One of them is.
Their website states they meet 100% of the “demonstrated” need of every admitted student. I have an online appt with an FA officer on Wednesday, because their offer brings our COA down to 66K/year and our EFC is 22K. He’s gotten a music scholarship, but it looks like they didn’t really consider our actual need at all. 
That’s your FAFSA need.
But I assume you did a css.
Maybe there’s an error on your part or their part. Hopefully. Good luck.
But schools determine need differently. Hope it works out for you.
The difference between 22K and 66K is huge! That sounds like something went horrible wrong, or your assets are way more than normal in the CSS? I would definitely meet with them about it.
Our FAFSA EFC is $28K and we just had “meets all need” school offer a financial aid package that was the equivalent of $38K per year (minus $5K loans + $2K work study). Still annoying. Yes, we could pull money out of his mutual fund, but really??
Yes, we did, and my H and I reviewed our CSS. Even knowing they recaluclate need, I just don’t see how our expected contribution could come out that much higher! The CSS would have to show we have $40,000 more to spend than the FAFSA found. That’s a significant portion of our annual income.
This school is known for being expensive, but with their bold statement that they meet 100% of need, I am willing to follow up and find out what the heck is happening.
We joked that perhaps I put an extra zero somewhere, and it looked like we owned a 3 million dollar condo. No such luck.
Depends. My daughter got into W&L and in my income bracket 88% got $38k on avg.
I was the other 12%.
They told me I got hit by the disclaimer - assumes avg assets (which they said is 2x income).
Today home equity and even retirement can cause issue.
I applaud you for having the courage to speak truthfully. I think there are more parents with struggling children than you might think–people just don’t feel comfortable talking about it. But those who have been through mental health concerns with their children will relate. Just know that you are not alone. Even if others still feel hesitant about speaking out, just know that your post probably helped someone else feel less alone today. 
Is this in addition to a 529? If my kid had a mutual fund I’d sure as heck be tapping into that before taking money out of my savings or mutual funds, they have their entire adult working lives ahead of them. I am hoping to retire in 10-12 years!
No. My 17 year old definitely doesn’t have a mutual fund. It is my (50 year old) husband’s mutual fund. Like you, he is also hoping to start a phased retirement in 10-12 years, which is why he is unhappy about the idea of us using it all to pay for S23’s college.
ETA: Looking back at my earlier post, I see that I left out the important word “husband” 
That’s totally understandable. Unfortunately, colleges view it differently. (I’m assuming the mutual fund is not being held in a retirement account like an IRA). Colleges see it as an asset that’s available to you, that could be used to pay for college - hence it reduces your “demonstrated” need.
There’s often a gap between what a college thinks you should be able to afford and what you can actually afford 
Some of the Honors Program housing is suite style - 4 people share one bathroom… we’ll see. I hear they do have to clean their own bathroom - might be a deal breaker! LOL
LOL is right! I have to say, I was in this configuration my senior year in college and taking my turns at cleaning that little bathroom became very quick and painless. I guess it depends on your suite mates. 
On a different note: It’s been really fun to see where my kid’s friends are thinking about going. He’s had the same band of friends since he was five years old (thanks in part to a school program where his classes were the same kids every year). Through hearing about their college choices and process, I’ve come to know them better and appreciate once again how amazing they each are.
It isn’t so much as WashU, its the entire state government. For instance:
I picked up my son from track today and asked, “How did the Calculus test go?”
His response:
It went really, really well… up until it didn’t.
I thought that summarized a lot of life, and parenting, and the college application process!
Edit- I should clarify that I thought it was funny rather than sad though I can see it both ways. 
S23 got accepted at UCLA and UCSD. He didn’t open his letters til yesterday because he has a superstitious way of getting together with the neighborhood classmates to open the messages…so far the lucky charm has worked.
8 replies still to go, but so far it has gone pretty well.
Sent in D23’s deposit to Trinity University tonight. So glad she’s found a place she loves.
Totally get that. We are looking at the politics of each state as we decide where to apply. For our family it’s a make or break situation. So many state legislators and governors are anti everything these days and so entrenched it makes it easy to say no thank you, not sending my kid there and not supporting your anti everything govt.
Congrats! I hope your daughter loves Trinity as much as my D21 does. There are so many opportunities on campus and San Antonio is a great city. I love that they live on campus for 3 years. Anddd the mommies and daddies complained enough so there will be a new food service provided. 
The problem, of course, is that state politics with regard to higher ed can turn on a dime (hi, Wisconsin!) or be really hard to read (hi, Minnesota and Pennsylvania!), just as state-level political policies more broadly can change rapidly—cf. Iowa and Colorado for an ongoing and recent example, respectively.
I agree that politics are an important part of deciding where to go, and that’s part of why my D23 as a member of the LGBTQ population opted not to apply to any Florida colleges—but she still applied to (and is going to) one in Texas. What is the difference between those two states? At one level not a lot, but apparently to her a meaningful one.