My son got into a bunch of good schools but his favorite two offered substantially less need based aid (he received their largest scholarships at both); one is $6000 less than his EFC and the other is almost $10,000 less. No, they do not promise to meet full need. We have written a letter explaining special circumstances and asking for a professional review (see - you can tell I’ve been perusing College Confidential for a while!!) but we are unsure how to document medical expenses and other college offers. We have a summary of medical bills from the past few years and that will just have to do. As for the financial aid packages offered by other schools, we did a spreadsheet comparing packages/loans/grants/scholarships etc. Should we also send copies of the financial aid letters from a few of the best schools?
Also, would it help or hurt to send the financial aid package from a more competitive school? Specifically Kenyon, as compared to Hobart and William Smith and Denison.
Thanks in advance for any advice from someone who’s been through this and lived to tell the tale!
The best strategy is to tell a school that they are your first choice except that you can’t afford their package- and show a comparable package from a peer institution. You can’t do that to multiple schools however.
Is there one school that is the clear winner except for money? How long would it take to get an answer from that school?
Peer institution, also a good idea if they have similar FA policies but not absolutely necessary.
Were your medical bills documented on a tax return
Medical expenses might be documented on a tax return, but that wouldn’t show you what they were for. Was that $30,000 for breast enlargement and a nose job, or was it for chemotherapy? A tax return won’t tell you. And colleges won’t provide more need-based financial aid because you spent your money on cosmetic surgery.
Medical expenses were not documented on taxes - it did not reach the amount that would allow us to deduct. Unfortunately, we may have to approach several schools at once - we are running out of time to do this (and colleges will be running out of money soon too). And since he has several favorites it will also come down to cost. At least until after he has has attended a few more accepted student days, and gets closer to a decision.
I guess we should we mail copies of a few other offer letters with our request?
Some schools have a form for an appeal and directions on exactly what to include for the appeal, based on what the reason for the appeal is. If a job has been lost, they want the termination letter and any documentation for unemployment insurance. If medical expensess, they want back up for those. Death of a parent. Unexpected move with expenses.
Look on the financial aid documents page of the websites. It is likely they will be similar and you can cut and paste the information onto the forms. Even if you don’t fit one of the categories you can see what type of information they are looking for.