<p>As i am sure this has been asked before, i can't really find a direct answer. So I am a junior at UMich and have nearly a full ride through academic scholarships and 3rd party scholarships but my sister is going to be a junior at tennessee this fall and her fin aid package fell a little short. Being that she is OOS her cost is more then me at UM and like half of americans my family just doesnt have the money to go around. </p>
<p>What is the best way to approach the Fin Aid dept about getting an increase? Being the most appropriate route and all. </p>
<p>To make a long story short: I am one of 9 kids(i'm 2nd oldest and mys sister is 3rd oldest) from a well to do area and family but my dad sold his mortgage company before the market crash and retired (on his early retirement from GM) well... we all know the route which GM went. So he picked up a job down south and my family has moved from MI to NC and there just isn't the money to go around for stuff such as 20k for Tennessee until next summer. I have all the financials at hand when talking to Tenn with my sis but i just don't want to come off the wrong way to Fin Aid there... especially since we are OOS.</p>
<p>Help guys would be greatly appreciated. thanks!</p>
<p>I think that loss of pension income might qualify as a special circumstance. Has his income changed significantly since 2008? If so, she can ask FA for a professional judgement.</p>
<p>Call FA, make an in person appointment, if possible, and bring all the documentation you can gather to support your case (change of income, job, etc.). If you cannot make an in person appointment, compose a succince, yet well written appeal letter, addressed directly to the person in charge of granting appeals (the office will generally supply the proper name and title of said person). Petition the school for the aid you need, inquire about merit scholarships, work study, grants, outside scholarships and the opportunity for future scholarships (many are reserved for sophomores, juniors and seniors), others are strictly for incoming freshman. Sometimes you can join a club, participate in a sport, apply for RA position, band, volunteer, etc.These EC’s all usually come with some type of monetary reward Take summer core courses at community college (this will decrease the amount of courses you need to take in the actual college and can sometimes lead to an earlier graduation, thus saving tuition money for a semester.) Financial Aid officers generally work with you within the required guidelines, and can use “professional judgement” if job/income circumstances change from one year to the next. Good luck and go for it.</p>
<p>hey guys thanks. I’m just trying to help my sis… she loves Tenn and doesn’t want to go anywhere else. </p>
<p>Sk8r - yeah… there has been a huge drop in income. I’ll try and work up some good documentation for it. I appreciate it.</p>