<p>Hi, Im a senior h=who is going to Syracuse U in the fall. My parents need tips on negotiating merit and finaid awards. Is there any room for negotiation with finaid? i've heard that there is but i'm not sure. also, if there is, how do the parents (in particular) and their child go about this process?</p>
<p>^^thanks in advance for the input!</p>
<p>If you've been accepted at several schools that SU considers "competitors," SOME Us will look at award packages offered by other Us and be willing to increase your net grant so the family's out-of-pocket expense is comparable at both Us. The key is to get into several schools that also draw from the same general area & offer you a nice award package (you have to complete all the paperwork, including all the FAid stuff before the deadlines). Your college counselor might be able to guide you on which schools "compete" with SU. Deadlines are approaching/have passed, so you need to really move on this if you don't have your apps/acceptances & FAid stuff already in order.</p>
<p>Don't ever use the word "negotiate" when speaking/writing to the colleges. You want a financial aid REVIEW.</p>
<p>^^ooo ok thank you</p>
<p>I don't agree that you need to move on this right away. Most colleges have Feb. 15th as their priority fA application date, and that is just about the earliest that most of us can get our taxes filled out and fafsa/profiles done using actual figures. Then you have to wait for all acceptances and FA offers (Usually all there by early April), then you know what you have been offered - and you can ask for a review if there are large discrepancies (sp?) between the F.A. packakges offered.</p>
<p>^^sorry i forgot to say that this is Early decision..sorry i didnt clarify that</p>
<p>I worked in financial aid (higher ed) before becoming a counselor. I posted this info on another thread but I think it applies. Syracuse is pretty big so it may be tricky.</p>
<p>When you complete your FAFSA and get your EFC:</p>
<p>Write a letter (no more then 1/2 page or so) BRIEFLY stating that "My EFC is $xx and while I realize you can't do anything about that, please consider me for any grants, scholarship or subsidized loans."
Wait for your award letter. Loans, grant, sub, unsub... you'll have a mixture assuming you still have need (cost of education less EFC) Look for sub loans and Perkins. Perkins is a great loan and if there's need, the school can award it to whoever they want. If you don't like your award letter, call. Do your homework. I can't stress this enough. F.A. people are overworked and if they don't have to go over the basics with you, they'll be appreciative at the start.Know which programs they offer that look good to you and ask about them. Nicely...stay on their radar. It's a fine line between being a pain and being heard. In the end, if you get nothing more..at least you tried. I wrote a script out for my friend who's son was going to a mid-sized school in Chicago...she eeked out and additional 5k with one call. </p>
<p>I agree with LurkNessMonster...DO NOT use the word negotiate.</p>
<p>I think the best time to do this is as soon as you get your EFC back.
Good Luck.</p>
<p>ED generally means you'll go unless you absolutely can't afford it, so you may have a bit less power for "reviewing" anyway. Also, with ED, you're supposed to withdraw all your apps as soon as you get your ED acceptance, so there will probably not be anything to use to have them compare. You can go into circumstances that don't readily appear on your FAFSA and any other FAid forms, like large medical expenses, sudden drop in income, upcoming huge expense, etc. You can ask them to review & use "professional judgment" to award you more grant rather than loan, and provide them with documents to back up what you tell them.
Agree that as soon as you get your EFC back is the best time to work with them, before they hand out all their money because once it's gone, it's gone. You can already start gathering paperwork to support these unremibursed huge med expenses, etc. so it's ready to go.</p>