The Steps For Appealing Financial Aid Decisions for College

A college might award you with financial aid based on your high school grades, FAFSA details, and admission test. The financial assistance offered could vary from college to college and might not cover the total cost of education. 

In either of these scenarios, you’ll need to file an appeal to reevaluate the financial aid decision. 

Timing Is Of The Essence

Different colleges may offer different financial aid. It isn’t necessary for colleges to offer aid that’ll cover the costs completely. You may find yourself in this position if the aid provided by the college still isn’t enough for you. In this case, you’ll need to request more by making a timely appeal. There are two important times when you can appeal for financial aid. 

• Your FAFSA Hasn’t Been Updated: FAFSA or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid covers your financial condition and the funds that you’ll require for your higher studies. There are a number of times when you might have experienced a sudden change in your finances. Such changes could be unemployment of one of your parents, your sibling getting admission in school, the death of someone on whom you depended, and so forth. You’ll need to talk to the authorities of the college about this sudden change in order to get more assistance
• Other Colleges Are Offering More Financial Aid: You have found out the exact college in which you wish to join and you have also qualified for admission. However, the college isn’t providing you with the aid that you need. On the other hand, you have applied to many other places with the same courses and they’re offering you much higher amounts of aid. If your desired college sees that other schools are offering you better financial help, then they may be more inclined to offer you the same

Appealing Your Financial Aid Appeal

The very first important thing you’ll need to understand when appealing is that you shouldn’t call for financial aid. You might keep on calling and they might keep on ignoring. This is because they receive endless calls a day. Therefore, it’s quite difficult for them to get back to everyone on a timely basis. The best and most effective way to appeal is to send them an email.

When writing the email, make sure to follow these tips: 

• Write To Someone Specific. Try to find someone specific from the college office to whom you can directly write instead of sending a generic email. This works because the particular person will pay better attention to your email
• Give A Clear Reason. In place of making up stories and making the email lengthy, get straight to the point and specify the reason in a concise sentence or paragraph
• Proper Documentation. Your reason should be supported by proper and relevant documents. Enclose such documents within this email and notify the reader about them
• The Amount. Make sure to specify the exact amount that you’re looking forward to. This makes the process much simpler and faster
• Talk About Your Options. If you’re already getting the required financial assistance from some other colleges, don’t hesitate to state that. Also, mention why you prefer this college over other colleges

While concluding the letter, ask for the next steps and mention extra thanks in advance for the grants and loans that you’ll be receiving. 

Rejection Of Financial Aid Appeal

While writing the right email for financial appeal can help you in getting the exact aid from the college, there’s still a chance that your appeal may get rejected. This can happen in a number of situations, such as if the college already has enough enrollments or if they’re not satisfied with your reason. 

In such a situation, there are two things that you can do. Initially, you can try to talk to the authorities to provide you funds in place of other amenities such as accommodation, textbooks, and others. If this doesn’t work, you can always opt for the other colleges where you’re already getting the required aid. 

Bottom Line

Ensuring a good career requires a good education. Unfortunately, higher education can be an increasingly expensive proposition. Accordingly, to cover the rising costs, you should request financial aid from your chosen institution of higher education. Getting the right loans and grants is always possible if you appeal in the right way, so be sure your tactics stick to the best practices to maximize your chance of success.