For anyone that may have some experience asking for Financial Aid appeal, I wanted to ask how many days (or weeks) does it take to hear back from them?
For us, I think it was just a few days, but we didn’t submit an appeal until late April last year, so a quick decision was necessary. Before submitting the request, I spoke to someone on the phone and she told me when to expect a response, so you might want to follow up with a phone call and ask.
@tulip71
I figured that if I called them, they’d be pestered or bothered.
Also, I think they’d see my desperation and then not help as much since they’d think I’d settle even for less help.
I really wish there were a better way of demonstrating our true ability for how much to pay. I hope someone someday invents a system that provides a true EFC accurate calculation based on a dynamic measure of salaries, current bills, and savings trends. That’s a job for a computer science major and would surely be an innovative software. IDOC and all the other current systems rely on past data which may have no bearing on current up to the week, information.
I don’t think one call following up on your appeal is going to sound pestering. On the contrary, I think it helps show your interest in the school. I’m sure they’re very busy right now, but surely they also understand how important the financial package is in making a college decision. It’s not unreasonable to want to know how long to expect for a response. I’ve had to call the financial aid office a couple times and they’ve always been very helpful and friendly.
From what I recall ours took just a few days
If you haven’t heard by now I’d certainly call.
Agree with @Slydog. My D appealed and we heard in 3 business days.
@fatherofsam & @slydog Can I ask if your appeals were successful? We do not have need according to our EFC, however, we are a middle class family & I am struggling to justify the additional cost of RPI compared to my son’s other options. I am deciding if it is worth asking RPI to match another offer in terms of net cost.
We were successful in our appeal but my son was also awarded a fairly generous merit award to start with. Not eligible for any grants or income based aid except for the $5k federal loan
@NJFather - RPI did offer us a little additional aid ($4K/year) on top of a good merit scholarship (by RPI standards). However, she has decided to pass on RPI…
Last week I called and they said that the board will be looking into my appeal ‘by the end of the week’. I waited and waited and kept checking and checking. I must have checked literally atleast 1,000 times already. I’m serious, I am not exaggerating. This is how bad I want to go to RPI, it has become an obsession.
So this Monday I call again and ask with the most awkwardly polite mode that I could when my appeal will be looked at since it wasn’t looked at last week as I was told. She recognized the name and said that the appeal will be looked at by the board very soon. From specific to vague, this is not trending in a good direction.
I hope others will agree with me when I say this is so not-fair. Fair would be for them to tell me a date of the worse case scenario–April 30th or something. At best, tell me the right date. Isn’t it close to the analogy of an enemy soldier holding a gun to your head and just keeping it there for 2 hours? Well, ok, maybe not exactly the same but I’m hoping for some compassion from someone out there who can understand what I’m going through. I need to know already whether my direction will be to register at my community college and do a 2+2 transfer with RPI. Or if I am clear to drop my registration fee at RPI’s office with the biggest grin they have ever experienced. Someone put me out of my misery.
I think it took less than a week to hear back fro my son, but it was years ago now. He did wind up getting a total of 10K more per year in merit money, which was a huge help to us. I hope you get positive news soon.
@GoRedhead , I filed an appeal on behalf of my son on Monday & received a response today (4 days). His was not need related but merely a comparison of is different choices for less net cost than RPI.
@GoRedhead , I filed an appeal on behalf of my son on Monday & received a response today (4 days). His was not need related but merely a comparison of is different choices for less net cost than RPI.
@NJFather Very strange, I’ve contacted them once a week for about 3 weeks now and still haven’t gotten an answer. They keep telling me that it will go before the board soon. You can imagine my frustration at not having a settled peace of mind as most other families have. This is a big investment for us unlike anything we’ve ever done before. Especially being the first in college of my family.
I am also having the same problem. I’ve called and they said it’ll be ready for review? Do you know if they mail or email replies? Because May 1st is rolling around and I don’t want to sit around waiting for snail mail ._.
@zyx614 I was told the second time that I called them that the student would be emailed. I haven’t received anything yet.
@NJFather mine has to do with a comparison of other schools also, may I ask if they responded negatively or positively? I’m kind of thinking that maybe the negative responses are quicker and perhaps the positive take longer to evaluate? Also, last time I called they’ve implemented a new automated system, there was no way to reach a live person directly, mostly just informational recording.
@GoRedhead My son was awarded an additional $5000 yr in merit aid
I was able to get a hold of someone today and they gave me the results. I can’t disclose how much for privacy sake but it’s a very strangley specific number and more importantly it is enough to attend!
I’m so happy I can’t even express it.
Really looking forward to meeting you guys in class, see you there.
Congrats, @GoRedhead !
@GoRedhead thank you for your reply! Congrats and I’m so happy for you! See you there as well 