<p>How did you go about doing it? And why do you think you were successful?</p>
<p>We were able to meet with the director of financial aid at our son's ED school
after receiving our initial financial aid offer. We reviewed our budget/expenses
in detail with the director---they increased his offer substantially---our EFC is pretty high, so it will still be a stretch but easier after this adjustment</p>
<p>I think meeting face to face made a big difference</p>
<p>We (DD and I) met with the finaid folks at the two schools where DD did accepted student overnights last year. One school added work study and a Perkins Loan to her package (although I'm honestly not sure how we qualified for that Perkins loan...). The other school flatly refused to discuss their finaid package..and in fact were (I thought) both abrupt and rude. DD chose the first school.</p>
<p>We sent a letter of appeal, with detailed financial information that was not available of the Fafsa, or Profile, and also met with the head of Financial aid when S was visiting on accepted student days. Worked for us! Sending the letter ahead of our visit gave the financial aid office time to prepare their response, and meeting with them was more or less a formality.</p>
<p>how hard would it be to appeal if parents are not too familiar with the process and don't speak english well? would it be okay if i did all the talking and my parents agreed or is it better for the parents to do the talking?</p>
<p>Actually I think it's good if the student is well informed and can do the talking.</p>
<p>Yes when we asked for a special circumstances adjustment the financial aid officer directed most of his questions to our Daughter - we had to help out with some of the info on medical costs etc. So it should be fine if you do the talking. Just make sure you have documentation if there are any special circumstances you want taken into account. Good luck.</p>
<p>Never try to appeal anything on the phone - it's too easy for them to say there's no more aid available. Then what do you say. Everything needs to be in writing, and the STUDENT should write the letter - they're the one who got the award letter (bill). Always explain any special circumstances which could lead to them invoking Professional Judgment. That's when they start from scratch, throw out the FAFSA, CSS or both and listen intently to what your current situation is.</p>