Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
I'll try to keep this short. Daughter is a first class athlete,but is also a very gifted scholar. this gave her many options in getting a college that is a good fit. Her offers were two full rides [combined scholarship/athletics] and one full athletic ride at a division I school. When she started looking at DIII schools, we were surprised at the amount of help we got in grants and scholarships [no athletic aid is permitted at a DIII NCAA school]
We were offered affordable packages at all the schools ,once we figured in her local [high school and community] scholarships. Once we accepted an award package from her top pick,they asked for additional verification. this was in late April and we had turned in our FASFA in to Dept of education in Feb. Six other schools had already finished their verification process and things went fine. To top it all off,She declined to go to a full ride school not one week eariler! The verification process was more like an inquisition, and the result was a change in our ''expected family contribution'' of 4500. 00 a year.
I could go in to all the personality crap that went on, but the bottom line is that our daughter is heartbroken and we have no way to afford this school. Fortunately, six other schools agree with the way we reported our financials and we still have a full ride available and also an affordable Division III school of good reputation. We have tried everything to get this cleared up, but the financial aid departmernt refuses to even look at documents that proove our case. His entire view of our finances is bases on a telephone conversation in which one statement was taken out of context. [even that statement causes no harm at any other school] I went into full damage control mode with her remaining college picks to proove we turned in good numbers to the Department of Education. I held nothing back and also explained the conclusion of the ''other'' university. If the other schools came to his conclusion, our daughter probably would be attending community college in the fall.
My belief is that the college reached full enrollment +60 and they sought to improve their bottom line by cutting high scholarship kids out. the way they got us is by changing our net worth figures on the Dept of Education Aid application [FASFA] Long story here, but they denied all our debt against our assets and increased our net worth by $190000. 00 By taking away 4500. 00 a year,they can encourage us to leave and save 48000. 00 in academic awards over four years.
About my only option is to write the university president and explain to him that we are enrolled in two colleges at once, but my daughter still has his school as a top pick. A couple of newspaper articles that show her track times as breaking every historic record in his conference probably would do no harm either. It is really gonna be hard to write a positive letter to him about his school when financial aid has treated us like suspects in a fraud case.
I suppose other TDR members have stories like this, but I would not wish what we went through on my worst enemy.
We were offered affordable packages at all the schools ,once we figured in her local [high school and community] scholarships. Once we accepted an award package from her top pick,they asked for additional verification. this was in late April and we had turned in our FASFA in to Dept of education in Feb. Six other schools had already finished their verification process and things went fine. To top it all off,She declined to go to a full ride school not one week eariler! The verification process was more like an inquisition, and the result was a change in our ''expected family contribution'' of 4500. 00 a year.
I could go in to all the personality crap that went on, but the bottom line is that our daughter is heartbroken and we have no way to afford this school. Fortunately, six other schools agree with the way we reported our financials and we still have a full ride available and also an affordable Division III school of good reputation. We have tried everything to get this cleared up, but the financial aid departmernt refuses to even look at documents that proove our case. His entire view of our finances is bases on a telephone conversation in which one statement was taken out of context. [even that statement causes no harm at any other school] I went into full damage control mode with her remaining college picks to proove we turned in good numbers to the Department of Education. I held nothing back and also explained the conclusion of the ''other'' university. If the other schools came to his conclusion, our daughter probably would be attending community college in the fall.
My belief is that the college reached full enrollment +60 and they sought to improve their bottom line by cutting high scholarship kids out. the way they got us is by changing our net worth figures on the Dept of Education Aid application [FASFA] Long story here, but they denied all our debt against our assets and increased our net worth by $190000. 00 By taking away 4500. 00 a year,they can encourage us to leave and save 48000. 00 in academic awards over four years.
About my only option is to write the university president and explain to him that we are enrolled in two colleges at once, but my daughter still has his school as a top pick. A couple of newspaper articles that show her track times as breaking every historic record in his conference probably would do no harm either. It is really gonna be hard to write a positive letter to him about his school when financial aid has treated us like suspects in a fraud case.
I suppose other TDR members have stories like this, but I would not wish what we went through on my worst enemy.
