xferring between GLADCHEMS & Financial Aid

dodgersmom
Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:19:50 +0000

dzmlsience:

I’ve seen the decision to not request financial aid described as being “not forthcoming”. This strikes me as a little harsh.



Let me clarify. I used the phrase “not forthcoming” . . . but what I meant was “lying.” Harsh? Not really - not where a parent is aware that his child’s chances of admission will be diminished by a financial aid request and for that reason deliberately elects not to disclose circumstances necessitating financial aid.

If you can’t pay the tuition, then request financial aid when your child applies . . . or be prepared to see your child end his or her boarding school prematurely when your funds run out. Obviously, if there is an unanticipated change of circumstances, then the school will take that into account and attempt to find funding for you. But if you know ahead of time that you can’t afford four years at School X, WHY would you not disclose that at the outset???

In the OP’s case, the answer seems to have been, “Well, I knew if I said anything that she might not get in.” Why should the school (or the many donors who fund the school’s financial aid program) reward that kind of dishonesty?