i’m a fall 2024 ILR TO student at my state school currently, and for context, i come from an abusive and conservative/religious household where higher ed isn’t valued as much so my parents are vehemently against me going out of state for college. i’m basically set to transfer next year but it’s been difficult to do it discreetly since my parents are against me holding down a job because they say they already financially provide for me—though i’ve been applying anyways since i want to avoid taking out loans. is it possible for me to receive more aid/fws if i explain my situation? for reference, my fafsa efc last year was very low.

going to cornell is my lifeline and is pretty much my only shot at getting out. any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I was recently admitted to Cornell as an Early Decision applicant, but cannot afford the price tag. The current financial estimate they are asking for is around 70k a year (this is the price after 20k of "demonstrated need" aid they offered me). When I was initially doing research for the institution, the financial aid calculator only quoted about a 40k yearly cost of attendance. The current estimated price is a financial impossibility.

I have looked into:

• Living with family friends in Ithaca

• Getting a job

• Appealing my financial aid estimate

What are my best options, and what should I know about each option? Will I not be able to attend my dream school?

Not to be dramatic, but I need to get 2k more in grant aid in order for it to be feasible for me to stay here. I am on the brink of dropping out, and holding off paying my bill until I can work something out. If not, I will leave. When I came here, I expected something close to a full ride. The original offer was ok, but the Student Health Plan added on 2k per sem. and made things much more razor thin for us

I am unsure whether this is a feasible goal, considering how I've had ptsd from the finaid departments at other schools. UMD flat out refused to tell me what I'd be paying until September (14k per sem, which is about half what it costs here). We had to submit old IRS forms which did not mention that my dad was deceased, and they refused to consider him dead even after I emailed them the death certificate. Thankfully Cornell was much more considerate, though I have yet to meet directly with the finaid dept.

I'm worried they'll pull the same shit UMD did and tell me to take out loans or go to work more to pay for college instead of giving me grants to make things easier for us. I get the full pell grant, my EFC is 0, but due to assets (the other thing we did besides the FAFSA) they expected us to pay 7k per sem. which was fine by my mom but still made me anxious. However this semester's bill is closer to 10k, and it makes me paralyzed in worry

Deep in my mind I have a feeling that I don't deserve to be here. My stats were generally low in HS, and with how dependent I am on finaid it makes it hard to see me continue to be among the actual 1% who pay full sticker price to be here. I feel that if I drop out, my spot would go to some other kid that can give the uni more money. Its just the free market, or so I think the finaid dept will explain it to me

Does anyone here have experience working with the finaid dept? How considerate are they?

I got into Cornell but now they’re asking for more than half of what my parents make a year. What should I do when I contact their financial aid office to cut it down?

Hi, I was recently accepted to Cornell CAS through the early decision process. However, despite having filled out the FAFSA and CSS form by 11/21 (the deadline), I haven't heard back from Cornell regarding my financial aid offer. Should I email the office of financial aid? Thanks so much!

Hello r/cornell, it's October 23 and and ED application is due in 8 days. My parents just came up and informed me that the financial aid package we would be receiving according to the financial aid calculator on the Cornell website is inadequate and that I should seek to apply early elsewhere. My family is not bloated rich but we're fairly well off with a yearly income of 120k to 140k. My dad said the package would only give us 10k in aid and it would put an enormous strain on the family. Is this accurate? Is there anything I can do since I really really really want to go to Cornell? For additional information about me, I plan on applying to COE and have a 4.46 GPA, 7 AP's plus 4 I'm taking currently, SAT 2200, and strong EC with leaderships. Would strong academics earn me grants etc?

EDIT: I have decided to apply ED and my parents decided to support my decision. Thank you for all your responses!

Hello, r/cornell

I am currently attending a school that I like. I'm a rising sophomore, and I realized (thankfully before it's too late) that I am taking too much out in loans for an engineering degree, even for a school with a good name. The school I attend is known to barely give any financial aid.

I've looked up the average financial aid for Cornell students and was shocked. I still think it is too good to be true. I'm a NY resident and my financial situation would almost definitely qualify me for a considerably large grant, if I am not being fooled.

NY residents pay less tuition, which is $50,000 without aid. That is $15,000 more than my school's yearly cost including housing, but if I get a grant that is at least of the average amount awarded or even less, I will be much better off than I am now.

I understand that Cornell is hard to get in to, but my main question is, is it really that easy to get a great need-based financial aid grant? Perhaps some students on this subreddit received or know people who received a handsome grant from the University. Is it common?

Thank you very much, responses are greatly appprciated.

E

Is Cornell really the least generous Ivy League for international students? I have heard that there are literally no international students with full-ride: each enrolled pays some amount (minimum of 5-15k EFC and 2.5k each semester by work). Is it true? How much financial aid can I get if I am a low-income international student with good honors, extracurriculars, SAT and perfect GPA. I know it is kinda hard to answer, but I would be glad to receive any response. Please, reach out. Thanks!

Hi I’ve recently been admitted and I’m super stoked as a first gen student. Except for the fact I need to come up with 12k for my freshmen year.

Basically my mom makes just around 45k and so when I applied I thought I would be good with the commitment to no loans and no efc when under 75k. Every aid calculator was coming out as so. So I went through the process and since I added my father (who is not active in my life though I call him once a month yearning to maintain a relationship with him and has never paid child support or financially contributed to my life) to my QuestBridge schools and explained my situation of him having his own family with three dependents not being financially in my life although he makes about 80k a year, I thought I was all good and dandy. Otherwise I would’ve never been a finalist for QuestBridge.

