<p>OP, you need to talk to the financial aid officer, actually set up a telephone appointment so that the person and you can go over the numbers in a last ditch effort to see if this can be resolved. If this is a new and unusual situation, there may be a chance that they will look at things differently. If there is precedent as to how they treat this situation regarding business owners, you are likely out of luck. That’s the bottom line. The rationale is not important but whether or not they will move from it and come up with the money needed for the OP’s student to go there. A lot of things make no sense, are not consistent and are not fair in how financial aid is defined and distributed. The only thing that matters at this time is whether the school can work out the numbers fro this particular student and family.</p>