Don't Call It Negotiating
But do make a detailed case of your need for aid. It never hurts to ask
This is it--the envelope that will decide your future. And no, it's not your college acceptance letter. It's your financial aid package. The first thing you'll notice is that every college has offered you a different amount, sometimes vastly different. After that, you'll realize that in many cases it's not as much as you'd hoped for.
Yet you need not give up on a debt-free life. "Students or their parents should phone or visit the aid office and request an appeal of their financial aid offer if they believe the initial offer does not meet their needs," says Kenneth Redd, director of research and policy analysis at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. If the student faces financial circumstances that the initial aid package didn't consider, most financial aid offices will make a review, he says. Some colleges like to see aid offers from competing colleges, while other schools will ignore them. A quick phone call to the financial aid office should tell you which type your college is.
But whatever you do, don't call it negotiating. That rubs financial aid officers the wrong way. "It's not a negotiating process. It's a matter of making sure that the school has all the information about the family's financial situation to help them determine what amount of aid can be provided," says Charles Puls, director of financial aid at the University of Rochester in New York.
If you are going to ask that your aid package be reconsidered based on your special financial circumstances, a lucid appeal including documentation may be just as important to your attending the school as your college essay was to getting in. But unlike writing an admissions essay, communicating with the financial aid office is not a one-and-done exercise. You should update aid officers every semester about your financial situation--and ask for more help if you can prove you need it. Here's how to do it:
Be polite. Don't start by demanding more aid or cry that you are going to spend your life in debt. Instead, be pleasant. The financial aid office is there to help you pay for college. Tell the administrator what you hope to contribute to the college community. You can even toss a few of your stunning academic or extracurricular achievements in there.
Ask. Next, come out and say it: Is there any way I can be considered for more aid? Say which forms of aid you're seeking and whether you'll consider taking on extra loans. Ask if you can still apply for more merit aid. Be aware that any adjustments will most likely be in the form of loans or work-study, says Redd.
List your reasons. They don't know you in the financial aid office. All they know is what you put down on your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and the other forms you send them. Although those forms are long and complicated to fill out, they are not the whole story. Describe any special financial circumstances your family had this year. Tell them about your sibling who suddenly decided to go back to college, your family member who was laid off, and that unreimbursed medical expense. Contact the office in the way you feel most comfortable, in person, by phone, or by letter.
Be prepared to provide documented proof. The federal government's guidelines for financial aid administrators say an aid package may be adjusted for elementary and secondary school expenses, medical and dental expenses not covered by insurance, high child-care costs, the unemployment of a family member, and a change in income or assets. But colleges are not required to adjust financial aid packages according to those guidelines, nor limited by them, says Puls.
Say thank you. After you've presented all your reasons, be sure to thank the aid counselor for looking at your application again. Remember, officers go through hundreds of these things, and you're asking them to do it again. So, you don't want to burn that bridge.
Give yourself a chance. The worst-case scenario is that your aid package will remain the same. Even if you aren't eligible for more dollars, a financial aid counselor can still explain how your aid was calculated and what each item means. Plus, all that financial knowledge will come in handy when it's time to pay back your student loans.
This story appears in the April 17, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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