The only call for change in the proposal, Hudson says, is for separate treatment of students' and parents' assets. Money in a student's name is seen as more expendable than money in a parent's savings, and this encourages families to move their money around--to the student's account for tax purposes and then back to the parent's for financial aid calculations.

The IM is used by hundreds of schools some of which can more easily afford to meet greater financial need. The real trick, Joyce says, is steering between the competing needs of large, affluent schools and others that are less well-funded.

"There's always a conflict between doing the right thing versus funding," Joyce says.

The advisory committee has been meeting for three years examining the IM and is comprised of financial aid officers and economists. College Board staff members, like Joyce, sit in on the meetings.

The committee will next meet in December to discuss the feedback on the proposal. At the College Board's February regional meetings, the organization will then decide whether or not to implement the changes.

Finally, at the national conference on financial aid this July, the new IM will be unveiled, in Hudson's words, "in all its glory and excruciating detail."