<p>Can someone tell me more about this? Is it possible to lobby/contact the office expressing interest and asking for more aid? Is this ever successful, and how would one go about doing this? I'm assuming it'd be more probable in smaller schools.</p>
<p>Does anyone know?</p>
<p>It can be/has been done but results depend on the college. If they are trying to fill the student population segment you match then they might go higher. Otherwise maybe not. I don't have any firm data.</p>
<p>My daughter is in her 2nd year at a private college. Her friend's mom writes to the FA office every few quarters expressing how well her daughter is doing, etc, and her aid has been increased twice. I just wrote a letter for my D telling them how wonderfully she is doing (she got her first 4.0 last quarter) and asking them if there was anything they could replace the work study money with. I explained that it is not that she doesn't want to work, but that the program she is in requests that they not work their 3rd and 4th years due to the nature of the program. We will see how that goes!</p>
<p>Generally, unless there are special circumstances, such as supporting or caring for elderly grandparents, unanticipated large medical bills, etc., need-based aid isn't negotiated. (It's not unusual for a student's need-based aid to increase somewhat each year as savings are depleted to pay for the previous year - assets go down, need goes up.)</p>
<p>It may be easier to negotiate for increased merit aid, since you are obviously a student the college wants. Even this may be difficult, however, as there is only a limited pot of merit money.</p>
<p>Be careful. We tried this with one school. We sent a merit and financial aid package from a more generous school to a competitor. They responded by increasing merit aid from 7500 with a 2.8 required to 10,000 with a 3.0 required to keep it. Then they took away W/S and our subsidized Stafford. I did not see the second package as superior to the first, and my son is not at that school. This was all done in writing by the school. There was no oral discussion.</p>