This their game, by their rules, in their context. Yes, if you resent, it may be time to get off that bus.
That’s hard to hear. But we all want what’s “best” for our kids. And we learn that “you can;t always get what you want.” Many schools, btw, are as generous to ED/EA admits as to RD. With their myriad institutional needs, and the notion “meet full need” schools will do just that (altho, yes, per their own formulas and expectations,) no one can assert with certainty that Early is a rich family’s playground.
So go ahead and play with numbers, run the NPC with various inputs, etc. But I strongly suspect that, if questioned, you say, “Well, IRS allows this” or, “Some blog says that,” the FAOs will go ahead and make their adjustments. They are allowed to.