<p>How was your Caltech financial aid package compared with other schools? Caltech estimated our family’s resources to be $5000-$10,000 more than all other schools did. The shockingly low financial aid offer makes Caltech unaffordable.</p>
<p>Eek. That’s unusual. If you call financial aid and tell them this (including the other schools’ offers) they will likely be able to do something to adjust the number to be more realistic. Have you tried this?</p>
<p>I emailed the financial aid office and asked them to take a second look. I explained that Caltech’s package was by far the lowest and I offered to fax supporting documents. While they did not ask to see other schools’ offers, they did review the aid application. They called and offered additional loans, which unfortunately will not help enough to make a difference. The grant component was unusually low.</p>