<p>Congratulations!!!</p>
<p>Congratulations ballerina22…and keeping my fingers crossed there is f/a for you!</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone! I will let you guys know when I hear back about financial aid :)</p>
<p>Congratulations! I am SO proud of you :)</p>
<p>Thanks so much! I heard back from Blair about financial aid and, unfortunately, they are expecting my family to pay $20,000 per year, which is absolutely ridiculous given our amount of income, the fact that we have to send two children through college, AND we have a mentally disabled daughter. Oh well. All I can do now is wait for Asheville financial aid, or hope that I get off the waitlist for Deerfield, St. George’s, or Middlesex with financial aid. :(</p>
<p>ballerina22 - Have your parents discussed all of the circumstances you describe with the financial aid director at Blair? In detail? And, was the decision simply that your parents can afford to pay more - or that Blair didn’t have any additional funds available? If the latter, would the school consider an increased grant if additional funds come available?</p>
<p>Just a suggestion, and others might disagree, but I’m wondering if it might not be helpful at this point to ask the Asheville FA director what amount of assistance he/she feels your family would be eligible for if funds come available. And, if there is a discrepancy between this amount and the amount awarded by Blair, try to figure out if there is any factor that Asheville is taking into account that perhaps Blair failed to consider. If so, then your family can go back to Blair and point out what you think they overlooked.</p>
<p>dodgersmom - My mom wrote a very convincing letter. I don’t know under which circumstance the decision was made, but I’m assuming it’s the former, because my family does have a small apartment in London. We are currently renting it out, but it’s retail value is a few hundred thousand dollars, so the financial aid director probably assumed that we could sell it to make up the difference. However, selling it now to fund my high school education would impact my older brother’s and my ability to be eligible for scholarships for college. Plus, selling it would cause us to ultimately lose a LOT of money, because renting it out brings in a solid income for us which, over the years, will amount to a lot more than the retail value of the apartment. Additionally, my brother and I both want to spend some time abroad when we’re older, and having the apartment there will be very convenient for us. Although I have tried very hard to convince my parents to sell the apartment, it would ultimately end up being bad for the whole family to do that.</p>
<p>I will talk to my parents about doing this. I want to go to boarding school SO badly, I would be willing to do ANYTHING to attend. Hopefully, we can work something out with a school. If not, there’s always next year!</p>
<p>ballerina22 - Yes, an asset like that probably makes a significant difference. And if your family can’t afford to sell it, then you’re kind of stuck. :(</p>