| Negotiating Aid
It's also important to look at whether the school uses just the FAFSA to determine financial aid or the FAFSA plus supplemental information. The two can produce radically different EFCs and therefore different grant amounts, especially if the university guarantees meeting all demonstrated need.
I got into an Ivy, but the aid package they offered was far too small, so I wrote them a letter explaining some of my financial circumstances, and that I would really only be able to go if they improved their offer, so they changed from one EFC to the other EFC, and my aid package improved by about $10,000 in grants.
Remember that writing the financial office a letter can never hurt, so you might as well give it a shot. If the financial aid officers aren't willing to raise the aid offer, even if they're fundamentally opposed to giving you anymore aid because your reasons are bad or whatever, it's not like they're going to lower your aid package or rescind your admittance. |