of your application for financial assistance under the Early Decision Program. We are pleased to inform you that financial aid elegibility for your freshman year at Cornell has been estimated as described below. To receive a finalized award, you must follow the procedures outlined in the enclosed Early Decision Program Information sheet.

Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions about this award.

Estimate of costs:
Tuition: 32,797
Room & Board: 10,745
Books & Supplies: 700
Peronal Expenses/Travel: 2,479

TOTAL BUDGET: 46,721

Estimate of Resources: this is in another column, but cc sucks at formatting
Parents' Contribution: _________
Summer Savings Expectation: ________
Student assets: _________
Other Resources:_________

TOTAL FAMILY RESOURCES: _________

Financial Need : ____________

Total Scholarship/Grant aid (as detailed below):
Early Decision Grant: _________________

Total Self-Help (as detailed below):
Federal Perkins Loan: _________________
William D. Ford Federal Direct Subsidized Loan:_________________
Federal Work-Study Eligibility:_________________
Cornell Key Bank Student Loan - Estimate: _________________

Total Financial Aid Package: _________________

SchoolDuh0610 · 12-22-2005, 07:47 PM

Umm I might have gotten the order of the letters mixed up, but another letter basically says:

Your Early-Decision financial aid award is tentative because 2006-2007 tuition, room, and board rates have not yet been finalized. Also, in order to receive a finaid award, you need signed copies of your parents (and your own) 2005 federal income tax returns, file the 2006-2007 FAFSA.

(copied directly)
Finaid awards to Early-Decision students will be mailed beginning in April. The family contribution components of your award will remain the same, unless the income reflected on your 2005 income tax returns and FAFSA difers from the projections provided on the CSS Profile. Please not that this award is for the 2006-2007 academic year only; you will need to reapply for aid each year.

...ladeedah, feel free to call, congrats, signature. lol

SchoolDuh0610 · 12-22-2005, 07:52 PM

Thennn lastly, there's this blue sheet that has way too many words, so I'm not going to type all up.

Basically, the important stuff is:

You must report all outside scholarships obtained to Cornell University. If you get outside scholarships, they will first be used to reduce the amount of loans and student employment you incur. Only when the amount of outside scholarships you obtain exceeds the amount "Total Self Help" does it start affecting your Cornell Grant. Apparantly, your family's expected family contribution (efc) will not decrease unless you manage to exceed both the "Total Self Help" and Cornell Grant. Oh joy.... lol

Then there's stuff describing the loans (interest rates, policies...etc), reminders, and a chart on the estimated cost of attendance.

Hope this helps... lol. Are you a junior?

bongoboy · 12-22-2005, 08:02 PM

i'm a senior, i got in ED

SchoolDuh0610 · 12-22-2005, 08:12 PM

Oh hahah. You should get your package pretty soon then.

The loan part is pretty nasty. I'm hoping to get enough outside aid to lessen it...

elevenblanks · 01-26-2006, 08:03 PM

I'm a freshman, and my parents make about $100,000 a year, and Cornell is giving me $10,000 aid and $4,000 as a Meinig Scholarship. I was very happy with my package. Something to keep in mind, however, is that with the current Republican congressmen recently attacked student aid, lowering the average student's package by $5,000. Some people's Pell Grants have already been taken away, and I'm expecting a huge cut in my package for next Fall.

Congrats on getting in. This is an awesome school.

abike11 · 01-27-2006, 01:23 PM

when did u hear u got the meinig scholarship? if u applied ED do u hear then or in April? how did u cover the rest? with loans, scholarships?

elevenblanks · 01-27-2006, 03:35 PM

I didn't apply ED, so I'm assuming everyone finds out in April. Since its its a Cornell National Scholars Scholarship, they have to see everyone first. Only like 1 or 2% get the Meinig one, but there are others. To pay for the rest is a constant topic on my mind. I got outside scholarships like $40,000 from the California Masonic Foundation, and $22,000 from the Northern California Scholarship Federation. Then some local ones for like $200 or $1000. Basically I'm using all of that and then $90,000 that I got from a car wreck a few years ago. My parents can't contribute anything, but its all working out so far.

bubbles · 02-27-2006, 12:31 AM

Cornell aid is pretty good. I thought my first FA package was ridiculous, but after speaking with them for about a week, they slashed it drastically.

BUT, you should know that Cornell can be reaaalllly stingy about money. Sometimes it seems that they charge you for everything (printing, gym usage, etc.). And Cornell is also notorius for books. A recent survey found that the average Cornell student spent $1000-$1300 a year on books! SO be prepared...

abike11 · 02-27-2006, 11:01 AM

really i called them up after i got my ed FA amount and they said they do it on need and thats that.

arjuninthehouse · 03-20-2006, 08:08 AM

let me sum it up: Cornell=stingy (atleast for int'l...and many of my US pen-pals affirm the same in their case)
i mean...they say: NO AID FOR INT'Ls ED. i find that very odd

elevenblanks · 03-22-2006, 01:09 AM

oh booo.... go to school in your own country if you don't like the money cornell is giving you as charity.