Six Steps to Increase Your Financial Aid Award

With the ever increasing cost of college, nearly all students count on some type of financial aid to attend college. But what do you do when the financial aid package you receive is not enough? If you follow these simple steps you can increase your financial aid award.  I know, because I did it!  Here is how I did it and how you can too.

My daughter had worked very hard in her high school years and was accepted into 6 top Universities. We were relying on an expected amount of financial aid to pay for her schooling. So when we learned we were given a financial aid award package significantly less than we expected, I set out to find a way to increase her financial aid. I followed the six steps below and obtained a significantly higher award package enabling her to go to her top University choice.

We did have a somewhat unique situation.  Our income tax returns did not accurately reflect our actual income because of a small inheritance received the prior year. Because of this inheritance, which was part of a 401K, we were required to report the money as income for purposes of our tax return. When our EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) was calculated, it could not differentiate the one-time inheritance payment, but rather assumed a higher regular income then we actually received.

1. Compare Each Award Package

I started by comparing each of the awards that were received from each of the schools to applied to.  I made sure that all of the basic State Grants, Work-Study allowances, and FAFSA aid were similar.

Basically, I was looking to see whether any mistakes had been made in the award package. It is not common, but it does happen, schools do make mistakes.

If you believe a mistake was made, contact the school that you believe may have made a mistake and let them know why you think a mistake was made.

2. Look for a Basis to Negotiate

In each of the financial aid packages we received, the basic State Grants, Work Study amounts and FAFSA aid amounts were very similar.

However, the additional academic and merit-based scholarship award amounts did differ fairly significantly. Because of this, each of the total award packages received were in varying amounts. What this told me was that there was room to negotiate the award package from the first choice University.

3. Contact the Financial Aid Office

I contacted the financial aid office of each University that had sent a financial aid package.   Each school will have their own procedure for requesting additional aid.

Some schools have formal appeal processes, while others only require an e-mailed letter.  You may find that some of the appeal applications are easily completed online.  However, some schools will require you mail in your applications and supporting documents.  One of the schools we dealt with actually required notarized documents.

It is important to separately contact each school to determine their requirements for appealing the offered financial aid package. Do not assume their procedures are the same.

4. Appeal Your Financial Aid Award

Once you know the appeal processes, submit your appeal to each school.  In the documents you file, list out why you feel the award was inadequate.   Be sure to include any supporting documentation that you have.

At this point, we had a couple schools raise our financial aid package by increasing the scholarship amount offered. As a result of this process, one school increased the financial aid award itself. Again, make sure that you follow the specific procedures for the school’s appeal process, remembering that different schools have different processes and requirements.

I was very careful to make sure I followed the specific procedures for the school’s appeal process.  Remember that different schools have different processes and requirements.  Be sure to follow the correct process for each school you are working with.

5. Update Your Financial Circumstances

Also, make sure to update and financial changes or hardships that you may have incurred since the filing of your previous year’s tax returns (which is the basis of your FAFSA award).

Some schools will modify your award so that it is based upon your projected income rather than your actual previous year’s income.  When looking at a possible financial hardship think job loss, large medical bills, housing loss anything that is above your normal expenditures.

I submitted a change in financial circumstances due to the inheritance being a one-time payment that we would not receive again during the school year we were applying for aid for.

6. Let Them Know You Have Better Offers

If you do not have any financial hardships you can still increase your financial aid award.

After you have updated all financial information and gone through the appeal process, now is the time to up your negotiating efforts.

If your student has been accepted to multiple schools and received higher scholarship offers from other schools, use those awards to negotiate.

As a result of the appeal process, we received an increased award package from our first choice University.  However, the increase was not as much as I was hoping for.  I sent another request for additional financial aid.  In this next request, I explained all the reasons we loved that School.

Let the University know your student really wants to attend that school, but because the other schools had provided a larger scholarship and financial aid package, as well as having lower tuition fees, money is an issue.

After receiving notification of an increased financial aid award from other schools, I made a third request to our first choice University to increase their award based on this information. Approximately 48 hours later, we received an increased award, which was everything we needed.

So you see, you do not have to accept the first financial aid award you receive. Universities do negotiate, do not be afraid to ask.

While the competition is stiff to get into a top university, remember the competition among Universities to attract quality students is also stiff. Universities are willing to reconsider their aid awards.  Sometimes all it takes little more than asking.

So if you are looking to increase your financial aid award, apply these steps and go and make today your favorite day!