Advice for negotiating financial aid (please)

Paying for College
1

The only thing I’ve been more nervous about than college decisions is financial aid. I was wondering if anyone could share some insight in how to approach it and talk about it. The only thing I’ve really heard is that I, as the student, should be doing the talking so to speak (or perhaps literally… it’s a little early so my mind isn’t all here LOL). General advice would be appreciated. Additionally, there are some extenuated circumstances that I know were listed in such space but may or may not have been considered, such as:
-Debt
-My brother is also in college (although on academic probation so he is at CC instead of a much pricier institution–for now) (I don’t know if this would be a red flag to bring up)
-Unpaid mortgage + very, very high local taxes (I imagine the response to this is “then your family shouldn’t live there,” but I figured I’d list it. We are far from having the biggest and nicest house, but yeah)
-Family income fluctuated from year to year a solid bit. The 2015-2016 income, used for FAFSA, happens to be a “good year” although 2016-2017 was a bit lower.
-My parents are on the older side of things. My mom is in her mid 50s and my dad is still working and will turn 70 next year. (However, retirement is tricky because they work at a business they own)

Also, should negotiations be done on the phone or in person (if the option exists)?

Thank you in advance for any help.

2

All these things you mention are factors, but they’ve already been considered. You will likely be answered with “the aid package is final”. Only if your situation has changed since the FA apps were submitted would there be much chance of being adjusted (like parent losing their job in the last month).

We’ve never had a school bump up the need-based aid. Some haave adjusted the merit aid, but not need-based. They usually have very set formulas that they must follow.

Don’t be afraid to have your parents talk with the schools about money things. Especially if you’re having a follow-up conversations. Schools don’t expect students to be experts about the family finances.

3

I agree it is fine for parents to talk to financial aid about paying for school. This isn’t the same as a helicopter parent lobbying admissions.

Was your package a big surprise compared to the Net Price Calculator? If so, do call and ask questions about how they came up with the new number.

Did you do due diligence on the school? Check the Money Matters tab on collegedata.com for an idea of typical percent of need met and average merit awards and what percent of kids get them. Your award, inadequate as it may be, may already be better than the school average.

Most of what you mentioned either already has been considered (parent age) or doesn’t count towards more aid (debt, property tax, etc)

If it is a FAFSA-only school (which unlike Profile only asks for one year of data), and they meet full need, and they are willing to do an evaluation for professional judgment, and the income swings have been fairly large, you may have a chance for an adjustment based on lower expected income.

If you have a merit award, you can ask about how it might be increased: for example if your GPA went up or if you happen to have won some more awards.

4

<<<
-My parents are on the older side of things. My mom is in her mid 50s and my dad is still working and will turn 70 next year. (However, retirement is tricky because they work at a business they own)


[QUOTE=""]

[/QUOTE]

This will likely be your bigger issue. From your posting history it appears that you’ve applied to a few CSS Profile schools and they will likely add back in some of your family’s deductions, plus include a value for the business.

5

Most (all?) schools have a review/appeal process. If your award does not work for you, be prepared to use it. I have to disagree with @lz57c4: the numbers may have been looked at, but the school may not have factored in such things as father’s age, reduced income on retirement, etc., or might not have considered some factors unique to your family that you could try to emphasize. You have nothing to lose by asking for further review of an award.

6

^^^ you have nothing to lose. that’s right. but i wouldn’t expect anything to change.

7

@mom2collegekids 9/10 schools I applied to required the CSS. But can you clarify what you mean by my bigger issue? (Meaning the most or least grounds I’ll have to appeal?)

8

Your bigger issue is that your family owns a business. Many colleges add back IRS allowable deductions into income for business owners. In other words…the IRS allows certain deductions to be taken, but schools do not allow these for financial aid,determination purposes. The Profile schools all deal this differently.

With regard to your large mortgage and taxes, really, that won’t matter to the school. That is a consumer choice. Consumer debt is not considered by colleges in their financial aid formulas.

The FAFSA already considered your older parent…this would the amount of protected assets for FAFSA calculation purposes. Profile,schools do not have this asset protection…at all.

Your brother being in college was already considered…assuming you listed that there would,be two on college on both your FAFSA and Profile.

You say your 2015 income (it’s 2015 that was used for the 2017-2018 school year, not 2015-2016) was lower. How MUCH lower?

Also, what IS your family income…because it may already be above the threshold for awarding need based aid at these schools?

Do the schools guarantee to meet full need for all?

How much more aid do,you need? $2000 or $20,000. Big difference.

And remember…if you are doing this song and dance this year, you sound like you will need to do it every year you are in college. You might get more money for the upcoming school year, but there is NO guarantee that will get it innsubsequent years.

To be honest, I don’t see anything that would warrant a special circumstances consideration…but I’m not a financial aid officer…so go ahead and ask.

I’m a little confused. Are you saying NONE of your acceptances are affordable? None?

How many financial aid appeals do you plan to do?

9

@thumper1 So far, I only have two acceptances and two offers. One state school which covers tuitions and fees leaving an EFC of ~20,000. The other is a schools that costs about 65,000 in all but leaves my family needing to pay 37,000 a year. However, I’m considered slightly “desireable” for this school so I’m hoping they’ll be willing to give a bit more financial aid. Our family income is around/a little below 150k a year, but largely for my father. I’m very much a novice in regards to financial discussions so I was hoping for some starting points ^^ thank you for your input.

Also, all schools I applied to guaranteed to meet full need. This thread was partly preemptive.

10

Colleges meet full need based on their definition of need. If they think your family can pay $37k/year, then your need at a $65k/year school would be $28k. It doesn’t really matter what the EFC at the state school is.

11

They meet full need for ALL accepted students?

If so, you are already seeing the variation in net costs to your family.

Some schools that meet full need have deeper pockets for need based aid…but really…this has nothing to do,with your “desirability” rating at a school. It’s based on family finances.

12

What is your actual college budget? You likely can’t talk a “need aid only” school down 17,000 to match the state school when you have 150,000 of income.

13

Just in case OP is not aware, thread was mentioned in a Washington Post article:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/obsessed-about-college-admissions-this-site-is-too/2017/03/29/a34d5f92-13da-11e7-833c-503e1f6394c9_story.html?utm_term=.5d80786e3a85

14

@notigering LOL thanks for telling me