Financial aid game at small private schools (K-12)

[american_mama]

I applied for my son to go to a small private school (60 kids) serving grades 5-8. It's my first experience with financial aid for K-12 private schools. I filled out the info on the School and Student Services online service that many schools use and one of the question it asked was how much financial aid you are requesting. I did not expect to ASK for an amount of aid - thought I'd be told an amount of aid and then perhaps negotiate from there if necessary. Anyway, I answered the question with what I thought we could afford and found out today that's what the school gave us.

I am wondering if there is a game to this that I missed, like there is with salary negotiations. Should I have asked for more financial aid or, if possible, left it blank? I will feel silly if the school was prepared to offer more, but happily followed my lead when I asked for less. I mean, the amount I said we could afford will entail sacrifices, the biggest of which will be eliminating my monthly IRA contributions.

I know a number of families have gotten financial aid from this school and have found the school flexible with financial aid, even generous. Two of those families don't have high household incomes, so I am sure the need for some aid was clear. On the other hand, it's not a big school so presumably that means more limits than at many larger schools.