| Being out of state has little to do with how Stanford's financial aid office deals with you...so I'm not clear on that part of your complaint.
I also found the "collecting receipts" presentation a little odd. Other than showing receipts and proof for unusual medical or other "emergency" expenses....the expenses that Stanford and other schools use when considering need are on the CSS and FAFSA forms. If your expenses are due to what might be considered luxury living (car payments on a Lexus rather than a Corolla, high mortgage due to expensive home), it's not likely the financial aid office will be sympathetic.
Does your family own a business, or a ranch, or property other than the home you live in? The way these assets are accounted for may be one of the issues in the calculation.
However, it is somewhat strange that Stanford's FA is so significantly different from Princeton's ...especially if your family income (gross wages, earnings on assets etc.) is less than $60,000 and if your family owns no other assets with the potential to earn income. |