Stupid, I know, but is there a possibility to still negotiate if I get a better offer from another college?
Did you apply ED? Or EA?
@Emsmom1 EA.
With EA, you still would be able to cancel your acceptance up until the standard May 1 date. You might lose any deposits, but that’s it.
You can call/email and say you accepted without showing your parents, and so can the admission reps remove that you clicked for enrollment… till your parents have received the financial aid package and made their decision?
This would provide an explanation, at least.
@MYOS1634 I don’t think I can do that because I already made the deposit.
Aren’t you a minor?
@MYOS1634 I’m 18, but that’s inconsequential because my parent paid for it. I’m a first generation student, so we were unaware of waiting to make an enrollment deposit.
Colleges rarely will "negotiate’ a better financial aid offer.
Even EA you have until May 1 to make a final decision. You can call the school and tell them you are not going to attend. You will just lose your admission deposit (as they are usually non refundable).
What is your basis for an appeal?
Does your school promise to meet 100% demonstrated need? If it does not, you have been gapped and should not expect any more money.
Is it a FAFSA only school or does the school use the CSS profile or their own forms to give institutional aid?
Have you had a change in your financial situation since the time that you applied to the school (expected unpaid medical cost? job loss of one of your parents, death of one of your parent)?
What school were you accepted to EA?
I already made an enrollment deposit. Is it possible to appeal any financial aid offered after I’ve already made this deposit, or is that not feasible?
At this point…do you have other pending applications? Just wait and see what you get from other schools. If you decide NOT to attend the EA school because the aid isn’t as good or is insufficient…you will just need to notify them.
You know…you applied to college…please, please…read things before you just DO. Clearly, you didn’t take time to understand that you were under NO obligation to send a deposit or accept an EA offer of admission NOW.
Lesson learned.
It sounds like OP hasn’t even received the FA award information yet for this school. Given that, there is nothing at this time to appeal.
@sybbie I believe the college I applied to does allow refunds until what they called the “confirmation deadline” (which I believe is just the May 1st deadline). Also @BelknapPoint is correct, I have not yet received award information. It’s a FAFSA only school.
You can still try to get a better aid offer. But you may lose your deposit if it doesn’t work out and you end up not attending.
Your claim to “not know because you are a first generation applicant” is weak. The rules are, I’m sure, on the website of the college(s) you applied to.
FYI - My kids will be third generation college students. My mom applied to one college and got in; same for my dad (1960s). I applied to 6 and got into all. Applications were simple, and ED/EA were not common, at least not to where I applied. I know no more about the ED/EA rules than you do, and to find them I’d have to read the website (or ask on CC). The reason you “don’t know them” has nothing to do with being “first generation applicant”.
I do understand the confusing rules though and your question is valid.
Is this decision “binding” or “Non-binding”?
Btw, it’s not a Fafsa package. Fafsa is just the way you submit your family info. It may qualify you for fed grants, through the college. What you’re waiting for is the financial aid award from the college.
@sunnyschool That’s not my claim for an appeal. I was just explaining why this mistake occurred.
There was a checklist on my college’s website, and submitting the enrollment deposit was the next checkpoint, and I didn’t think much of it, because I trusted the site and I didn’t realize it was more difficult to negotiate financial aid after accepting admission (this was not mentioned on the college’s website, I’m assuming because the college does not want to give more aid than they have to). My older brother did go to college, but he only had one option, so we hadn’t done the “negotiating” part before.
So…yes, the reason I made this mistake is because I and my parents had no prior experience with it because I’m a first-generation student. That’s still entirely my fault, of course, but I don’t know why you’re criticizing something that doesn’t have to really do with my question. It’s logical that people given any task will make more mistakes if they have no prior experience performing that task.
Applications are online now, and it’s very easy to click a button and pay in just minutes, so your parents’ experience in the 1960s is not equivelant. I also don’t know why you’re trying to compare your experience to mine, when you had the guidance of your parents who’d gone through the process before.
I’m not trying to sound snide, but you came off highly judgemental towards a situation that you don’t seem to have personal experience with. I’d understand if yourself were a first generation student, but you aren’t, so I don’t see the reason to be so curt about it.
To answer your questions, I applied Early Action, but the school I applied to does offer a refund on the enrollment deposit upon request, so I could withdraw the deposit and accept the offer from another school if need be.
@lookingforward I apologize, thank you for the correction.