bagpiper

Thanks, I'll try it. I do actually have a pretty good research hook (which would immediately identify me if I were more specific).

"from working-class Upstate New York and felt he would be much more comfortable at Cornell"

that's part of it. I'm from NYC, but still working class, and Cornell felt comfortable in a way others didn't. Cornell's "any person, any study" thing did actually seem to be reflected in the students I met there, and it's an idea I like. The math department was very friendly, and after talking to several profs about math excitedly for a while I got the notion that prof interaction would, in fact, be possible as long as I seek it out. I like Ithaca and outdoors stuff, and I figure I have plenty of time to live in a city after college. The presence of the state-funded schools seems to give more academic/career goal diversity to Cornell than those other places, and it felt more down-to-earth. I want to teach after college, a career goal not so common among the many ibanker wannabes at some other Ivies (not that they don't exist at Cornell, but it's a big enough place that it's an avoidable niche, and being partly a state school it has education programs).

Meh, it's not like I'll be crying over being "forced" to go to Hahvahd for financial reasons =), but I will see what I can do.

golden130

I have a question: Cornell says things about how financial aid is different for people with different family incomes. How do they calculate family income? In my case, my dad and stepmom together (custodial parents) make ~65k/year, but my mom (noncustodial parent) makes ~85k/year. Do they just combine the two incomes to calculate the efc, or do they use the custodial parent's income but then add a little bit to the efc based on the noncustodial parent's income?

i<3YaoMing

Hi everyone.

I was wondering how Cornell does Financial Aid appeals. Should i send them an email, write them a letter, call them up or send some form?

CayugaRed2005

9. Is there a financial aid appeal process?
If there is new information that affects your family's ability to meet the expected family contribution, or if you think we may have overlooked some aspect of your family's financial circumstances, you may request a reconsideration of your financial aid package. Please notify our office in writing (via email, fax, or US mail) of your request for aid reconsideration, making sure to clearly mark any correspondence "Appeal." Since we offer the best aid package we can based on the initial information we've been given, reconsideration is based on additional supporting documentation provided by your family. This includes most recent federal tax returns if they haven't already been sent.

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