I am one of the RD admits, and I’m completely baffled by Cornell’s Financial Aid policies. Their FA package ended up being about $10,000 less in grants than their Net Price Calculator predicted. When I called in to ask, they said it was because they added our pension saving deductions back into our AGI because it was money “we were choosing to put aside.” I am so confused by this practice, as my dad can’t even access his pension until >10 years from now when he retires. Is there anything I can do to appeal for better aid. I love Cornell and would be thrilled to attend, but I will not be able to at the price they offered.
Many schools do this since your dad can choose not to contribute to his pension (if there is a reason completely beyond his control why he must contribute such as related to his employment contract bring it to their attention but I have never heard of such a thing.)
If he had chosen not to contribute then that would have been additional taxable income.
Have you gotten better offers from other peer schools that you can ask them to match?
Do you have additional expenses such as medical bills, care for a disabled family member that you may not have mentioned previously?
You can always call and ask if there is anything they can do.
I would repost your question on the financial aid forum.