<p>My topic doesn't really make sense because I didn't have room. Here's what I wanted to ask:</p>
<p>If you get into one of HYP, can you use their amazing financial aid packages to negotiate successfully with nearly any school?</p>
<p>Okay, so let's hypothetically assume that some adcoms accidentally put me in the wrong bin and I get into Harvard or Princeton (I actually like Yale, so I'm leaving it out of this scenario).
Can I use the financial aid I get from H or P and negotiate with colleges that I prefer but offer worse aid for my income level (kinda complicated, but let's say 180k)? I really like Middlebury, Williams, Penn, and Brown, but I don't even know if it's worth applying if I can't afford it (my parents are divorced and my dad won't pay, but we're not estranged).</p>
<p>You can always negotiate, and a competing offer is certainly a nice piece of evidence to support your appeal. That said, there is clearly nothing that obligates another college from changing their original award package, and the fact that a competing offer is from a HYP won’t change much. </p>
<p>My observation is that <em>if</em> competition is a consideration in ruling on aid appeals (it is some places, isn’t others), then it is much more compelling for the competing offer to be from a direct competitor. The reason is that we think we have a chance of landing you. Some colleges will say, “Congratulations on the HYP offer. You should take it.”</p>
<p>One thing for you and your dad to keep in mind is that even if he does not wish to (or cannot) pay anything, many colleges will still require a non-custodial parent to submit a financial profile in order to consider the financial aid application complete and consider you for aid. He either needs to be prepared to do the paperwork or you need to be prepared to scratch some schools off your list if aid is a must and the school requires a non-custodial parent profile.</p>
<p>Nope, most schools have policies that state they will not match financial aid packages of other schools (I know for a fact this is on Brown and Penn’s website). Some will let you challenge what they offer and re-evaluate your need, but they will not and do not (usually some schools might) match aid packages. I’m not sure what sort of aid you will be given, a lot more goes into aid calculation than just combined income.</p>