<p>Is there a preferred way that financial aid offices like to hear from parents regarding appeals for more financial aid? (I know the preferred option is to NOT hear from parents at all.)</p>
<p>Check the financial aid information that you received from the school. The website or brochure might say. I mailed each school a letter. One asked for more documentation and stated what I should provide. A couple made changes, one small and the other not so small, just based on the letter. It was certainly worthwhile in our case for me to make this effort.</p>
<p>I sent a plea by email to the financial aid officer in charge of our account. She forwarded it to the appeals committee. They awarded us an extra 3k per year which made me happy.</p>
<p>Rachel</p>
<p>The preferred way financial aid offices like to hear from parents regarding appeals for more financial aid is: cordially and honestly! 
OK, seriously, I sent an email, then waited a bit and phoned. This way they had the concrete details in the email, and it set the context of my questions. For me it took the pressure off to have to be completely articulate when I phoned! Most of what I’ve read on CC here sounds like FA officers approach this sincerely and do what they can. Most important in my case was digging a little bit deeper into the financial situation and clarifying a couple of ambiguities. Other thing is, this must be a busy time for FA people, so you may have better luck reaching them by phone.</p>
<p>When I was “negotiating” with Yale and Stanford recently I started with an e-mail and then followed that up with a phone call. I found it easier to express my thoughts in an e-mail first but I think that a friendly phone call is needed in order to move the appeal ahead quickly. I was able to “clarify” a couple of items on my Profile and obtained an additional $2500-5000 in aid from each school. It’s worth a shot!</p>
<p>Well, that was quick. sent an email this morning asking for the process for appealing, providing background on what we could afford, and within two hours got a replay – there is no appeal process, there will be no money offered. Turned down cold.</p>
<p>Ouch.</p>
<p>This may not be relevant to your circumstances, but I’ll briefly mention that last week, I called FA offices of three colleges that had admitted my DS, and while two said, “it is what it is,” the third was open to re-evaluating and offered our family more grants a few days later - so it’s important to keep in mind that responses do vary widely from college to college.</p>