However, I’ve now been accepted to Cornell and it turns out it wasn’t as dandy as I thought. He is now a heavy factor in my aid and idk how to move forward. I’ve spoken with my counselor and she basically said he was willing to make the CSS profile which means he’s active enough in my life that now I can’t just try and “cheat” the system. I can’t tell if her comment/advice is legit as she has been quite useless in the past so I come here.

I’ve looked into financial aid appeals and idk what approach to go with documentation. I wanted to try and get the stuff for a CSS profile non custodial parent waiver but I feel my having tried to maintain a relationship will make it so I can’t do so as he’s enough in my life and my counselor isn’t going to write the statement. I also don’t wanna send in an appeal to get rejected weeks later bc I don’t have sufficient documentation.

Anyone gone through something similar and have any advice? Or is this a stick it out, take out loans and hope for the best with scholarships situation?

I just got my preliminary offer for this year and my EFC has increased by almost 80% since last year (I’m a rising junior).

We’re middle income and my sibling is no longer in school, so the aid office said that was the reason for the change, but the income freed up from him graduating is nowhere near what they’re asking for. Has anyone else been in a similar situation/had this happen? They’re asking for an additional $10,000 that my family simply doesn’t have.

We are working on an appeal but don’t really have any extenuating circumstances other than that we just can’t afford it… I’m afraid they’ll reject the appeal and my parents will have to take out a second mortgage or something to pay for my education.

Any advice is appreciated… I’m really freaked out about this. My mom is talking about me transferring to my state flagship school after I’ve already been here 2 years.

Hey, does anyone know if getting a request for updated financial aid information is a good sign of admission for Cornell? Apparently my document was not signed so we had to resubmit, but would they have known that if they were not compiling a financial aid package or at the very least considering offering me one? This had to be observed by a human, as it was on a random page inside the document. Any information is appreciated!

i am a prospective student still deciding between jhu, swarthmore, and cornell for engineering. the obvious choice to most would be cornell however i am heavily dependent on financial aid/any opportunities low income or first gen students are offered.

swarthmore has a "cash free" policy where everything is included in their tuition and they meet 100% need-based. similarly to jhu, they have a reimbursement system for students reliant on fa.

i have been browsing this sub almost religiously reading both the worst and the most fulfilling aspects of cornell. i have seen less than good things on cornells fa office, often delaying packages or being of little help. as well as the costs such as gym and laundry that cornell nickel and dimes students.

ik i will receive a very generous package from all the schools (all are delayed) since i have a single parent income of ~20k. but helping out with costs will be a constant limitation in the back of my head.

any advice or experiences as a low income student at cornell would be greatly appreciated! i am a prospective cheme major which is not necessarily my passion but smt that will give the stability i strive for. i know the rigor of coe but what would be the odds of me able to work a part time job on the side to help out.

tldr: poor, very poor. other schools from face value give more money/help out more. in that aspect what is cornell like? how have others survived through the academic environment along with worrying about sending money back home?

okay so i got into cornell but i have the very very real problem that my estimated cost of attendance is $51k for a year? loooool what. but also my non-custodial parent apparently didn't send in their bus. tax return (whatever that means), their tax return, and their IRS tax schedule (not sure if that would affect the amount of financial aid in any way, shape, or form). i mean he'll submit it soon enough but what do i do gang

not super rich or anything btw, but im around middle class so?

I had submitted my Cornell Application 3 days back as well as the CSS about a month back. I can access my Cornell applicant portal, but when I try to login using the same credentials to access the Financial Aid Status Page, it says "Invalid User ID/Password". Is someone else facing a similar issue?

Ok so if anyone is curious about the lack of professionalism and competence in the financial aid office I definitely have a story. This was me yesterday (https://www.reddit.com/r/Cornell/comments/qh66we/financial_aid_office_on_crack/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf).

Today I walk in and I want a hit of whatever these people are smoking because they are outttt of it. I explain to this girl “hey, i dont have $20,000 to give you each semester it’s just me and my mom 🤷🏻‍♂️”. She then replies:

“Have you thought about taking out loans?” I reply, A) they are predatory, have high interest rates, and I dont have a cosigner or completed fin aid so I wouldn’t know how much to take out or be able to…?

She is kinda flabbergasted I wouldnt let her sell me loans… I had to ask her:

“Even if I did have financial support from my non-custodial parent does it make sense that a middle class family that makes $120k should be forced to give up over 1/3 of their yearly income to a school that has billions it refuses to use to help students?” And she kinda stuttered and said… like… yeah wow… math 😃

She then says

“Sorry but financial aid doesn’t cover students who’s parents refuse to support them…”. 👁👄👁 is that not… the point? Of financial aid… to aid people financially when they dont have another option?

Finally I get her to offer up the non custodial parent waiver form that she would not tell me the requirements to qualify for… come to find out you basically can only waive them if they physically beat you, and you have a police report to back it up….

I’ve been financially independent since i was 17, now I support my mom and sister. Im not asking for free tuition but like $20,000 a semester is impossible for a 21 year old even with three jobs while at Cornell. Thank you for all the advice in my last post btw just needed to vent.