Contact the colleges and find out what their process is for a special circumstances consideration. There are a few things you should keep in mind…
- Many schools won’t process a special circumstance consideration unless your child chooses to attend there. But some will. You need to ask.
- Many schools have a “waiting period” before they will consider these requests. The anticipation is that the parent will find another job.
- If the parent received severance or unemployment compensation, these will be considered as income as well.
- Special circumstances considerations are considered on a case by case basis.
- Your 2018 income was used to determine aid for 2020-2021. Some schools will not reconsider for this year. Some won’t reconsider for 2021-2022 which will use your 2019 income. But some will understand that your income is substantially less...and they will adjust.
Now some questions…
- Did the NMF kid apply to any colleges that would provide excellent and guaranteed merit aid?
- How much CAN you pay annually right now for your kids to attend college? Was that $30,000 EFC per child...or total.
And lastly…
The colleges you listed don’t meet full financial need for all accepted students. Even with a re-consideration, there is no guarantee they will receive more aid…but then they might!
Anyway…call the school financial aid departments and ask them what their process is for a special circumstances consideration…and get that all ready just in case it’s needed.
In the meantime, I hope this parent finds a new job ASAP.