College decisions are rolling in, and soon, the financial aid packages will follow. But what happens if your financial aid offer is not enough? Can you negotiate?
Yes, you can always politely request (don’t demand) a review if you have questions. But do not request it from every college. These financial aid officers are working long hours due to delays in the FAFSA. They are exhausted, and their families miss them.
Pick your top two colleges at most if you plan to ask for a review and have a legitimate reason. These include:
- The tax information from previous years no longer represents your family’s current financial situation, and your income is now lower. Many families used 2022 tax data to apply for financial aid. Big changes can happen in a year. Maybe someone retires, loses a job, takes a pay cut; a parent passes away; a divorce happens; or some other life-changing event. Maybe there was a one-time bonus, sale or other factor that skewed the numbers compared to your current situation. Whatever it is, email documentation to the financial aid office and let them know so they might consider re-evaluating your financial need.
- Expenses that don’t show up on taxes. Is your family caring for someone not listed on your taxes? Supporting an elderly grandparent is an example. Or maybe someone in your family is undergoing medical treatment with little coverage from insurance. Is there a special needs family member with out-of-pocket expenses? All of these situations may warrant a reassessment of your financial aid package. Be prepared to provide documentation.
But what if your information is accurate and you just need more money? What do you do when your second choice school offers a better financial aid package and would be cheaper, but you really want to attend the expensive school?
First, it never hurts to ask. The worst they can say is “no,” and it won’t affect your offer of admission. But before you ask, manage your expectations. Public universities do not have huge reserves of cash waiting for students to request additional aid.
These days, UCs get less than 15% of their budget from the state of California. They are largely self-supporting through research, grants, and private fundraising. You can ask for more money, but unless you have concrete evidence of why the FAFSA isn’t accurate (see above), your odds are low.
Most elite private universities also do not offer non-need-based financial aid. They don’t have to; they have students lined up by the thousands who are willing to pay more for their brand-name diplomas.
If you look at their financial aid websites, you will see they base their offers on need analysis. Now, they may have a more generous definition of need than the FAFSA, but it is still need-based.
Your best chance of getting additional money is to pick your top two schools and compare their offers. If one is offering more money, ask yourself if these schools would see themselves are peer competitors.
For instance, do they have similar admitted student GPAs? Do they have similar admission rates? Are they somewhat similar in size and other characteristics?
If the answers are yes, your odds go up. Write a polite email to the financial aid office explaining that [insert name of school] has offered you a generous financial aid package and if this school could match it you are prepared to commit to this school because it is your first choice.
Include a PDF of the offer you are hoping to match with your email. If the schools see themselves as comparable peers, or your first choice school would consider it a “steal” to get you from a more elite school, you have a good chance of getting at least a review and hopefully some cash.
