MYTHS ABOUT FINANCIAL AID

“It doesn’t pay to save. Families who save will receive less
financial aid than those who did not save. In the end you are punishing
me for saving.”

The financial aid formula is primarily
income driven; while assets are taken into consideration, their impact
on the parent contribution is relatively small. If your family has
saved, then you have made sacrifices on the front end and will have
more options when it comes to how you will pay for college. Families
who have not saved may have a somewhat smaller parent contribution but
may not be able to pay all or part of the parent contribution with
savings and as a result may need to borrow a portion of it.

“Will I receive the same amount of financial aid for all four years or is this a one-time only deal?”

At Columbia we are committed to meeting the full demonstrated need of
all admitted applicants and we continue to meet 100% of that need for
all four years of study.

“I will receive less/more aid if I apply early decision versus regular decision.”

Columbia College and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and
Applied Science award need-based financial aid to all admitted
first-year students regardless of when they are admitted. The
decision-making process in financial aid is the same for both Early
Decision and Regular Decision. Some families may think that their
chances for financial aid may be better or worse when applying early,
or that they should not ask for financial aid in the Early Decision
process in fear that their chances of receiving an admission offer is
compromised. Please be assured that both Early and Regular Decision
processes are need-blind and that financial aid will meet 100% of your
demonstrated financial need.

“I can’t afford to go to Columbia.”

We do not want to the price of attending college deter you from
applying for admission. At Columbia we are able to offer over $55
million of financial aid to our students each year. We understand that
paying for college is a concern for most families, and as a result we
have worked hard to make it affordable for you to attend. For many
students, Columbia can be as affordable, if not more affordable, than a
state school education.

Our financial aid advisors will work with you and your
family throughout the financial aid process to ensure that we arrive at
a contribution that takes all of your circumstances into consideration.

“Middle income families don’t qualify for financial aid.”

The current Columbia students we were able to offer financial aid
awards to during the current academic year had family incomes that
ranged from $1 to over $150,000. The highest percentage of aid
recipients had family incomes in the range of $1 to $89,999, with
approximately 97% of those families receiving a financial aid package.

In addition, the median income for Columbia Grant recipients is ~$75,000. This means that half the families receiving CU Grant have incomes below $75,000 and half have yearly incomes above $75,000.

		For the 2006-2007 academic year Columbia has committed over $55 million of its resources for grant aid to undergraduate students
The Columbia campus is a residential one, where nearly all undergraduates live in University residence halls.

“There really are merit scholarships at Columbia but nobody talks about it.”

There are no merit scholarships at Columbia as all of our financial aid
is strictly need-based. While we hope you do well in your classes,
there is no GPA requirement attached to your Columbia University Grant.

The Columbia Undergraduate Scholars Program is a need-based
scholarship program which attaches the name of a specific named
scholarship fund to your Columbia University Grant. Receiving an award
is an honor given in recognition of your accomplishments and it does
not change the amount of Columbia University Grant in your financial
aid package. 

“On my admissions application I shouldn’t say that I’m applying for aid.”

If you are applying for financial aid you should indicate this on the
admission application as that starts a financial aid file which enables
the Office of Financial Aid & Educational Financing to begin
tracking your financial aid forms. Indicating on the admission
application that you are applying for financial aid does not impact the
admission decision whatsoever as Columbia is committed to our
need-blind policy.

Foreign Students: Columbia is
not need-blind for foreign students. However, if admitted and you
demonstrate financial need then Columbia will meet your full need
for all four years of study. If you plan on applying for financial aid
at anytime during your fours years at Columbia then we strongly
encourage you to do so at the time you apply for admission.

Transfer Students:
Columbia is need blind when admitted students. However, Columbia has a
limited financial aid budget for transfer students. As a result, we are
unable to meet the full need of all transfer admits. All complete
applications at the time of Admission will be considered for financial
aid.