<p>Next year there will be three members of my family in college, so my EFC was divided by three. My financial aid rewards reflected this and were very generous. I was curious as to how my award would be affected when my twin brothers graduate in 2011 so I e-mailed my top choice FA office and asked them. They were nice enough to give me an estimate, and I told this information to my parents. My parents are angry at me now, because one of my siblings may have to complete a fifth year anyway and the other will probably go to grad school straight out of undergrad. They believe that the 'estimate' (really, all they did was multiply my current EFC by 3 - if I was savvy about the FA process, I would've done it too) I received is set in stone and I WILL receive that amount. If I tell them otherwise, I will be accused of lying. I disagree and told them that they only gave me an estimate and FA offices realize that circumstances can change at any point in time.
Who's right? Now my parents don't want me to matriculate at my first choice school anymore, and I'm trying to convince them otherwise.</p>
<p>Financial aid offices realize that situations are always changing. They won’t remember what you said, nor would they hold you to it if they did. You are asked each year to give information based on what is true at that time … what you talk about today as a what-if is not set in stone.</p>