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

CCName1
Tue, 12 Jul 2022 23:42:56 +0000

I have two friends with complicated ex-situations that negatively affect their ability to accurately represent finances…in similar ways to your situation.

One has a student at an Ivy, the other has a student at a large state school. In both cases, the FA office has been helpful and receptive to working with the parent. In the case of the state school, they found some additional “merit” that eases the financial burden slightly. This is not a student who was receiving merit otherwise, and they “found” some discretionary funds.

People often mistakenly believe that colleges line up students from the most to the least meritorious and award merit in that way. That’s not at all how most schools distribute it and there is a degree of discretion involved in the decisions.