What is wrong with IU's Financial Aid?

phuriku
Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:47:31 +0000

My sister applied and got into IU this year. We both live together with our mom (in-state), who makes under $50k annually and is in the process of paying off our house. Our EFC is under $5k. Despite the fact that the state determined that we had so little money to pay for our education that they gave us Pell Grants, IU has decided to give us $0 in aid. Our total costs, after all that the government has given us, is about $12k/year. This is in addition to the fact that I, her brother, am also attending school at UChicago and paying $19k/year. How the hell does IU expect us to pay $12k+$19k = $31k/year when our expected financial contribution is under $5k, even under in-state tuition? Moreover, wouldn’t this approach illegality by state standards? I know that IU is under no obligation to pay our entire EFC, but to pay none of it is absolutely ridiculous.