My son was accepted as a day student and got a merit award, but we a little more he’ll to realize his dream. We completed all forms and have a large family with a special needs son that we will support for his whole life, so budgeting for that is difficult. We will go to revisit day and have focused on one school. Any suggestions would be appreciated, thank you in advance.
I have no direct experience with this, but I would request a meeting with the FA office and let them know that you have extenuating circumstances you’d like to discuss with them. You can give a preview and tell them you will share anything with them they need to further evaluate your situation. And you should be prepared to share.
I know that the school DS attended was very responsive to individual circumstances. But I also know there were families who had budget line items that the school felt were discretionary. Which is all to say that if you are willing to be completely transparent and you have expenditures which would have escaped the initial request form, try to meet and iron it out!
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I second the suggestion to contact the FA office directly.
Sometimes there are things that aren’t fully captured in FA applications.
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Not sure if articles like this will be helpful but has some good points, like when you negotiate for more salary (which I once successfully did).
A lot will depend on if the school is public or private and if you are at a meets need school - because public will not negotiate and a meets need school has already done so.
Good luck
and don’t forget, there are many colleges where your child can thrive, not just the dream school.
Tips and Tricks for Negotiating Financial Aid (collegechoice.net)
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As others have said, contact the school and ask. Really not a big deal. Realize that your success will depend largely on the size of the school’s endowment and on how desirable your kid is to that school. For example, top performing students and athletes will be sought ought by schools trying to improve their rankings.
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Just a reminder: this is the prep school admissions subforum, so all the schools are private.
Other than that, reasonable advice.
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oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my bad. thought was college. thanks for clarification.
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While schools with large endowments can afford to be generous, one shouldn’t count out the smaller schools with smaller endowments.
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thank you
no revisit days have been scheduled yet but we will probbly set a face to face meeting and see if we can provide more information to the aid department make a case for our request
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@keepitreal2 , i would also mention to the FA office that this is the only non-public option you are considering and that you aren’t playing them against any school.
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Our conversations went well and an increase to Merit award was provided. Thank you to all that provided advice.
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