Contact FA office to explain why not asking for need based aid, but need merit?

CCName1
Wed, 13 Jul 2022 21:01:54 +0000

Once a student is admitted, and especially once a student enrolls, selective colleges want their students to succeed. The colleges are motivated to have high yield, high retention, and happy alumni. This sometimes means helping to find additional sources to cover tuition.

Despite how it often feels during the application process, colleges are not run by heartless robots but by humans. There are calculations, but there is also understanding of circumstances.

As I said earlier, I have two friends who were assisted by their kids’ universities in somewhat similar situations. One was able to obtain a CSS waiver provided by the university and signed by the applicant’s pediatrician, affirming the special circumstance in which one parent would not be able to sign the CSS.

Because the father does pay child support in this situation, it seems unlikely that Whitman will waive the requirement. But they may be able to find more merit, as happened for my other friend. Just because FA and scholarships may not fall under the same umbrella doesn’t mean they can’t talk to each other.

Whitman may not be able to budge, or they may not be able to play these games until after admission, but I see very little downside in starting a discussion now. What is your objection to this parent asking? I don’t think a FA officer would ever try to flag an application. You don’t seem to think that FA talks to those who determine merit…then you can’t believe that they communicate on an active applicant. I don’t see the harm.