How To Appeal Your Financial Aid Package
engr1 • August 4, 2021
How To Appeal Your Financial Aid Package
College is one of the most financially stressful stepping stones for young adults in the United States.
A four-year degree at a public college can cost an average of nearly $38,000 for in-state students and nearly $96,000 for out-of-state students, according to the College Board. Most students pay less than the sticker price, but the costs usually remain quite steep.
Most schools offer financial aid awards to students to help them afford attendance—but sometimes, it still isn’t enough.
One lesser-known secret of higher education is that you can negotiate financial aid packages. That means even after receiving an offer from a school, you can usually ask for more aid.
Here’s how the process works.
How Financial Aid Packages Work
Filling out the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) is a key part of the college application process and will determine what you’re eligible for in both federal and other need-based aid. This paperwork will ask a variety of questions, including about you and your family’s financials, to help determine how much aid you’ll be eligible for from both the federal and state government and the school.
There are two types of financial aid awards a school grants out of its own funds: need-based and merit-based.
Need-based Awards
Need-based awards are granted based on an applicant’s financial situation. Harvard University, for example, states 55% of its students receive need-based scholarships from the institution.
Harvard calculates its grant-based awards by determining parent contribution (a percentage of a parent’s income that can be put toward the student’s school costs, on a sliding scale up to 10%), factoring in student employment opportunities and any outside awards and then covering the remaining need with grant-based funds from the school. These grants don’t have to be repaid. Other universities follow a similar process.
Merit-based Awards
Merit-based awards are given based on achievements, such as academic excellence or dedication to community service. Not all schools grant these awards. Harvard, for example, does not. The University of Southern California (USC) notes that its merit scholarships can range from $2,000 to full tuition for a year.
The Process of Negotiating a Financial Aid Award
Once you receive your financial aid award determination, you might realize that it’s less than you were hoping for. Or, your financial situation may have changed since you originally applied—and now you’re stumped trying to figure out how to pay for what your aid package doesn’t cover.
You can ask your school for more financial aid. While most people will refer to this process as negotiating your financial aid package, most schools will refer to it as appealing the award it offered you.
Brian Walsh, a certified financial planner (CFP) at personal finance and private student loan company SoFi, has worked with families as they navigate the financial aid appeal process. He says since there are two different types of financial aid from schools, there are two different processes to appeal for more aid.
Need-based Appeal
When it comes to need-based appeals, Walsh says, “You’re trying to appeal to the financial aid office for more money, essentially saying that your need is going to be larger than what was reflected when you filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).”
In most cases, appealing need-based aid means writing a letter explaining how your situation has changed and providing documentation to prove it. A change in financial situation could be more than just losing a job; according to the University of South Florida’s financial aid appeal FAQ, appeals could also be due to parents getting divorced, incurring extraordinary medical bills or receiving a windfall that was included in your FAFSA but is not recurring.
You’ll also want to include specific dates and amounts of financial obligations you now have, compared to when you originally filled out your FAFSA.
Merit-based Appeal
These appeals can be tougher to make, and some schools don’t consider them. But, in some cases, it can be worth trying to ask for more merit-based aid. Walsh says this process would generally take place with the admissions office, not the financial aid office.
Appealing merit-based aid means you’ll have to prove academic achievement that happened after you initially applied for financial aid. Walsh says scenarios like retaking the ACT or SAT and scoring higher could help you secure more merit-based aid.
Walsh also brings up an interesting anecdote: Some of the families he’s worked with have taken higher financial aid offers from other schools and presented it to their school of choice as documentation in their appeal.
Keep in mind that some schools have specific processes and deadlines for appealing financial aid. Refer to your school’s financial aid website for more information.
3 Tips to Save on Higher Education Costs
Although most students end up paying less than the sticker price to attend college, the costs usually remain high. If college feels out of reach for you financially, consider these tips:
1. Fill Out the FAFSA
According to Walsh, some families choose not to fill out the FAFSA because they think their earnings are too high to qualify for aid. He says not doing so is a huge mistake. The form is due before every school year and calculates how much a student is eligible for in aid such as Pell Grants, work-study programs and loans.
“In reality, a lot of people will get some sort of financial aid,” Walsh says. “I wish everyone would just make sure they took the time and fill out the FAFSA and find out before just disqualifying themselves without any insight.”
2. Fulfill Prerequisites at a Community College First
Community colleges are a fraction of the cost of most four-year universities. One year at a public two-year college for local students is just $3,440, according to the CollegeBoard. Fulfilling prerequisites at a community college can cut down on overall higher education costs—just make sure the university you wish to attend after will accept the previously earned credits.
3. Apply for External Scholarships
If your financial aid award appeal proves unsuccessful, you can still apply for more scholarships from external companies and organizations. Search engines like Scholarships.com allow you to search for awards relevant to your situation, such as scholarships for academic majors and first-generation students.
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