By Will Geiger
Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.
Reviewed by Bill Jack
Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.
Edited by Maria Geiger
Maria Geiger is Director of Content at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.
Updated: August 19th, 2024
Let’s say you get accepted to college, but the financial aid package does not work for you and your family. Did you know that many colleges will allow you to submit a financial aid appeal letter to be considered for more financial aid and scholarships?
When I worked in college admissions, I was a part of our college’s “scholarship appeal committee” where I helped evaluate various appeals for more financial aid and merit scholarships.
Before you begin thinking about the merit scholarship appeal process, you should make sure that the college or university actually offers merit scholarships. If the institution does not offer merit scholarships, this is a nonstarter (a quick review of their admissions and financial aid website should tell you whether they do).
Once you know that the college does offer merit scholarships, you can inquire about the merit scholarship appeal process and whether they offer it. You can either call the admissions office or email the admissions officer responsible for your region. If they say that there is a process, you can start working on your appeal letter.
Apply to these scholarships due soon
First things first, let’s talk about how you can write a successful merit appeal letter. A successful letter is all about making your case to the admissions officer.
Here is our step-by-step process for writing a merit appeal letter:
The earlier you can submit your letter, the better. Schools may have more discretionary funding available if you submit earlier, and it will leave you with more time to negotiate or consider your other options.
Need-based financial aid is a completely different type of financial aid than merit aid. Colleges award need-based scholarships according to a formula dictated by your family’s financial situation. This means that there is very little (if any) wiggle room for how colleges award need-based financial aid.
With this said, there are two ways that you may be able to receive a reevaluated need-based financial aid package:
In these situations it is absolutely worth contacting the college’s financial aid office to ask if there is any possibility of an adjusted aid package. Generally, the office of financial aid will ask you for a letter explaining your change in circumstances, with context and possible documentation.
When a need-based financial aid appeal is filed, the financial aid officers will examine the entire financial aid application again. In this second, careful review, it is possible that the financial aid officers might see something that could cause the award letter to change for the worse. While this is rare, it is important to know that financial aid appeals can impact your financial aid positively and negatively.
Do not be afraid to ask for what you need. Most colleges and universities want to do what they can to make their education affordable. Don’t be discouraged by cost–there are more than one or two ways to pay for your college education.
Christina Labella | Director of Undergraduate Admissions, Manhattanville University
Below you will find a financial aid appeal letter sample that you can use as an outline when writing your own appeal letter.
Dear [Ms. Gomez],
My name is [Will Geiger] and I am a senior at [Manasquan High School] in [Manasquan, NJ]. I was so excited to be accepted to [Wake Forest University] as a member of the class of [2024].
However, as I weigh my college options, affordability is an important factor for me. [Wake Forest University] is a top choice college for me. [Include 2-3 reasons why the college is a good fit].
I am writing to ask to be considered for any merit scholarship opportunities. [Include 2-3 academic or extracurricular updates from this year].
I have been lucky enough to receive the following scholarships from some other colleges:
[Specific colleges and award amounts]
Additionally, I have attached the actual award amounts.
Nonetheless, I want to attend [Wake Forest University] to study [insert major] and can’t wait to study [insert details about specific classes, programs, or professors that you hope to experience at the college]. With my [insert major] degree, I want to go into [insert job or ambition].
Thank you for the opportunity to be reconsidered for additional merit scholarship opportunities. I am honored to be accepted at [Wake Forest University] and hope to be a member of the freshman class.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Will Geiger
Private scholarships are almost always awarding a very fixed amount of money so it is unlikely that they are going to be considering appeals. This is unlikely to be a winning strategy for students. Of course, with billions of dollars in scholarship money available each year, nothing should stop you from finding and winning more scholarships!
Once you have exhausted the appeals process and have determined that your financial aid forms accurately represent your family’s financial situation your next best move is to apply for more scholarships and consider more affordable options on your list.
There are still many scholarships available for current high school seniors . Additionally, you should continue to apply for scholarships once you are in college (there are a number of scholarships available for college freshmen ).
In addition to scholarships, you may also qualify for federal work study , which is essentially a part time job to help pay for educational expenses.
If your financial situation simply won’t permit you to accept the college’s offer, there are many other options available . Coding bootcamps , certificate programs , and community college can all help you land a higher-paying job. These alternatives typically take a fraction of the time and cost of traditional college.
Finally, student loans or Income Share Agreements can be a last resort for paying for college. Students should consider all of their federal student loan options before considering any private student loans.
