College Financial Aid award appeal

[My5Mouseketeers]

Has anyone ever appealed a financial aid award and received more money? what do you think you did (or didn't do) that helped?

DD17, has been accepted to some great colleges and offered a lot of money from some of them. The school that she wants to go to isn't giving her as much. We get no need based aid.

We are going to attach the award letters from the other schools and a letter from us explaining our financial situation and a letter from DD saying why she wants to go to this school over the others. Is that a good plan? any other things we should or shouldn't do?

TIA,

 

[andychris14]

My5Mouseketeers I am in the same boat as you with my ds. We received 0 from fafsa and he received some merit based scholarships but not enough for us to afford to send him to these pricey schools.
I would call the schools directly and ask. It doesn't hurt the worse they can say is no.
Good luck

 

[DisneyMomJen]

We are in the exact same situation. Someone I know who went through this two years ago said to call or go in with the other offers. I would be interested in what others have to say.

 

[mbf]

With older DD I had a bit of success in getting more money. However, the most extra money I think was in the $3000 range at the pricier privated University and was unable to get nothing extra at our State U (where they had already offered her almost a full tuition scholarship anyway but never hurts to ask for more). For younger DD I was only able to get an extra $1000 at the private university she ultimately ended up attending.

You don't really have anything to lose by asking and you will likely gain something. Just as long as your expectations are not too high.

 

[carymomof3]

DD went to a private school that was a stretch for us financially. After she received her award letter, I made an appointment with the director of financial aid. Chatted about our situation, pointed out we have large medical expenses for DS etc. Ended up getting another few thousand dollars just for asking. I would definitely suggest going in person if at all possible. Private schools have money available. I would not expect the same response at a state school. In my experience, they don't leave room for negotiating. Good luck!

 

[My5Mouseketeers]

We did talk to a financial aid representative at the admitted students day on Saturday. She told us to file an appeal. I'm just trying to figure out what the best things are to attach to the form.

 

[SnowWtch]

This really depends on the college. Submitting letters from other institutions showing what you are getting at the university I work at does not help in getting additional financial aid. We only do petitions for people with legitimate reasons such as loss of employment or even death of a parent. If it is something beyond a parent's/student's control then you can petition. If it is just that you want more money, we do not match offers or adjust our packages for this.

 

[Marionnette]

My daughter's university sent out their financial aid packages with their acceptance letters. Candidates' Day was a few weeks later and there was a financial aid session for the parents. We were told at that time that all financial aid for the incoming class had been awarded and that there would be no more funds available for anything other than emergency cases (loss of a parent, parent lost a job, or other extreme change in the financial situation of the student). I found it kind of curious because not everyone who was accepted would eventually decide to attend the university, so wouldn't their financial aid be available to disperse to those who chose to attend? In any case, we were pretty much told that "This is it. Take it or leave it."

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Keep in mind that what you are offered for freshman year may not be offered next year, unless you get a guarantee.

 

[minnierocks]

If it is a state school then the first offer is the best. They put their best out first because they know that top students are looking at offers from different schools. If it is a private college then top students are generally invited to compete for additional scholarship money. State schools generally offer less but their tuition is less. Private colleges have more funds to work with but their tuition can be three times what a state school charges for tuition. If you are asking for more, I would make an appointment and appeal in person...but I wouldn't expect much more if any.

 

[csmommy]

Yes, we have appealed both merit & need-based & have received both.

At some schools merit is awarded by admission counselors & need-based by financial aid officers.

Naturally we wanted more merit than need based as they will be renewed each year provided he meets their minimum GPA, so every time DS received an award, honor roll letter, accepted into a special program, etc he updated all the admissions counselors & explained that he hoped they would take it into consideration when they gave out their aid. And they did! He was told to wait for the 1st offer & then appeal with supporting documents. Just yesterday DS received an email that one school has upped his merit award by $4K per year! Now DS is an OK student, 87% unweighted GPA, took 3 AP's this year, really nice SAT/ACT score, applied & was accepted into an internship & summer job already - a real get-up-&-go type kid, not one to senior slump & the schools have really appreciated him for that. Also, he did the calls & emails, not me, although I helped him.

You need to go visit the school(s) & have your daughter make her appeal in person. Have her sell herself. DS has been to every school he really wants to go to, after he was accepted & has talked with them himself - they LOVE students who own it themselves & show initiative. At this point several of the private schools are the same cost as the public ones.

Good luck!

 

[carymomof3]

Yes, we have appealed both merit & need-based & have received both.

At some schools merit is awarded by admission counselors & need-based by financial aid officers.

Naturally we wanted more merit than need based as they will be renewed each year provided he meets their minimum GPA, so every time DS received an award, honor roll letter, accepted into a special program, etc he updated all the admissions counselors & explained that he hoped they would take it into consideration when they gave out their aid. And they did! He was told to wait for the 1st offer & then appeal with supporting documents. Just yesterday DS received an email that one school has upped his merit award by $4K per year! Now DS is an OK student, 87% unweighted GPA, took 3 AP's this year, really nice SAT/ACT score, applied & was accepted into an internship & summer job already - a real get-up-&-go type kid, not one to senior slump & the schools have really appreciated him for that. Also, he did the calls & emails, not me, although I helped him.

