<p>Ran into a friend this weekend around town (spring is finally arriving!) - started talking college choices (she has a HS senior). She told me that her family/her daughter asked about appealing their EFC/need-based award at one of her schools (it was drastically different than all of the other schools where she had been admitted - all more highly ranked, not that it matters) and was told that appealing and the resultant additional review of their financial information could result in a HIGHER EFC/reduction in the original award grant amount awarded.....has anyone ever heard of this? </p>
<p>I told her that sounded totally strange (fishy? unethical?). I could theoretically understand if a family with lots of assets was improperly awarded need-based aid and through some sort of review was given a revised package, but this happening as a result of a FA appeal just sounds like bad news to me. I told her it sounds like she was given incorrect information but she said she has this in writing (email) - and that the email even implies that appealing "frequently" results in a grant reduction/higher EFC....</p>
<p>Well, it sounds like the school is trying to discourage appeals – but if it is a need based award, then it is certainly possible that information revealed during the appeal process could hurt as well as help. </p>
<p>Sounds to me more like the school is just putting out some sort of disclaimer rather than a threat – if merit award is in the mix it may also be a reminder that merit money can be reduced to compensate for increased need-based money in the package. </p>
<p>Sounds like the daughter has plenty of good choices. I’d say she should appeal the award if that school is still high on her list – and make her decision about which school to attend after all awards are in hand. </p>
<p>No. I do not believe that happens UNLESS a mistake has been made in the original award. I would e-mail a financial aid office and ask verification for something like this and turn this over to the President’s office or the appropriate dean as well as discuss this with admissions if such an underlying threat were made to me. Absolutely, I would. Bear in mind that going to a school with someone willing to play these kinds of games in the fin aid office could mean serious issues in the future if a student goes to a school where the fin aid officers are this way. You can get over a bad admissions office, as students are not going to be dealing with that part of the school once there except through choice, but if you need financial aid, you are going to be dancing with these folks for the next 3 years. So this is a serious matter if this kind of thread is making it’s way into the discussions.</p>
<p>So, yes, if there is an error, or information does come out where you should have gotten less aid than you did, a correction should be made. Bear in mind that if this comes up through verification process, say the following year, you’d get your aid pulled then, and if federal money is involved, it could also mean retroactive reimbursement. You can’t mess with the feds that way. If you get PELL when you didn’t really qualify, you gotta pay it back, for example. Not a “too bad, school made a mistake” situation. So you don’t want to go to a school where the aid you get is given based on an error because you can get the rug pulled out from under you any time. Again, I remind you that fin aid is for 4 years, not something that is going to go away unless you fall into some big money in that time. So there is little glory getting away with a mistake one year with huge downside risks that it get caught later when you are enmeshed with the school and have fewer alternatives. </p>