<p>We need some advice. My D was accepted ED, and we applied for financial aid and plan to apply for all possible scholarships.</p>
<p>We received a rather pitiful "award" this week that was nothing more than a work-study option plus 2 small federal loans. Is anyone seeing a more generous offer from the school? Are these "awards" negotiable?</p>
<p>Help!!</p>
<p>They are...but you don't have much leverage as an ED student. Your daughter made a binding agreement to attend WashU, so WashU does not have much to lose by turning down your requests for a new award. </p>
<p>In RD, you can negotiate much more because there are other schools that WashU potentially has to compete with and match their FA packages with, in order to get you to attend. Give it a try, but just know that one of the downsides of ED is less bargaining leverage.</p>
<p>We went through this process last year. Windy's comment is a little extreme and a common misconception about ED. One of the reasons that Wash U gives you an award amount so quickly is so you can have that number before you decide to accept admission. Inability to pay is a valid reason for breaking the contract and the school understands that. They will not assert any pressure on you if that is your reason. But, you do have a limited time to tell them one way or the other.</p>
<p>Wash U's aid office is very professional and responsive. They will not "negotiate" but they will review facts and special circumstances and make accomodations. You should know your EFC. If you don't know what that is, you have some work to do. The aid offered should be roughly the gap between your EFC and the cost of attending. If it is not, that is the angle you need to use with the aid office. Ask them to explain why they are not meeting full need.</p>
<p>If that is the amount offered, then you are essentially disputing your EFC. In that case you need to explain what special circumstances cause your EFC to be inaccurate. Examples include:</p>
<p>Recent income is far higher than your average or typical
You expect or have recently incurred a reduction in income
You have unusual expenses, e.g. caring for an elderly relative</p>
<p>We are both from Atlanta and might even know each other. Send me a private message and we can chat offline a little.</p>
<p>I agree with HartinGA. In most cases, the WashU financial office is quite generous and wiling to work with you. If not happy with the initial offer, then offer them a logical reason why you do not agree with the initial offer. Be prepared to back up your request. If your request is at all reasonable, you will find that they will do whatever is reasonably possible to allow you to attend. Call the Director of Student Financial Services Bill Witbrodt directly. In the past, he has been a great help in these types of situations.</p>
<p>HartinGA posted a great response, but to answer another one of your questions, I definitely saw a more generous offer. People have told me that WashU is very generous in giving aid to its students, but I had no idea to what extent until I opened the aid package today. Stunned, I saw what basically amounted to a free ride in scholarships. But keep in mind this is mostly due to my financial situation (low family income). The opportunity of attending one of the best universities in the country at little to no cost is one that I will not take for granted. I thought that applying ED may have been a mistake given my family's income, but WashU came through with the most generous offer I could ever have hoped for.</p>
<p>I would agree with HartinGA and everyone that agreed with GA. I considered getting into WashU a miracle, and I didn't think they would give me much financial aid because my family situation is slightly above average. Yet I got about 2/3 of my tuition wiped out due to a scholarship they gave me.</p>
<p>As for advice</p>
<p>I would tell your daughter to spend every day of her Christmas break applying to scholarships on fastwebs and sites similar to that, at least that is what I'm doing. </p>
<p>P.S. I have no life.</p>