What if COVID-19 affected your ability to pay for college? “In my opinion, students should definitely appeal - financial aid offices don’t like the word ‘negotiate’ - their financial aid package under certain circumstances,” says Sorensen. You could reach out to the financial aid office at your first-choice school and tell them that you want to accept their offer of admission if they can match or come closer to the merit award offer from their competitor. Perhaps a larger merit scholarship is being offered by your second-choice school. In other cases, you might see a gap between award offers from two schools, particularly in offer components based on your merit as a student. Keep in mind that some schools have a no-change policy once an award package has been delivered, and any appeal will likely be unsuccessful,” explains Richard Sorensen, president of Falcon Management Group, which runs TFS Scholarships. Be sure you can present a logical front with plenty of reasoning for your argument. “The appeal process itself should be done in an orderly and professional manner. If not, reach out to the financial aid office via phone or email to learn more about how to appeal your financial aid award package. Some schools may have an appeals process or forms available on the school’s financial aid office website. You could also appeal if you feel that the school is offering you less than it is offering other students in similar financial situations. Perhaps your parents’ income dropped, you lost your part-time job, or your family’s house was in the path of a natural disaster. For example, you could appeal an award package if your personal or family financial situation has recently changed and, as a result, you and your family are not able to make the contribution you had initially expected. In some cases, there might be opportunities to appeal financial aid offers with colleges. What is an appeal and when does your financial aid offer warrant one? Your net cost can be paid from a combination of cash, savings, income, loans (federal or private) and other self-help aid (such as work-study programs). Your net cost is more important than the COA because this is the amount you are responsible for providing. To figure out what you are responsible for, ignore the loan section and start by determining your net cost: How much will I be charged to attend college? This is not the amount you will actually be charged to attend the school. The COA is also the maximum amount of financial aid you could potentially receive.
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