College $$$. How to request more

elainemasey · ‎03-14-2010

DS has been accepted to his 1st choice school with some merit money. Another school also accepted him and offered 3K more. It has been suggested that I go back to first choice school and request more money..... At least to match the other school. Where do I start? Does it matter? Do I start with the Admission Rep that he had been talking to? Do I go straight to the Financial Aid office? Someone suggested the Dept. Head, sometimes they have money.. What do you think us the best route? Also, do I call or email? Does DS make the initial call?? 1st time thru the process... Thank you

CouponQueen · ‎10-21-2010

I know nothing about how any of this works..but I would not have the nerve to go to the first school who awarded him xx amount of dollars merit money...and it is his first choice and tell them you want three grand more..

If I was the first school and you asked me for MORE money then I offered and told me ABC School offered three grand more..I would tell you ""congratulations...and to go there then..""

Chrystaltree2 · ‎12-08-2014

Well, I do know that some parents actually do "bargain" with schools. I don't think they ever go to School A and ask for more financial aid to match what School B is offering. No one would ever do that, it's NOT the way to get what you want. I think you would call the financial aid office in your nicest, sweetest, most motherly voice and ask them for their
"help" with a difficult situation. Your son desperately wants to attend School A, it's always been his dream. However, financial aid is important while you appreciate what School A is offering, is there any possiblity that they could increase the amount to allow your son to attend the school of his dreams. Then you say that, as a last resort, he did apply to "another school" (don't name it) and they have offered more financial aid. If School A can offer more, they will open up the conversation and tell you what has to be done. If it's not a possiblity, they'll tell you that.

Marienkaefer2 · ‎03-09-2010

I agree with Chrystaltree. I worked in a university financial aid office, and it is quite acceptable to request additional financial aid. Is this a private school? Private institutions on average do have more leeway with the amount of aid awarded. BUT you do have to plead your case. It also depends on how much the school wants your son to attend. In order to encourage a diverse student body, colleges make acceptance decisions based on a wide range of factors...GPA, field of study, personal story/history, goals, past achievements, etc. If your son really wants to attend this school, I would start with a letter to the financial aid office, explaining his desire to attend, your family's financial need, etc. Financial aid offices have counselors who review student aid awards, so you could call first and ask for the name of the person most likely to review his award, and what the steps are to appeal, and what kind of information they want from you. But you will need to appeal the award in writing.

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.--Marcus Tullius Cicero

Marienkaefer2 · ‎03-09-2010

Also want to add: The FAFSA became available on January 1st. Have you completed it yet? You really need to complete that! This will really help to give you a better picture of wwhat aid your son will be getting! It's really too early to be thinking of appealing. Complete the FAFSA, then see what aid you are awarded from that and you will have a better picture.

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.--Marcus Tullius Cicero

Penellope · ‎09-03-2012

On 1/5/2015 Marienkaefer2 said: Also want to add: The FAFSA became available on January 1st. Have you completed it yet? You really need to complete that! This will really help to give you a better picture of wwhat aid your son will be getting! It's really too early to be thinking of appealing. Complete the FAFSA, then see what aid you are awarded from that and you will have a better picture.

That is correct, but they can't do anything with the FAFSA until your taxes have been submitted and are available through the IRS. It all takes a while. My daughter's school wants FAFSAs by March 15 at the earliest. I think they do process financial aid for freshmen earlier to help you with your decision.

Marienkaefer2 · ‎03-09-2010

On 1/5/2015 Penellope said:
On 1/5/2015 Marienkaefer2 said: Also want to add: The FAFSA became available on January 1st. Have you completed it yet? You really need to complete that! This will really help to give you a better picture of wwhat aid your son will be getting! It's really too early to be thinking of appealing. Complete the FAFSA, then see what aid you are awarded from that and you will have a better picture.

That is correct, but they can't do anything with the FAFSA until your taxes have been submitted and are available through the IRS. It all takes a while. My daughter's school wants FAFSAs by March 15 at the earliest. I think they do process financial aid for freshmen earlier to help you with your decision.

