When and how to appeal a financial aid award
Your latest financial aid award letter arrives, and you tear it open, eager to find out how much money you鈥檙e getting 鈥� but you鈥檙e met with disappointment.
Maybe the offer鈥檚 less generous than the ones you鈥檝e received from other colleges.听Maybe it has way too many loans and not enough grants and scholarships.听Maybe it prevents you from attending聽that particular school. But what if that school is your first choice,聽or your聽聽no longer tells your whole financial story? Then聽the appeals process comes into play.
That鈥檚 right: You can ask for more聽鈥済ift aid鈥� 鈥� that鈥檚 money that doesn鈥檛 have to be paid back, unlike student loans.
The process varies from school to school, and there鈥檚 no guarantee that your appeal will be approved, but there are steps you can take to improve your chances.
Here鈥檚 what you should know about appealing your financial aid award:
When to appeal your financial aid award
The appeals process isn鈥檛 for everyone.听鈥淪aying, 鈥榃e didn鈥檛 save enough money, can you please give us more鈥� just isn鈥檛 a compelling enough reason,鈥� notes Zena Taylor, founder of College Select, a service that helps students find and apply to schools.
Here are the main reasons to appeal your award:
Your聽financial circumstances have changed.听If your family has experienced a life event that impacts聽its聽finances and isn鈥檛 reflected on your FAFSA, you鈥檙e probably a good candidate for an appeal. These changes can include a birth or death, unemployment, disability, divorce, lowered income, moving, selling a house or having another child聽enter college.
Most colleges will help you find additional聽鈥� but you have to back up your claims.听Supplying supporting documents, such as medical bills, helps.
Your top school offered less aid than another.听Some schools will work with you to match or beat another school鈥檚 offer if it means locking in your acceptance 鈥� especially if you鈥檙e an exceptional candidate.
鈥淎t many schools, it鈥檚 a buyer鈥檚 market,鈥� explains Lynn O鈥橲haughnessy, author of 鈥淭he College Solution,鈥� a book aimed at helping students find the right school at the right price. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to be more likely to succeed [in getting more financial aid] if you鈥檙e looking at a private school than at a public school. They鈥檙e more eager to fill their spots.鈥�
Stephanie Goldberg-Mauro, founder of consulting company College Planning 101, suggests researching聽the SAT and ACT score ranges of the college鈥檚 previous聽freshman class using the National Center for Education Statistics鈥櫬犅爐ool. If your scores are in the 75th percentile or higher, you may be able to聽leverage them聽to secure more merit-based aid.
You can also use the聽聽to learn聽about the average financial aid package awarded by each school you鈥檙e considering.听This will help you decide if appealing is the right move.
How to appeal your financial aid award
Email 鈥� don鈥檛 call 鈥� the school鈥檚 financial aid office to find out its appeals guidelines.
鈥淗ave you tried calling a college lately?鈥� Goldberg-Mauro asks. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 get through. You can call and call and call; they are so slammed with requests 鈥� but they鈥檙e going to check their email.鈥�
The response you receive should tell you聽whom to contact, how to get in touch with him or her and any special requirements you must meet.
Once you have this聽information, figure out聽exactly how much you want, why you want it and how to put聽it in writing. The more specific you are, the more likely it is that the school will approve your appeal.
Another useful tip: Speak their language.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 use the word 鈥榥egotiate鈥�; they don鈥檛 like that. And don鈥檛 just appeal to a school emotionally. They鈥檙e not going to relate to that,鈥� O鈥橲haughnessy says.
Instead, Taylor suggests saying, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e my first choice,鈥� or asking if there鈥檚 anything the school can do to enable you to attend.
If you document聽your situation, ask for a specific sum, show that you鈥檙e willing to work for the extra aid and sprinkle in a bit of flattery, you鈥檒l have a good shot at approval.听But it鈥檚 important to go in with realistic expectations, Goldberg-Mauro says. She advises students to expect nothing, but hope for the best.
鈥淲e might get another $500, or we鈥檝e had one offer go from $8,000 into a $30,000 award. So there鈥檚 a huge range,鈥� she says.
If your financial aid award appeal is rejected
If your appeal isn鈥檛 successful, you might still be able聽to close the gap. For example, you can ask to have the cost of attendance adjusted for your circumstances, covering your commuting costs, for example,聽or the costs of required items, such as a laptop or textbooks. This might qualify you聽for more aid. If that doesn鈥檛 work, it might be time to consider a less expensive alternative.
鈥淒on鈥檛 go to a school that costs too much money,鈥� O鈥橲haughnessy says. 鈥淒o not go into huge debt because you think this degree is going to be magical.鈥�
Devon Delfino is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:聽ddelfino@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:聽.
This article first appeared in .听
