Congratulations, you were admitted to your college of your dreams! Next you receive a letter of notification from the financial aid/scholarships office. If you did not receive the award you expected, you may need to make an appeal. Follow these steps to appeal for more funds:
1. Begin by contacting the aid office and ask them what procedure you should follow to appeal for more financial assistance. Visit the office in person if time is on your side.

2. A “financial appeal” is when you attempt to demonstrate that with your current level of income and assets, you can’t afford to pay the total cost of attendance for the first year. Ask the aid counselor to recalculate the initial Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Be sure to share any new information as well as all supporting documents including income verification, an update on asset holdings, a list of unusually high expenses, a description of special circumstances, etc. This new data could bring your EFC more in line with what you can afford.

3. A “competitive appeal” is based on the rivalry that can exist between schools when they are roughly a similar selective admissions basis. Ask if the school has an institutional policy and sufficient scholarship funds, that “puts them on record” as willing to respond to the aid packages of their rivals. Sharing copies of the other award letter with the intent of improving your original aid award may be a way to substantiate a competitive appeal.

You won’t know what is possible until you ask. On one hand, the appeal may not produce a different award. On the other, the college may respond and increase the total amount of aid you receive which will allow you the opportunity to pursue the dream of attending your first choice school.