You need to go visit the school(s) & have your daughter make her appeal in person. Have her sell herself. DS has been to every school he really wants to go to, after he was accepted & has talked with them himself - they LOVE students who own it themselves & show initiative. At this point several of the private schools are the same cost as the public ones.

Good luck!

Great advice! Make an appointment and go IN PERSON. Don't settle for speaking to someone during a group session/visit. Make an appointment and meet with them in their office one-on-one. It makes all the difference.

 

[Danibelle]

This really depends on the college. Submitting letters from other institutions showing what you are getting at the university I work at does not help in getting additional financial aid. We only do petitions for people with legitimate reasons such as loss of employment or even death of a parent. If it is something beyond a parent's/student's control then you can petition. If it is just that you want more money, we do not match offers or adjust our packages for this.

This is the usual response. I don't think it will help to ask for more money (esp. you aren't getting any need based aid).

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Has anyone ever appealed a financial aid award and received more money? what do you think you did (or didn't do) that helped?

DD17, has been accepted to some great colleges and offered a lot of money from some of them. The school that she wants to go to isn't giving her as much. We get no need based aid.

We are going to attach the award letters from the other schools and a letter from us explaining our financial situation and a letter from DD saying why she wants to go to this school over the others. Is that a good plan? any other things we should or shouldn't do?

TIA,

I used to work in a financial aid office of a private college. My boss really wanted to see the documentation of peoples financial situations.

You sad you want to explain your financial situation. Not being nosy, but it should probably be something extenuating. I see you live in NJ, were you affected by Hurricane Sandy?

If its a private school they only have so much endowment money to work with, so you should get your letter in asap. My boss really didnt have time to do a lot of face to face meetings with parents. She just told me to have them send in the paperwork etc.

See you're going on vacation to HHI, so I would try to get the paperwork in asap.

Its only going to cost yo some time and it could pay off well for your dd. Every $ helps.

Best of luck.

 

[okeydokey]

Yes, we have appealed both merit & need-based & have received both.

At some schools merit is awarded by admission counselors & need-based by financial aid officers.

Naturally we wanted more merit than need based as they will be renewed each year provided he meets their minimum GPA, so every time DS received an award, honor roll letter, accepted into a special program, etc he updated all the admissions counselors & explained that he hoped they would take it into consideration when they gave out their aid. And they did! He was told to wait for the 1st offer & then appeal with supporting documents. Just yesterday DS received an email that one school has upped his merit award by $4K per year! Now DS is an OK student, 87% unweighted GPA, took 3 AP's this year, really nice SAT/ACT score, applied & was accepted into an internship & summer job already - a real get-up-&-go type kid, not one to senior slump & the schools have really appreciated him for that. Also, he did the calls & emails, not me, although I helped him.

You need to go visit the school(s) & have your daughter make her appeal in person. Have her sell herself. DS has been to every school he really wants to go to, after he was accepted & has talked with them himself - they LOVE students who own it themselves & show initiative. At this point several of the private schools are the same cost as the public ones.

Good luck!

I love how you talk about the student doing the talking. This is the way it should be. Practice with your child ahead of time, but let them take the meeting.

 

[monorailmom]

Wait.

We went through this with one of our twins last year. She was accepted everywhere she applied, got some financial aid offers but not from her #1 choice school. (It's a state school, but not our state, so it's pricey!)

She accepted to attend instate, with their aid package offered. We sent in the non-refundable deposit, and thought we were done. Seriously two days later she got an email from her #1 with a generous aid package. This didn't show up until about early April.

She is now attending her 'dream' school, for just $2000 more per year than the instate school would have cost. The instate school did, in fact end up refunding our deposit.

Good luck. Senior year is a tough year for everyone!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Keep in mind that what you are offered for freshman year may not be offered next year, unless you get a guarantee.

Yes, this. My mom's friend had a son who really wanted to attend a pricey private college. The initial FA fell short, so I really encouraged her to go to the FA office and negotiate for more. She did and they upped the offer by 6K. Her son went to this school as a result. The following year, the school promptly ripped the rug out from under them with regard to FA. It was like they were willing to up the offer to get the student, but knew that once the student was happy and doing well at the school, they could take it away and the parents would still pay. I'd say that this is common from what I've heard.

 

[allison443]

From what I understand, the offers made by other schools will not carry any weight unless they are "peer" schools to the college you are trying to negotiate with. In other words, a higher-ranked school won't be persuaded if a third tier school gave your dd more money.

Something I wasn't clear on from your post-you said you don't qualify for any need-based aid, but you want to explain your financial situation. So are you looking for increased merit aid, or for need based aid? If you're asking for need based aid, the school's first response may very well be "stafford loan".

Good luck, it can't hurt to try! How much of a difference is there between the schools' offers?

 

[ceecee]

This is the usual response. I don't think it will help to ask for more money (esp. you aren't getting any need based aid).

A lot are need based, you probably won't get extra unless it's a private school with high tuition.

 

[ILUVALASKA]

We tried the appeal-didn't get an increase.