<p>Has anyone had success in appealing an aid award, and getting more money? How can someone do this?</p>
<p>I got 66% of my need filled, and 33% in grants/scholarships at a school that is generally great with aid. </p>
<p>I'd love to go there, but need to see more money. How can I appeal and hopefully increase the grants/scholarships?</p>
<p>do you have an offer from a similar school that offers more aid?</p>
<p>What is the track record of the school you received the award offer from?</p>
<p>How would you find out that information? We are in a similar situation with my son's first choice school and have been trying to figure out how to go about approaching them? Thanks</p>
<p>The most common place I recommend to check out financial track records is collegeboard.com</p>
<p>Most of the colleges will have their track records in the financial section of each school profile. The track record is:</p>
<p>% of family need met
% of grants & scholarships
% of work-study and loans</p>
<p>If an award is significantly off of a college's track record, then you have a point to negotiate with. This is generally the place to start to see if you have a case. It is not the only reason to appeal however.</p>
<p>I would also be interested in knowing if anyone has been successful appealing a merit award. My D has been offered less from her top choice, in the form of a grant, than from other schools she's applied to (another very comparable school offered $2k more/yr). My D's stats are slightly above this school's average, her award is slightly below their average merit award. Based on the info on the school's website, she apparently only qualified for a grant, not a scholarship, because of her GPA. My D e-mailed the admissions counselor to ask how her GPA was calculated, if the school reconsidered awards after mid-year transcripts, and not so subtly hinted that her mean parents didn't want to pay that much money when she had better offers elsewhere. So far, no response. At this point, do we give up, do the parents step in, or what? I've heard conflicting advice and stories from friends and on the this board. We will not qualify for any need-based aid.</p>
<p>I talked to my counselor today, and she told me basically what you are doing. Wait until you get offers from other schools, and have the parent tell the school "hey, my kid wants to go here, and is nagging me about it, but I can't afford it! Can you up my offer?!" Money will open up in April as other students decline their awards and head off elsewhere, which means they do indeed do this. I was also told to directly show the school the offer of X school, and how it compares to their offer, and ask to match it.</p>