I know there are lots of threads on this…i’m just having a hard time wrapping my head around it.
My D has a couple of good options that are affordable. But a school that she would very much like to attend just sent her a note saying that she’s been admitted to the honors college…which leads to all sorts of great benefits…great dorms, classes, teachers, etc…so right when we were ready to make the final decision, boom!
They’ve already given her $15,000 annual merit aid…total cost per year minus this (all-in…everything but airfare) would be $42,000.
We don’t qualify for financial aid…yet will have a hard time meeting this.
So do we have options? Can I go back to them and say, “hey now that you admitted her to the honors college, can you raise the merit aid to $25,000 a year and she will be there on Day 1?” And why would they agree to this?
There may be a chance, if she has more merit aid from a comparable school.
Call or email and ask if they have a financial aid appeal process.
If this school is her first choice, show the fin aid office that the other school is offering x amount of aid/merit which makes it more affordable and they may be able to find you more money. Maybe. Worth asking about anyway.
Merit aid qualifications vary from school to school. You can certainly ask, but you are asking for a $10,000 increase in aid.
This school might not care what another school gave your daughter in merit aid, because their criteria might be higher. Or they might have less merit aid to disburse.
But sure, you can ask.
It sounds like she has an affordable option or two if more money isn’t available.
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Merit aid qualifications vary from school to school. You can certainly ask, but you are asking for a $10,000 increase in aid.
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this is very true. Unless this school routinely awards add’l dollars for the HC, then I could only see them increasing merit by $10k if your child’s stats are super high…like ACT 35+
Thank you all for this advice…and, sadly, she has solid stats (33 ACT, etc.) but not superstar for this institution. So…hey, what the heck, I’ll ask…and when they say “no” we still have good other options.
But don’t focus on the amount of scholarships. Focus on the net cost to you after all the aid is subtracted out.
Also, if you can provide any new info that hasn’t been considered before as part the financial info you’ve provided - any change in salary info, any medical/dental expenses not accounted for, other kids in school, etc…give them something factual to use to re-evaluate your situation.
You can mention specific things about the school that make it a perfect fit for your D - be specific.
It’s absolutely worth a try, and your approach is spot on: “Raise her merit aid (so that we can afford to send her to your WONDERFUL school), and she will absolutely enroll! You are her (and our) first choice.” Best of luck!!!
!. What is their top merit award and what are the stats needed to get that award?
It is nice that you want to ask for 25k in merit, but if the school does not offer it as a merit award and your daughter does not have the stats for full tuition (if offered) or even 25k in merit (if they do offer it), then you will not be getting it.
If merit is based on straight forward stats, the school is going to be of the mind set that either you have it or you don’t
So i just got off the phone with the financial aid office where i explained - reasonably and with some detail - why i’m requesting that my D’s merit aid award go from $15,000 to $25,000 annually. And her response was, “HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA.” okay so she didn’t make that sound but that’s what i heard.
LOL.
anyway, I’m following up with a written request…but, in a way, I’m relieved…it makes it easier to move on.
Been there, doing that today. We provided medical expense documentation and award packages from 5 peer institutions yesterday. So far their response is a pleasant, quick response asking for verification documents but nicely stating there probably won’t be an aid increase. Sigh, still her #1 choice and somewhat do-able, but dang…