appealing for more financial aid

We were excited to receive the news yesterday that our son was accepted to a leading day school in our area. However, the financial aid that we received is lower than what we were hoping or expecting. So, even with the financial aid, our son’s enrollment in this school would present almost unsustainable financial burden for our family. Before contacting fin aid office, I just want to see if anyone has successfully appealed for greater financial aid. I would appreciate hearing your story and receiving any tips or suggestions for an appeal.

In particular, I am curious to know to what extent expenses are considered in determining financial aid. My impression is that mostly our income seemed to have been considered, although the financial aid application asked for all the expenditures in great detail. Due to mostly music-related costs for two kids, our current educational expenditure is rather significant, esp at our income level. As much as we are willing to sacrifice to send our son to this school, we would like to be able to continue to support their musical and math pursuits if at all possible.

Thank you very much for your input in advance!