Your Aid Package is Based on What The College Thinks You Need
Financial aid award letters have arrived! Families who have a clear understanding of their offers and then thoughtfully appeal for more financial aid money can receive thousands of dollars more in aid each year. In an admissions season full of unknowns, schools are on the hunt to recruit new students. Families are in the driver’s seat when it comes to appealing for a ‘financial fit’ attendance price.
“Colleges are more open to negotiating affordable aid packages now.”
Mark Salisbury founder of TuitionFit
Appealing for More Money Makes Good Financial Sense
Appealing for more financial aid is a common practice, and here are reasons to appeal for more aid. Families ‘in the know’ have been asking colleges for more money for decades — long before the economic impacts of Covid. Everyone can appeal for more aid, but those facing income or job loss have even more leverage.
“I had a student who received a $30K per year merit award at his first choice, but he was also offered a full ride at his second. I worked with the family to write a merit aid appeal, and the first choice school increased his merit to $45k per year.”
Laurie Kopp Weingarten, Certified Educational Planner and President of One-Stop College Counseling
Understand What a College is Giving You vs What They are Loaning You
It’s crucial that you clearly understand aid that has to be repaid (loans), aid that is earned (work-study), and aid that is granted (scholarship or grants) in their award letters.
You can find out the out-of-pocket costs for each college by doing an apples-to-apples comparison of all your offers. First, find out each college’s financial aid appeal process. Second, strategically craft and submit a clear and compelling letter. Third, include any required documentation or paperwork that helps support your appeal. See a complete guide for how to appeal for more financial aid.
“The best strategy for securing more financial aid from a college is to show them that a comparable institution has offered you more money.”
Neeta Vallab, founder of MeritMore
Are Online Tools Equally Useful?
There are online tools that can help families navigate the appeals process, but they’re not all as helpful as they could be. Here are four resources we evaluated for you:
MeritMore | Compare Offers and Appeal Letter Generator
- Unlimited apples-to-apples comparisons of all financial aid offers received
- Crowdsourced merit aid amounts from similar students for the same colleges, including historical data
- 1st year out-of-pocket calculation, estimated 4-year cost, and recent graduates median income
- Customized “smart letter” technology auto-generates appeal letter incorporating comparable offers
- Free
TuitionFit | Compare Verified Offers
- Unlimited apples-to-apples comparisons of all financial aid offers received
- Crowdsourced prices and aid amounts offered to similar students no matter what college the award came from
- Verified data
- Historical data
- Free with upload of financial aid award letter
College Board | Offer Calculator
- Compare 4 offers at once
- Percentage breakouts of costs
- Free
Lending Tree (Student Loan Hero) | Financial Aid Calculator
- Compare 3 offers at once
- Percentage breakouts of costs
- Matches consumers to lenders (not all qualify for advertised loan rates)
- Free
A Closer Look at MeritMore’s Compare Offers & Appeal Letter Tool
MeritMore’s new tool for streamlines the appeals process for all families who are asking a college for more money. Features include:
- Unlimited apples-to-apples comparisons of all financial aid offers received (crowdsourced merit aid amounts from similar students for the same colleges, including historical data)
- Calculations of 1st year out-of-pocket cost and estimated 4-year cost
- Data on median incomes of recent graduates
- Customized ‘smart letter’ technology auto-generates an appeal letter that incorporates comparable offers
Appealing for More Aid is an Important Step in the Process
You can save thousands of dollars per year on the cost of college if you take the time to negotiate for more money. Asking a college for more money will not negatively impact you. In fact, it’s one of the most important steps in the process of making your final decision about which college you’ll attend.
A smart consumer always tries to find the best deal possible and you should too. While appeals aren’t always successful, don’t self-select yourself out of getting more money simply by deciding not to ask.