College is expensive, and financial aid is meant to bridge the gap between how much you are expected to pay, and how much you can actually afford. The formulas colleges use to calculate financial aid awards are often esoteric, and they quite often seem to expect you to pay or borrow far more than you would like.
Generally, all you can do is apply for financial aid and hope for the best, but in some circumstances you are able to appeal your financial aid awards. In this article, we’ll explore when this may be possible, how to go about it, and what, if anything, you can expect to receive. Let’s get started!
A Brief Note of Caution
While it is possible to appeal your financial aid awards, in most circumstances, you will not receive any additional funding. You should not pin your hopes of affording a particular college on a financial aid appeal. While this process can yield positive results, we do not want to get your hopes up unduly. Further, this only works for need-based aid; colleges do not reconsider merit aid awards through appeals. With that in mind, let’s begin.
When you Can Appeal your Financial Aid Award
Every college has their own standards for appeals, but in general they have the same basic requirements. You are able to file an appeal under the following circumstances:
- There was an error on one of the forms you submitted, such as the FAFSA or CSS profile, and so the information the university based your award on was incorrect.
- There has been a major change in your financial circumstances, due to a loss of income, death in the family, or other event.
- The school made a miscalculation of the resources you have available, and overestimated your ability to pay.
This last one is the least accepted, unless there was a serious error on their part. This often results from misinterpretations of foreign holdings, including assets, investments, and property, since colleges are less experienced dealing with finances outside of the US. Note that this generally only matters for students who are US citizens but whose parents have assets outside the country; colleges rarely offer financial aid to international students.
Colleges are generally more lenient if you made a mistake on your financial aid reporting forms, such as FAFSA, and may sometimes accept a change in circumstances. Colleges will not accept your own inability to pay; they have already factored this in, and believe that you can make up the difference through loans. This is not ideal for many, but we are unfortunately in no position to change it.
Colleges will not give you more money just because another school did, but you can use another aid award to demonstrate a mistake on the college’s part when calculating your need. For example, if Yale offers you a full ride of need based aid, while Harvard expects you to pay $20,000 per year, you can include Yale’s award in your appeal, as an example of your point. Note that only comparable scholarships can be used here; getting a merit scholarship from a school will do nothing to help your appeal for need based aid.
How to Appeal Your Award
If you believe your award may be appealed, you must first go to the school in question’s financial aid page. While there are similarities, many schools have their own unique quirks or requirements on top of the formula we present here. We will include the general case in this article, but always be certain of a school’s exact requirements before appealing an aid decision.
In order to appeal an aid award you will need to submit the following:
- An online form which identifies yourself, and allows them to find you in their system.
- A letter which explains the reasons for your appeal, and why you believe they made a mistake in their award.
This letter should generally be written previously, and then uploaded as a pdf. In the next section, we will cover the content of these letters, and how to go about writing one. Note that if you did make a mistake on your FAFSA, you must correct this before sending in a letter appealing the financial aid decision.
The Appeal Letter
This letter needs to be as factually accurate and informative as possible, while also serving to convince aid officers that a mistake was made when calculating your financial need. This letter should be fully honest, and not delve too deep into irrelevant details.
We recommend beginning with a brief formal introduction, introducing yourself and reason for writing. After this, you should get straight to the heart of the matter: why you believe you need or deserve more financial aid than you were offered initially. There are many possible options, but some common ones include:
- A medical situation has led to either increased expenses, a loss of income, or both.
- A change in financial circumstances because a parent was laid off.
- Your assets are lower than the school calculated, or below average compared to your age and income level.
- You received a better need-based aid award from a peer institution.
That said, not all circumstances are considered by colleges. You can include the following to give a better sense of your situation, but these circumstances will not move the needle:
- Changing exchange rates of foreign currencies.
- Costs associated with caring for extended family.
- Costs associated with home or car repairs or upgrades.
- Private school tuition. While colleges take into account families who have multiple children in college, they do not do the same for students attending private high schools, as free public schools are always an option.
You should be clear when detailing circumstances. If a mistake was made and then corrected, what was it, and how much did it cause your resources to be overestimated by? These are the briefest letters to write, since a corrected mistake is generally easy to explain.
If the mistake was on the college’s end, then you may need more description. This is because you need to convince aid officers that they have in fact made a mistake, and that they have miscalculated how much money you actually need.
You should include as much detail as possible when doing this. Explain where the mistake occurred, and why your finances should not have been calculated as they were. Here is where aid offers from other colleges can be helpful, especially if they have similar financial aid policies. If two schools both guarantee to meet all demonstrated need, and have the same income cutoffs for aid, but offer you different amounts of aid, you can use that as evidence in your letter to one of the schools asking for reconsideration.
If you are writing to give the college an update on your financial status, and how this change has impacted your ability to pay, make sure you include all relevant details. You want to be sure the college understands your circumstances, and has all of the information they need to properly calculate your aid amount.
It may sometimes be necessary to include corroborating documents for this letter, such as new pay stubs. Different universities have different policies on what they will accept; check their sites before sending anything.
Even if your appeal is rejected, financial aid offices will have suggestions on financing for you. Colleges do want to help you, and can advise you on loans, outside scholarships, and parent loans as financing options. Make sure to thoroughly explore all of your financing options.
A Note on Deposits
If you are appealing your financial aid award at a school, do not put down a deposit until the appeal is answered, positively or otherwise. Making a deposit is a commitment to attend, and pay for, the college based on the current offer you have, regardless of the outcome of an appeal. You should make sure you submit a deposit and commit somewhere before the May 1 deadline. We recommend filing any aid appeals quickly, to make sure there is time for schools to respond prior to this deadline.
If you are receiving full need-based aid, a college will often waive the deposit. You need to contact them and affirm your intention to apply, and to apply for a deposit waiver. How schools handle this varies, but you should look into it if you are receiving a full ride scholarship; these schools know your financial situation, and are looking to help you if possible.
Final Thoughts
College is expensive, and becoming more so over time. This article is part of our continuing effort to help students and parents understand their options for financial aid, through application, strategies, need blind schools, and merit scholarships. We hope that you find this information useful, and that it provides some degree of clarity for your own efforts to navigate this process.
While the task to apply to college can seem herculean, you don’t have to do it alone. We have a depth of experience advising students and parents on both the grander strategy and minutiae of college applications, and helping them make sense of a complex system seemingly built only to vex you. If you have further questions, or want to hear how we can help with your unique circumstances, schedule a free consultation today. We’re always happy to hear from you.