That's not exactly correct information. If you think your 2014 income will be the same or fairly similar to 2013, (no unusual circumstances), then it is STRONGLY encouraged to complete the 2014 FAFSA with your 2013 information. You can then go back and make any changes, if needed, after your 2014 taxes are done. (Which we also encourage families to do as soon as possible.) There is a lot of competition for financial aid. The pot gets smaller the longer you wait. We tell all of our students and families to complete the FAFSA online asap, so you can determine your expected family contribution, as well as get information from your college as soon as possible. No, March is really too long to wait!..I have never heard of that. The competition for aid is great, and the pot dwindles. Also, in this case, this parent cannot make an informed decision about how much aid her son will actually receive without doing that. And by completing the FAFSA, she will also.immediately see what her expected family contribution is. I have worked in college financial aid, (in different states) as well as in advising high school students, and I've attended NASFAA trainings. This is the same advice we always give.

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.--Marcus Tullius Cicero

Penellope · ‎09-03-2012

On 1/5/2015 Marienkaefer2 said:
On 1/5/2015 Penellope said:
On 1/5/2015 Marienkaefer2 said: Also want to add: The FAFSA became available on January 1st. Have you completed it yet? You really need to complete that! This will really help to give you a better picture of wwhat aid your son will be getting! It's really too early to be thinking of appealing. Complete the FAFSA, then see what aid you are awarded from that and you will have a better picture.

That is correct, but they can't do anything with the FAFSA until your taxes have been submitted and are available through the IRS. It all takes a while. My daughter's school wants FAFSAs by March 15 at the earliest. I think they do process financial aid for freshmen earlier to help you with your decision.

That's not exactly correct information. If you think your 2014 income will be the same or fairly similar to 2013, (no unusual circumstances), then it is STRONGLY encouraged to complete the 2014 FAFSA with your 2013 information. You can then go back and make any changes, if needed, after your 2014 taxes are done. (Which we also encourage families to do as soon as possible.) There is a lot of competition for financial aid. The pot gets smaller the longer you wait. We tell all of our students and families to complete the FAFSA online asap, so you can determine your expected family contribution, as well as get information from your college as soon as possible. No, March is really too long to wait!..I have never heard of that. The competition for aid is great, and the pot dwindles. Also, in this case, this parent cannot make an informed decision about how much aid her son will actually receive without doing that. And by completing the FAFSA, she will also.immediately see what her expected family contribution is. I have worked in college financial aid, (in different states) as well as in advising high school students, and I've attended NASFAA trainings. This is the same advice we always give.

I'm sure you are correct, and schools have different procedures. You need to find out what your chosen school requires. In my case, I continually receive emails from student aid dot gov indicating our forms are not complete until the current tax information is available. States have different regulations also.

goodstuff · ‎03-09-2010

I think it's fine to go to school A and apply for additional scholarship money. There are scholarships all over the place. I wouldn't frame it as expecting School A to bargain against School B to win your wonderful son, however!

Also, it's important to compare more than the amount of "merit money" offered by School A against that offered by School B. What are the overall costs at both schools for room, board, tuition, and fees? Where are the schools located? How costly will it be to travel to and from each? What do the college communities have to offer? What study programs, extracurricular opportunities, social and career programs, and campus amenities appeal to your son? Are there internship or co-op programs available to help with expenses while offering valuable experience? School B might offer less "merit money", but offer much more opportunities and value overall.

elainemasey · ‎03-14-2010

Thank you everyone. My son was chatting with his Admission Rep this afternoon( the Rep called to wish him Happy New Year) and I spoke with him. He said that the school does not match other schools merit awards. He reviewed his file again to make sure the award was correct and it was. It was all nice and friendly. He totally understood why I would ask. Really really trying not to be pushy but should I check with financial Aid office or the Department head? You know how it is when all us parents are sitting in the bleachers and everyone has an opinion but none of us have been through the process. Now he needs to get cracking on some scholarship applications. Any advice on those?