My son’s FAFSA has been changed twice this spring by colleges. The first time I think W&M changed something that made our EFC just a bit higher. The second time I think Cornell (just in the past few days) changed back what W&M altered, returning our EFC to the original number we got in January.
After some last minute panicked phone calls from the financial aid office at my son’s ED college, I realized that our family and financial aid situation might generate questions with financial aid offices. So I got proactive for the RD round and made phone contact with financial aid offices in the schools where he was applying. Sometimes I emailed if the school’s FA office web page indicated that they preferred not to get phone calls.
Except for Cornell, the financial aid people at every school I contacted were absolute gems. Cornell was, as someone else said, a nightmare. There were multiple phone calls and emails. Each person I spoke with wanted something different, and sometimes they told me I shouldn’t have sent in the documentation I did (which I had only done in response to one of their colleague’s requests). To be clear though, most of the people I spoke with at Cornell were very friendly and did want to help. They just seemed to lack training and organization.
As much as I like Cornell, I was relieved that S decided he liked another school better.
@brantly wait, what? You hired a FA guy to help you with your forms?!
@Gatormama Yes. It was worth every penny. It was not just the act of filling out the forms, but how to present our info in a way that would best set us up for maximum possible aid.
OK, @brantly I’ll bite. Cost? 
Let’s say Cornell is looking at providing you $50,000 a year in financial aid.
That’s $200,000 over for years.
Isn’t it fair for Cornell to make sure there is supporting detail to justify that $200,000 investment in your education?
If an applicant is unwilling to invest a little of their time to maximize their aid package, it is reasonable for that school to allocate its dollars to other students more serious about their school.
Not denigrating the decision at all. Just surprised that such a thing exists. I’m new to this. So I asked how much it costs. Is that a problem?
There’s more than one way to present the info? I’ll admit, I’m curious.
@Gatormama It cost $500. We had an unusual situation. He advised us on how to present the situation. I am talking about the Profile and the attached letter that we provided. We also appealed. He helped us with that. The award was increased substantially after our appeal.
Thanks @brantly – I’m thinking we might also have an usual situation, with one self-employed parent, highly irregular income and ridiculous expenses that don’t easily fit in boxes. Appreciate the info!
You’re welcome. Good luck.
The thing with the advisors who help with financial forms is that they do it many times per year over many years, so they know the drill, especially for appeals. We only do it once or twice or three times. He said that often the FA person is a 20-something person and is rarely if ever a CPA or tax expert. That’s why unusual situations have to be explained to them sometimes. And let me emphasize that I am talking about doing everything legally and ethically—albeit convincingly.