Right there with you, @NaomiRG. The whole “demonstrated need” concept really is a misnomer.
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Has anyone requested additional merit aid? Relative to the COA, her award was pretty low and not on par with similar schools she was accepted to (both in terms of price point and admit %). Unfortunately I’d say it’s out of the running unless we got a higher award (we do not qualify for need-based aid). Her award was $18k/yr.
“Demonstrated need” is based on FAFSA plus CSS profile. So, it would likely not reduced the cost below those amount. If student’s family EFC is $30,000, and Mac COA is $75,000, my understanding is that the “demonstrated need” would be $75,000 - $30,000 = $45,000. So, the school that would meet the demonstrated need will meet the $45,000 shortfall with a combination of merit scholarship, grant and loan. From the website, the highest merit seems to be around $22,000.
The website says that they do not adjust merit: About Your Award - Financial Aid Office - Macalester College
(We wrote an email asking if they could increase our son’s merit aid before we saw this page on the website and got a very polite email back saying that they don’t negotiate based on offers from other schools.)
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Thanks for letting me know.