My friend recently applied and was accepted to a top liberal arts school on the East Coast. She received all of her financial aid in grant money, and in the end, she and her family would have to pay an estimated financial contribution of X. In late April. she committed to the school, but on May 2nd she was notified that the financial aid department had just raised her estimated contribution on FAFSA by $5000 per year. Now, she’s worried about whether or not she will actually be able to afford an extra $20,000 for this school, and is thinking that she may have chosen a different school had she known about this additional cost. There was no reason given for the additional cost in the email.
Can colleges actually raise the amount you’re supposed to pay out of pocket AFTER the commitment deadline?
Thanks!
Was there anything incorrect on her FAFSA? I can’t see them making an arbitrary change but wonder if there was something they discovered that impacted their decision.
@123Mom456 Nothing was incorrect according to her, and nothing changed with their financial situation. She wasn’t notified about anything being changed with her other schools either. My friend says that it was manually changed by a financial aid administrator from the school if that adds to anything.
The FAFSA number is estimated contribution for consideration of federal loans and grants. Each school will do their own calculation of what school aid they will offer, including merit and need based grants. What was name on the line item that was reduced? Is she offered the max Direct subsidized and unsubsidized student loans? She and her family will need call the financial aid department to find out why the change was made.
If I were her, I’d be making two phone calls - one to the financial aid office of the school she chose to get an exact reason for the change in her aid, and one to the second choice school to see if she can still accept her admission there. If there is a legitimate reason for the school to change her aid (such as an error on her financial aid forms that they just caught), I’d think long and hard about whether she can afford the extra money. If they just changed their minds, there is no way I’d go to that school, because who knows what mind changes they might have in subsequent years. You have to be able to afford the school for 4 years, and it’s hard to know if you will be able to if the school makes random changes to FA. I’d be surprised if a top school was monkeying with financial aid for no good reason, though.
Just because they changed the FAFSA (or EFC) doesn’t mean they will necessarily change the financial aid that they offered. The EFC is only one tools that the schools use to determine need. Unless they felt like something was misrepresented (or a fraud was committed), I can’t see them changing their aid package after the fact. The best thing would be her her to call and ask why the change was made.
Did she receive an outside scholarship? They are reported and usually the school will decrease their aid accordingly.
Was just the FAFSA changed or did the school change their aid? Like post #4 suggested, calling the school is the first thing to do - no one in CC can help!
moderator’s note
Please do not post for friends. They are welcomed to come to CC and start their own thread where they can adequately explain their situation