What You Need to Know About a College Financial Aid Appeal Letter
Last Updated on January 2, 2024 by Jill Schwitzgebel
Did your teen receive a disappointing financial aid award from their “dream school,” after you were celebrating their acceptance just days before? Not receiving the anticipated financial aid award feels like a blow – this could put that college out of reach financially, and no parent wants to disappoint their child, especially now. If this happens, it may be worth writing a financial aid appeal letter.
Before you jump in and begin writing, you should understand the four circumstances in which an institution is most likely to re-consider your appeal:
When Your Financial Situation Has Changed
There are four situations in which a college is likely to re-consider your aid package:
- A death in the family
- A job loss or other loss of income
- A major illness in the family
- Another unique, significant circumstance
Families usually complete the FAFSA based on their taxes from the previous calendar year. But, as 2020 has taught us, an awful lot can happen in the months between when you file your previous year’s taxes, and when you file the FAFSA. While you can’t appeal the EFC amount that government says you can afford, you CAN explain changed circumstances to the college.
The first three circumstances listed above are fairly straightforward. The fourth is sometimes a gray area. A unique financial stressor might be something like gaining another dependent because perhaps a niece or nephew moved in with you. Or, I know a family that appealed an award because they had two family members with ongoing large medical bills due to chronic health issues. Another family was providing regular support to a family member out-of-state. There was no way to reflect that on their FAFSA.
For any of these circumstances, expect that the college will require documentation to support your request for re-consideration.
When You Made a Mistake on a Financial Aid Form
This is probably self-explanatory. Financial aid forms can be complicated and humans make mistakes. If you realize too late that you made an error completing a financial aid form, you should be able to demonstrate what happened to the college and they will recalculate with the new information.
When You Received a Bigger Aid Award Elsewhere
This is not quite as straighforward as it may seem. Just because your teen received a large award from one college, does not mean that another college has to do the same. You will want to approach this situation carefully.
Most private colleges will practice “preferential aid packaging.” They will give their best need-based financial aid to the students they most want to attract, whether it’s due to the student’s academic stats or their geography or because they need a cellist to round out their incoming class. There can be any number of reasons. So, that could be the reason for a lower than expected offer.
But, it still can’t hurt to ask, keeping some things in mind:
You need to consider the schools’ caliber before asking them to match the other offer. For instance, if the school that offered a generous aid package is significantly less selective than the one that offered the award you want to appeal, your financial aid appeal is much less likely to be granted, and it’s probably not worth asking.
However, if a less selective college offered significantly less than the highly selective college, it’s definitely worth appealing. And, the same thing goes if the two colleges are similar in prestige.
When a Change in Academic Status May Result in a Larger Merit Award
If a college typically offers academic merit aid, and your student’s GPA or test scores went up since applying, it can be worthwhile to update the college with this information and ask for a larger merit award.
When Not to Appeal
There are times when a family should not appeal their financial package. For instance, if you purchased a new home with an expensive mortgage which gives you less cash to spend, unfortunately, the college is not going to take your request seriously. The same goes for new cars or any other non-essential purchases that your family might have made.
It’s also not worth going through the financial appeal process unless the college is your student’s first choice, or if it’s likely to become their first choice with a better financial aid package. I suppose you could hope to get into a bidding war among colleges, but it would be a lot of effort, and awfully complicated.
And finally, there is little point to writing a financial appeal letter if you have none of the reasons listed in the first four sections. Despite what you may have heard, simply being disappointed with the award you received is unlikely to result in a successful appeal.
The Financial Aid Appeal Letter
The sooner you get in touch with the college with your appeal, the better. Do not pay any deposits to any college before appealing. And, remember, this communication should actually come from your student, not from you. If it’s a complicated financial situation that your student would obviously not be involved in, then it’s okay to come from parents, but explain that in the letter.
Begin by emailing the financial aid office to ask what their process is. Sometimes, colleges will actually have financial aid appeal forms for you to complete. If you contact the financial aid office, they will direct you about how to access them. But if they do not have a form, you’ll need to compose a letter. Make sure that the letter:
- Expresses gratitude for the aid already offered (start with this!)
- Expresses the student’s desire to attend this particular college and why
- Expresses the financial issues/changes that make the school unaffordable
- Includes the documentation to support the appeal
- THANK them for considerationRecently, in an effort to make appealing for more financial aid less confusing, a digital platform called SwiftStudent tries to simplify the process by giving families templates they can use. It’s new, so it remains to be seen whether all institutions will accept their forms or not, but it’s intriguing and could be a game changer.
Finally,
Don’t feel embarrassed about appealing your student’s financial aid package. Rest assured that the college is hearing from many families, and that is even more true this year than in years past.
Of course nothing is guaranteed. But, if you’re polite and respectful in communications and you’ve presented solid reasons and documentation for your request, you are more likely to see success.
