Ivy League financial aid strategy, tailored for international & expat families.
The Expert
Columbia University · Financial Aid Administration · 2016–2023
Teachers College, Columbia University · M.A., Higher Education Administration
Hamilton College · B.A., History
English · Español · Português
The Insider Advantage
AidCanvas delivers an irreplaceable insider advantage to premium college funding. Founded by David Dey, a former Columbia University financial aid administrator (2016–2023), the firm leverages firsthand expertise gained across five internal roles—including managing Ivy League loan processing, overseeing disbursements, and serving on financial aid appeals committees.
Backed by an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University and a B.A. from Hamilton College, David possesses a profound, direct understanding of how elite offices evaluate applications, assess special circumstances, and navigate complex appeals.
To translate this elite institutional knowledge into truly bespoke, high-touch results, AidCanvas strictly limits capacity to a maximum of 12 active client per cycle. Every engagement is managed entirely personally by David and is fully accessible to international and expat families in English, Español, and Português.
Enrollment
Full-cycle FAFSA and CSS Profile management for high school seniors applying to U.S. colleges, covering document collection, submission tracking, and award letter analysis across your final school list.
Engagements are built around how financial aid offices actually evaluate income, assets, and special circumstances — not what families assume those criteria to be.
Consulting Services
International Enrollment
International Enrollment: For USD-paid American families living abroad and affluent international families targeting U.S. elite institutions, covering the full FAFSA and CSS Profile cycle with foreign income translation, non-U.S. asset documentation, and foreign tax return handling.
The advisor has direct personal experience navigating these filings as an American living abroad; including FEIE interactions and non-U.S. asset disclosure, which no domestic consultant can replicate.
Renewal
Annual FAFSA and CSS Profile renewal management for currently enrolled undergraduate students, covering document collection, submission tracking, and mid-enrollment issue resolution.
A Transfer Analysis add-on is available for students evaluating a change of institution, covering aid portability and net cost comparison at receiving schools.
Graduate
For graduate and professional students navigating federal aid under the post-OBBBA landscape, where Grad PLUS loans are eliminated for new borrowers and new annual caps of $20,500 and lifetime caps of $100,000 now apply — creating funding gaps that require deliberate planning.
The Loan Counseling add-on is strongly recommended at intake.
Submit an Intake Form
Submit a brief intake form describing your student's situation and the institutions under consideration. AidCanvas reviews each request individually for fit and current capacity.
How It Works
Consultation
Receive an Invitation Body: Accepted requests receive a thirty-minute consultation at no charge. This conversation establishes the scope of a potential engagement and whether AidCanvas is the right fit for your specific circumstances.
Engagement
Review a Tailored Proposal Body: If both parties decide to proceed, an engagement proposal is prepared reflecting the complexity of your situation and confirmed upon deposit.
AidCanvas is now accepting engagements for the 2026-27 cycle
Consultations are available by request.