Can I Appeal My Financial Aid Award?

When you apply for student financial aid, schools will typically give you the best offer they can within their ability in order to entice you to attend their college over competing ones. But if your financial situation changes, the amount they propose might not be enough to cover your expenses anyway. When this happens, can you appeal your financial aid award and request a better amount? The advisors at College Funding of Tampa Bay will show you what to do in this situation.

Reasons to Appeal Your Financial Aid Award

Things happen, but what are those things, specifically? One of the most common reasons for appealing your financial aid award is anything to do with your financial status and your ability to contribute to college costs. You could also try appealing your award in response to a better offer from a different school.

Changes In Financial Status

You can’t really predict what will happen to your household income. Any unfortunate circumstances could leave you unable to cover your end of the financial responsibilities in attending college, such as:

• Becoming unemployed and losing your source of income
• Developing a disability followed by new medical bills
• Having another person in the household enter college
• Going through a divorce leaves you with a lower household income
• Experiencing the death of someone who was contributing to the household’s income
• Having the birth of a new family member necessitates financial needs

Responding to Another School’s Offer

If you’ve applied to any backup schools and they end up offering a higher financial aid award than the college you actually want to go to, you can take that information to try and get a better deal at your preferred college. It won’t always work, but it’s worth a try because some schools will go out of their way to have you attend their campus over a competitor’s.

Tips for Appealing a Financial Aid Award

Sending in an appeal in response to a low financial aid award can sound intimidating if you’ve never done it before, but we have some advice to help make the task more bearable:

Talk to the Right People

It can be difficult (and seem nearly impossible) to get a hold of someone who is directly in charge of distributing financial aid. If you call the office and end up on the line with an assistant who promises to take your message, call again later and insist that you speak with the administrator. Otherwise, there’s no guarantee that your message will actually make it through. Alternatively, it may be better to send an email rather than call by phone. Phone calls are particular with the timing, and the administrator is likely very busy. Emails are more accessible and can be done at their own convenience.

Communicate Effectively

Whatever your reason is for appealing your financial aid, the administrator won’t have the time or desire to sit down and hear your entire life story. Just give the straight facts that they need to make an impartial decision and leave it at that. Some schools may not be interested enough in you to haggle, either. They might not even have the resources to do so. You don’t want to leave a bad impression by being unreasonably troublesome, so know when to walk away.

Seek Out a Financial Advisor In Tampa Bay

When appealing your financial aid award, perhaps the best thing you can do is manage your expectations. Every school has its own policy and limited resources. If you need more ways to pay for college, the advisors at College Funding of Tampa Bay can help! Call us today at (813) 755-6834 for a free consultation.