Wellesley boasting about Financial Aid??

marama
Thu, 12 May 2011 14:06:05 +0000

1) The FAFSA bases its estimates only on the income of the person(s) you live with.

2) The CSS Profile takes EVERYONE into account, whether you live with them or not.

3) The Institutional Formula is specific to each college and reflects its own particular aid policies. If you can provide a truly compelling reason which is well-enough documented to satisfy the Financial Aid office, you may have a chance of getting your award adjusted. It is very hard, but worth a try. As they say in Spain, “El ‘no’ ya lo tienes,” meaning that by doing nothing, you already have ‘no’ for an answer.

According to the CSS Profile, I was supposed to pay much, much more toward my daughter’s education than I am now being asked to pay. Why? Because I sent the financial aid office a five-page, single-spaced letter explaining my present and projected future financial circumstances. I told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and, in our case, it definitely made a difference.