Should I accept deposit waiver while appealing low FAFSA merit aid offer?

Don't commit yet! I work in college financial aid and this is a classic enrollment management tactic. The deposit waiver is designed to get you to commit before you can negotiate. Once they have your commitment, they have much less incentive to increase your aid package. You have more leverage BEFORE you commit. Your situation (income reduction + better offers elsewhere) gives you excellent grounds for an appeal. Most schools have a form called a Professional Judgment or Special Circumstances appeal - get that started immediately. Provide documentation of your income change and copies of the competing aid offers. The $650 deposit waiver might seem attractive now, but potentially losing thousands in aid isn't worth it.

idk take the waiver man, $650 is $650. You can still negotiate after u commit. My brother did that last yr with NYU and got an extra 5k.

We were in EXACTLY the same boat last year with my daughter! The school offered a deposit waiver right when we were planning to appeal. I called their financial aid office directly and explained our situation. I asked if accepting the waiver would affect our appeal chances. Surprisingly, they were honest and said yes, it could impact the appeal. We declined the waiver, submitted our appeal with documentation of our income changes and the competing offers, and ended up getting an additional $7,200 in aid! That was WAY more than the deposit waiver. Definitely reach out to the financial aid office before making any decisions. Some schools are more transparent than others.

I've had NIGHTMARE experiences trying to get through to financial aid offices by phone. You might want to try Claimyr (claimyr.com) - they have a service that gets you through to actual financial aid agents without the endless hold times. I used it when we had issues with our FAFSA verification and it saved me hours of frustration. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Definitely worth it for time-sensitive situations like yours where you need answers quickly.

There are several important factors to consider here: 1. Professional Judgment (PJ) appeals for significant income changes (like your 28% reduction) are standard procedure and won't be viewed negatively 2. Merit aid appeals based on competing offers are different from PJ appeals, and timing matters more 3. The deposit deadline is likely not the same as the financial aid appeal deadline 4. Most schools have an appeals committee that meets regularly through May Your best strategy: Call financial aid directly and ask if accepting the deposit waiver would impact either type of appeal. Get this confirmed in writing (email). If they say it won't impact your appeal chances, accept the waiver, then immediately file both appeals with thorough documentation. If they hesitate or won't confirm in writing, that tells you something important about their aid policies.

OMG THESE SCHOOLS ARE SO MANIPULATIVE!!! They KNOW exactly what they're doing with these "special offers" that expire right when you need to make decisions! My daughter got screwed over by a similar tactic last year - we took the deposit waiver thinking we were saving money and then they REFUSED to adjust her aid package even though she had way better offers elsewhere. By then it was too late to back out without losing other opportunities. The whole financial aid system is designed to trap families!!!!!

One thing nobody's mentioned is that if your income dropped 28% in 2023, you should definitely file a Professional Judgment request regardless of what you decide about the deposit waiver. That's a significant change that could dramatically affect your SAI and resulting aid package. For the PJ request, you'll need: - 2023 tax returns or W-2s - Documentation of job loss/income reduction (if applicable) - A detailed letter explaining the change - The school's special circumstances form (usually on their financial aid website) Also, check if your son's top choice uses CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA - private schools often do. The appeal process might be different for institutional aid vs. federal aid.

Update us on what you decide to do! The timing of these offers right before May 1 commitment deadlines is particularly challenging. Whatever you choose, make sure to submit any appeals ASAP - many schools distribute their remaining aid funds by mid-May.