<p>My daughter reported that a friend of a friend got into an Ivy last year but the financial aid wasn't good at all. The parents talked to the college, mentioning other packages from lower tier schools, and the IVY reportedly raised the aid A LOT. Does this kind of thing really happen?</p>
<p>It is entirely possible for a need-based package to be adjusted after the financial aid office is made aware of issues with the paperwork. So yes, a no-good package can be corrected.</p>
<p>In the case of a recruited athlete or a student with some special attraction for the institution, some Ivy institutions have been known to find a bit more financial need than they noticed originally the first time through, and consequently adjust the aid package upward.</p>
<p>But it is also important to remember that the Ivies are not a monolithic group, and they are only a small handful among the long list of top-notch institutions in the country. “Lower tier” does not necessarily mean “lower tier”. A statement along the line of “Stanford, U of Chicago, Wellesley, and Swarthmore all found much more need than you did. So what gives, Dartmouth?” just might result in a reconsideration of a need-based package.</p>
<p>It does and there are many threads on CC about how it has been done. But remember nothing is guaranteed. Also it could have been possible that the financial aid paperwork was filled out wrong. I can’t tell how many times I have heard people put down the value of their primary residence on the FAFSA when it is not needed. Unfortunetly the financial aid office does not care if you make a mistake like this.</p>
<p>Hoping the two threads can be merged. </p>
<p>Ivies do not give athletic scholarships.</p>
<p>Usually schools will compare financial aid offers amongst peer schools only. My guess is the friend of the friend had an offer from a peer school, not a much lower ranked school.</p>
<p>I doubt it was a paper work error since the paper work is the same (FAFSA, CSS) for all the schools. I’m really surprised that IVYs would increase their aid to match other schools.</p>
<p>Not sure how we got double threads. Sorry everyone.</p>
<p>Milkweed, don’t believe everything you hear. There is likely more to the story.</p>