Daniel Barkowitz | April 13, 2009

"Getting ready for CPW"

Hello everyone. It's time to get psyched for the arrival of CPW, MIT's extremely amazing, immersive, and entertaining exhibition of all things which encompass the experience of enrolling at (e)MIT - [did you appreciate all of the assonance?].

I thought I would spend a little time here highlighting what you should expect from Financial Aid and Student Financial Services during CPW since we will be there to assist you throughout the event.

First, though, a quick financial aid update.

At present we have produced financial aid awards for 1012 admitted students. We are still missing complete application files from another 240 of you. We are currently working on 68 applications for students who completed their application folders in the last few days.

If you are one of those people who just completed your financial aid application, you should be receiving a copy of your financial aid award inside your CPW registration packet when you check in. If you've brought your parents with you, don't wander off with the letter in your hands without sharing it with them (I saw this happen to many families last year).

There will be a financial aid registration table at the CPW headquarters so that families can schedule financial aid appointments (which will take place in Student Financial Services at 11-320) or meet on the spot with a financial aid counselor on duty. Our goal is to make sure that anyone who wants to meet with a financial aid counselor to discuss their financial aid award or to ask questions about next steps has that opportunity.

Note that there is no requirement to have a financial aid appointment. If you are just turning in a form, or simply wish to check to see if we have received something in the mail, this can be done at the Financial Aid registration table without relying on an appointmnet. But if you need to meet with a financial aid counselor, we will be scheduling 20 minute meetings with individual families throughout the day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

If your question is of a more general nature (or you simply want to hear the amazing MIT acapella group Techiya), come to my Financial Aid and Student Financial Services Session for Parents. Don't be put off by the fact that it says "for parents" -- students are welcome too!

If you need to meet with a counselor because you wish to appeal your financial aid award, you should expect that you will need to gather some information after your meeting and either email or fax us this information after your meeting at CPW. We are generally not able to provide an answer to an appeal on the spot as our process includes a review by the Financial Aid Committee to ensure equitable treatment. Due to the short turnaround time between CPW and May 1, though, it is important that you provide us any information we request as soon as possible so that we may respond to you in time to make your decision.

If you have not provided us a copy of your 2008 tax return, please note that CPW begins the day after the IRS tax deadline. As such, you may be tempted to bring your tax return with you. While you are welcome to provide a copy directly to us, please note that this does not absolve you of the need to send another copy off to the College Board's IDOC service.

I'm sure I missed something here, but feel free to post a comment and I will try to respond (in between phone calls, emails, and getting the campus ready for the biggest party of your life!).

Happy CPW!

Responses To This Entry:

Posted by: R11 on April 14, 2009 12:43 PM

Posted by: Vinay on April 14, 2009 09:54 PM

Posted by: comboy on April 15, 2009 02:38 PM

Posted by: Bojan Joveski on April 17, 2009 10:27 AM