Financial Aid Overview Video Transcript

Cornell offers financial aid on the basis of demonstrated financial need. The amount of financial aid awarded is based on the basic equation: 

The Cost of Attendance minus the Family Contribution equals your Financial Need.

The Cost of Attendance is an estimate of what it will cost a student to attend Cornell for one academic year. This amount includes tuition, the student activity fee, a double room on campus, the Bear Traditional meal plan, books, and personal expenses.

The Family Contribution has two components: the Parent Contribution and the Student Contribution. 

•	The Parent Contribution is what we calculate the parents can pay, based on their income and assets.
o	Cornell is committed to eliminating the parent contribution for those families with a total annual income of less than $60,000 and assets valued less than $100,000. 
•	The Student Contribution is a standard amount that we expect a student to earn over the summer to be used toward their academic year expenses. This amount is based on the student’s year in college and will increase every year.

Cornell fully meets your financial need through a combination of work, loans, and grants.

•	Students are expected to work approximately 9-12 hours per week 
•	We believe that student loan debt should be manageable and award loan based on the parents’ total family income. 
•	After work and loan amounts have been added, we award federal and state grants that the student is eligible to receive, and the remaining need amount is met with Cornell Grant funds. 

Finally, we want you to choose Cornell based on fit, not on finances, so we will strive to match the family contribution components and lower loan levels of financial aid offers from other Ivy schools, as well as need-based offers from Stanford, MIT, and Duke.

Please visit our website for additional information, and contact our office if you have any questions.