Son has quite a few acceptances to very good schools, most of which are turning out to be financial reaches for us. EFC of 41k. PA resident, high stats, math major. We have three top contenders (West Chester U, Pitt, and Binghamton U - he got a top OOS scholarship) right now that are our lowest cost options, and I don’t expect that to change unless he applies to more schools - the acceptances we’re waiting on include RPI, Stevens, UMass Amherst, Case Western.
Our financial and family circumstances have evolved pretty dramatically in the last year. We are a single-income family – I am a full-time student (will have my nursing degree in 2024), our younger child (15) developed a chronic health condition in 2022, recently got an autism diagnosis and has high needs, out-of-pocket healthcare costs, and a changeable situation (he may require a private alternative school to finish high school – more tuition!). And my elderly father just moved in with us last month and it’s become apparent that his care needs are going to be challenging for us to meet on our own. He has no financial resources beyond social security. We are working to figure out how to maximize the resources available to us for his care. This all feels like an avalanche.
We got our first financial aid offer (from RIT) and as predicted, we do not qualify for much. Son got a very nice Presidential Scholarship as merit, but besides the $5500 in loans he can get, he got work study worth $3400, putting COA at 45-50k. We expect similar financial aid offers from the other private schools, and I’m guessing nothing from the publics.
This is our first rodeo. My husband doesn’t think our circumstances will hold much weight with financial aid, but I’m willing to do whatever is necessary if there’s a chance we can bring our costs down some more. I’m open to advice from anyone’s who has read this far 
(We have had the community college convo multiple times…kid is desperate to get away from this now-crowded home and not go to community college
with his mother, lol. So we are trying to create a solution that works for all of us.)
Editing to add: RIT is not necessarily a first choice, but of the schools that son is keen on, the cost is likely similar (ie, above budget for us). Looking to get to 25-30K.
At many schools, the circumstances that you described (high medical costs, high costs for a sibling with special medical or educational needs, and caring for another relative) are ones that are taken into account for an appeal/professional judgment review. Your son’s college’s financial aid website may have the forms, or you can call the financial aid office and ask what their process is.
Edited to add – this is school dependent, so you have to ask.
I’m sorry for the extra demands on your finances, and in your lives. Hugs to you.
Are Pitt, Bing, and West Chester in this range? I don’t know whether any of these schools will give more $ based on changing financial circumstances, but you (your S) can ask. Does he have any more PA public decisions to come at schools that may hit your range? Does this range include the $5500 student loan?
I agree that some of the privates may be more likely to give some more $ based on your changing circumstances.
Many schools will have a form on their FA website, called “Change in circumstances” or something like that. You can fill that out, but need to be extremely specific in the extra cash outlay…how much in medical costs per year for your autistic son, how much for caregiving costs for your dad, etc.
Are any of the NPCs of the schools your S applied to in financial range?
If your son is high-stats, has he looked at schools with automatic merit, such as University of Arizona, University of New Mexico? Another option is University of Utah, which is easy to get in-state tuition for after the first year if the student commits to spending most of the year in Utah. I know that in the past, at least Arizona has a very late application deadline, so it is likely not too late.
Also, you should have him check out McGill University in Montreal. They love high-stats kids, have a great international reputation, have a Jan 15 deadline, no essays, and are much less expensive than US colleges.
They have different tuitions for different degrees. It looks like math is in the Faculty of Arts and Science, which is one of the less-expensive ones Mathematics (Bachelor of Arts and Science) | Undergraduate Admissions - McGill University as well as in the Faculty of Science Mathematics (Faculty of Science) | Undergraduate Admissions - McGill University (which is more expensive).
Here is a link to McGill’s tuition structure. Note that this is Canadian dollars, so even less with the current exchange rate. Room and board is separate, but I have heard that after the first year many students move to apartments and cook for themselves, which can be a big cost savings. Plus students can graduate in 3 years if they have sufficient AP credit, so that is also a cost savings. | Student Accounts - McGill University
Thank you so much.
WCU, Pitt, and Bing put us from 28-32k (we’re hoping son gets a smidge of merit from Pitt).
None of the other schools were this low via the NPC, but at the same time, when we started this process, caring for my dad was not an immediate factor. We expected to have to be involved down the road, but life came at us pretty suddenly on that one (as it does).
I will track down the forms and see what’s what. My son also needs to adjust his expectations (he’s of the opinion that he’ll just take on 150k in debt and pay it off with his high paying math job 
. My husband is debt-averse so these have been interesting conversations…
I don’t expect much, tbh, but it never hurts to ask!
Thank you for this. I will look into all. I had suggested McGill to him a while back and he said he wasn’t interested (I couldn’t tell you why – college in Montreal sounds amazing to me!)
You could ask for a special circumstances consideration at these colleges. This is done when there are extenuating circumstances like what you describe. Each college has its own policies regarding what documentation they need and when they do these reviews. In addition, these are handled on a case by case basis, and there is no guarantee additional aid will happen, but it is sure worth trying.
The college financial aid departments get these requests, and now they must consider them. Please reach out to the departments at the schools. Find out what you need to do and when.
You’re welcome!
I just sent you a Direct Message. Look at the upper right in your screen (by your avatar) and you will see a highlighted “1”.
You are overwhelmed! I’m just going to address your elderly parent.
There should be an “elder care” resource facility in your county.
The services are free since they are typically funded by the county or state to disseminate information. Once you set up, register, or sign up grandpa with them, you can find out what services he’s eligible for. This might include a social worker, private health home care worker, day activity center, free transportation for medical appointments, physical and occupational therapists, legal aid, etc.
These services are typically free, especially if grandpa only has Social Security. Initially, it’s a little bit of paperwork, but once he’s in the system, he’ll be running his transportation and his own appointments. I referred a lot of patients to the elder care services in my county, and the patients, as well as the families, were really grateful for the resource.
Elder care tries to encourage as much independence as possible, but initially, you’ll have to help him out with the “paperwork” since everything tends to be on the computer.
I know this isnt a priority at the moment, and it’ll be a lot of work on you, so take it a step at a time once your child’s issues with funding are resolved. I’ve personally liked the SUNY system. I think that the schools in that system are very underrated but they are good schools. My daughter attended SUNY Buffalo from San Diego. She returned to San Diego as an electrical engineer/computer science engineer and did not have any issues finding employment and rising through the ranks to become a manager.
Good Luck!
sending you a private message
Thank you so much for your comments. I am actually on hold with my county agency on aging as I type this! 
Fingers crossed!
And I too like the SUNY system. I went to school in central NY (SU) and have a fondness for NY state. I think Bing looks like it could be a very good fit though I know my kid would prefer access to a city (we can’t always get what we want!)
If you want to pursue a special circumstances review, each school will have relevant information on its website. For RIT: Financial Aid FAQs | RIT (under the heading My financial situation has changed since filing the FAFSA. What should I do?).
If it helps, I was told that once you get off campus at Binghamton, housing and meals are reduced by 50%. This could help a lot since R&B is close to $18k right now. Also, there are free buses to and from so no need for a car. Hope this helps. My daughter was just accepted and this is a huge factor in planning for my 3 kids to be in college at the same time.
This does help, actually! Thank you!
My daughter also is accepted to Binghamton. There was an issue with our FAFSA. I went to the Bing financial aid website and they have an option to make a zoom appointment. I was able to get an appt within a day or two, spoke to a counselor one-on-one, and got my answers from someone really knowledgeable. I was so impressed at how customer friendly they are compared to other schools financial aid departments (one school kept me on hold for 45 mins and then the guy who picked up wasn’t even helpful). Good luck! Calendly - Binghamton University Financial Aid