My experience over nearly 50 years in dealing with financial aid at colleges has been that colleges do not bait and switch as a practice. Yes, they CAN. There is no hard rule that says they absolutely have to use the exact same formula all years your student is there. In fact, as I mentioned in earlier posts, most schools do have it built into their formulas that a student assumes a bit more of the cost each year. Some colleges also have a portion of any cost increases passed onto even financial aid recipients. Also upper class men housing is sometimes pricier than the freshmen double room dorms
Those changes should not be huge, however. Though a friend of mine did get whammed when College of Charleston upped the OOS premium part of the tuition significantly. Unfortunately, things like this happen. Usually, schools make an effort to minimize policy changes’ effects to financial aid recipients as the affordability of a school can hinge on that.
It is self sabotage to bait and switch. Schools will lose upperclassmen which affects the graduation rate and ratings. Word gets out.
Schools that guarantee to meet full need almost always do so with a consistent formula with above exceptions and also the impact of moving from one category of income to another. FAFSA uses percentages from 20-40% of income after a protection allowance and if you are unlucky to move up into a higher percentage when you get additional that marginal hit can be high.
It’s a risk most of us take with that privilege that comes from picking a school unaffordable without aid. I strongly, very strongly urge everyone getting aid to understand every bit of the fin aid packages and to ask about future ramifications. Ask how they treat an additional kid in college. What if your additional kid in college quits? How are cost increases like tuition going up, pricier upper class housing treated? Any financial issue looming in the near future, you might want to inquire about effects on aid. Communication is key and that’s where I find fin aid officers lacking, as well as most uninformed parents and kids, so grateful to get that first year aid they don’t want to get into any questions about the future.