Hi!
Anybody knows any stats of students receiving fin aid from Cornell School of Hotel Administration? I heard like less than 5 students get fin aid every year. That worries me as I’m applying as an international transfer applicant.
Many thanks!
The best source for information about this would be the Hotel School itself. It really, truly, is OK for you to email their admissions and financial aid offices, and ask.
Where did you hear that only 5 students get financial aid each year? That’s definitely incorrect. Financial aid doesn’t correlate with the college within Cornell that you apply to. Cornell did just stop being need-blind for international students, however, so you may want to contact them to find out more about what your likely aid package would be.
@happymomof1: thank you very much for your reply! Yeah that’s actually a good idea though. Any tips/advice on how to communicate with the adcom? Cheers x
@Ranza123: I random-searched ‘hotel’ & surfed through 100 pages of CC and remember seeing that number in one thread (already screenshotted). And, I already showed my screenshot to a Cornell alum (Class of 2014) and he even told me: “that’s not true. None of the hotelies received fin aid, at least from 2008 until now”; which hit me hard.
And I’m applying as an international transfer applicant. Do you guys think it’s a big disadvantage for me? 
Being an international student and a transfer at the same time.
I know hotel students who have financial aid. Not giving hotelies financial aid because they’re in the hotel school isn’t a thing. The harder part about getting financial aid will be being international, since Cornell is no longer need-blind for international students. Again, I would suggest calling the financial aid office to ask any specific questions you have about what kind of aid package you could expect.
@Ranza123 OMG I don’t really get the part “no longer need-blind for international students”. As far as I know, it’s still on the website (link below) Can you please tell me more about that?
http://finaid.cornell.edu/sites/finaid.cornell.edu/files/International-FinAid-FAQs_0.pdf
@Ranza123 or, do you mean it’s need-awareness for international students? Since need-blind and need-awareness are 2 different things…
Starting in Fall of 2017, international financial aid will not be need-blind, it will be need-aware. This more affects your chances of admission at all rather than your aid, I would imagine. From the link you sent: “This means that they will be evaluated for admission with consideration of the ability of students or parents to pay educational costs.”
It sounds like their current method is that they accept international students based on merit and grades etc. but then only award aid to a small selection of international students. Starting next year, they’ll evaluate international students’ need for aid before accepting or rejecting them, but then if you do get accepted, they meet 100% of your aid. So in the first method, it seems that you would be more likely to get accepted but get no aid, and in the new method it seems you would be less likely to be accepted if you need aid but if you do get accepted, all your need will be met.
@Ranza123 Yeah, I read it just now. 
Btw I’m pretty new to the application process, so please pardon me for my silliness, but why it’s ensure that “if you do get accepted, they meet 100% of your aid”? Any cases that you get accepted but only half of your need is met, and/or apply ED: get accepted with no aid (even though applied for aid) then have to wave goodbye to Cornell?
A person that I know, she applied for 50% aid, got accepted but no aid was given. She’s still going to Cornell this Sep anw. So I haven’t really got this whole aid thingy.
What Cornell is saying is starting 2017, if they determine you can’t afford Cornell and they do not want to give your FA then you won’t be accepted. What that means is if you want to go to Cornell at all costs as an international student then you shouldn’t apply for FA and send Cornell your financial information. They are not going to admit you and only give you 50% of demonstrated need. Your ability to pay will be factored into your acceptance.
@oldfort thank you for commenting. 
Do you mean that when I apply, I should not need to apply for FA (by filling in CSS & ISFAA forms) but send (kinda) a statement of need to Cornell instead? By doing that, I might get a chance of admission plus a maximum of 50% FA?
If you do not apply for FA then you’ll get no aid. If you do apply for FA then you’ll have to send in your financial information. As an international student, if you have great stats then they will do what they have to do to make it affordable, otherwise you wouldn’t be admitted unless you could afford the school.
@oldfort I see. But still can you please evaluate your saying “They are not going to admit you and only give you 50% of demonstrated need”? Thanks.
If they decide to accept you, they will meet all of your demonstrated aid. You can see what they consider your demonstrated need by using their financial aid calculator. That’ll show how much your family would be expected to pay. If you get accepted, they will give you the remaining amount of money that your family cannot cover.
@Ranza123 starting from next year, am I correct? (Because as I told you, a friend of mine got accepted this year. And she told me she applied for 50% fin aid but no aid was given though.
Yes, for international students this starts in fall of 2017.
@Ranza123 Thank you very much for your reply, mate! Have a good day! Cheers x
@Ranza123 would you mind to give me your friend’s contact that received fin aid from hotel school? Many thanks.