<p>I recieved a 20,000 Board of Trustees scholarship, but even with that I'm going to have to come up with 35,000 a year. GW is my first choice, but I would definitely need more financial aid.</p>
<p>I am really glad that a lot of people on here recieved a ton of financial aid, but I was a bit disappointed with my package. I have some friends who were accepted whose families are much more well off than mine and they recieved more aid than I did, so I was a bit surprised.</p>
<p>Anyway I would like to appeal my financial aid and see if I can get any more money. I really wanted to go to GW, but now it's a big strecth for me to afford it. Does anyone have any recommendations when trying to appeal financial aid? Any suggestions of what to do and what not to do? I plan to call up as well as write a letter to see what they have to say, but I'm not exactly sure how to go about the process and what to expect.</p>
<p>If you have been accepted to another school that has given you a better FA package, you might be able to negotiate with GW based on what another school has been able to offer you. You should add that GW is your first and only choice, but you may have to go to the other school, which you don’t want to go to, simply because of finances. (I can’t take credit for this suggestion, my Dad suggested it). Best of luck to you, we’re feeling the pinch too.</p>
<p>I’m definitely appealing my financial aid. I’m going to wait until monday because that’s when the rest of my notifications come out and if I get a better package, I’ll use it as leverage. It can’t hurt to appeal.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you. I wrote an email to the financial aid office showing that there’s no way I could afford GW based on the aid I received. They wrote back with a link to a form to fill out for an official appeal. The problem is that the form is only for people who have been out of work for 10 or more weeks in 2009 or if your parent changed jobs with at least a 20% reduction in salary. I don’t fit into either of those categories. I called the financial aid office asking if there was anything that I could do. The woman I spoke to told me to fill out the appeal even though it didn’t really apply to me and then wait and see. I’m still waiting- hopefully my aid will go up enough so I can afford it.</p>
<p>I know this is a while after your post- have you had any luck with the financial aid in the past few weeks?</p>