<p>Love it, NewHope! Aussie, you can talk to the financial aid people, but if that is the way they do business, it could be useless. You might have a better chance if they have not encountered this situation before. I know when I was dealing with financial aid for my niece and nephew, I had certain legal firewalls set up well ahead of time to separate our assets (meager as they were) from their needs. But the schools did not look at things this way. Just as a prenup in a second marriage is not going to shelter a stepparent's income for college purposes, or the divorce agreement is not going to let the non custodial parent off the hook, a lot of these cases are up to the discretion of the school, and if financial aid has a certain way they look at things it is hard to get them to budge, unless something pretty drastic occurs. And of course this would be the school of choice, it seems like it always works that way. Do talk to the school, but start looking at some alternatives if the financial do not work out for you.</p>