<p>Our daughter applied ED and we still haven't received her FA package which is making planning difficult. I know the school has sent out at least some notices. We met the FAFSA deadline pretty much at the deadline making me think that's why its taking so long.</p>
<p>I don't want to bug the FA office but I don't want to get overlooked either. It seems like some people literally improve their offers just by asking which amazes me. At this point would you contact the office? </p>
<p>We're going to be at the school in April for registration. Does it make sense to make an appointment to go to FA then? Does anyone have suggestions on how to talk with them - what works, are there any supporting documents that could help? </p>
<p>At this point, most schools will give you an estimated date even if it’s still in process. It’s okay to call and talk with them or you can send an email - a quick “do you have everything you need” and “when should we expect a determination” should do it. Some schools will not discuss specifics over the phone or with anyone other than the student, so don’t expect too much.</p>
<p>techie: can’t imagine what you are going through…</p>
<p>for other posters: Just curious; what does one do if they have applied ED, withdrawn all other apps, and FA comes in way under what was expected as late as April? I know that it is said that one should not apply ED if FA is an issue, but this is something that has concerned me for all of these CC people who are still waiting on aid since December acceptances…at least if these schools had given the packages out in December, alternative plans could be arranged, but what does one do at this point?</p>
<p>Rodney - Our daughter was accepted to 3 other schools prior to knowing she got in ED at her top choice. By the time she got the ED school she even had scholarships from the other three. We knew none of that mattered if the ED came through and she did send letters to withdraw her applications from the other schools.</p>
<p>In our case she went ED because her SAT scores weren’t great and we felt like ED was her strongest option. She made great connections with the school and they knew her as more than her scores which helped. She made a tremendous effort on the SAT’s - sometimes it just doesn’t work out.</p>
<p>All that said the waiting is hard. There are things we didn’t know and I wish we had - the scholarships they offer are largely SAT based, obviously a problem. This is not clear upfront.</p>
<p>So - many things could happen. She could get a good enough FA package and all is good. I’m trying to prepare for all options and trying to find out if going to FA is smart - if you make an appointment to go what do you say, does it help to bring anything? I may email them today …</p>
<p>I think I need to get the ED part out of my question - there is another long thread on that topic going on now.</p>
<p>For the most part we knew what we were getting into with ED. What we didn’t know were the requirements for certain scholarships. Even now that information is not clear. It’s possible that may have had some bearing on our decision.</p>
<p>My real questions are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>When do you call/contact the FA office - am I just impatient or it getting later than normal to get the FA package?</p></li>
<li><p>Does it help to make an appointment and talk to the FA people</p></li>
<li><p>If an appointment does help what do you suggest bringing with you, talking about, is there anything you know of that would be helpful? I realize just about everyone is looking for more $$ - so is there a better way than to just ask?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>No reason not to contact the financial aid office, and I don’t think that it is a problem if you do so. </p>
<p>But – I was told Monday by one FA office that FA would be mailed by April 15th (gulp) – only to have D find that she had the email from the office with the link to her package the next morning. I still don’t know if the call triggered the package, or the person answering the phone didn’t know that D’s package was ready to go, or they didn’t want to make promises even though they thought they’d get things out earlier than the 15th.</p>
<p>But really, as long as you filed the forms on time, there really isn’t much reason why they don’t have a package ready for an ED decision given how long ago those decisions came out.</p>