How to Appeal for More Scholarships
Spring is in the air! For seniors, that means receiving final admission decisions and financial aid packages. While it’s often frustrating to realize that you did not receive the full scholarship package you had hoped for, there are steps you can take to appeal for additional scholarships from a college.
A couple of general notes before we get started:
Since there is never a guarantee that you’ll receive more scholarships from an appeal, it’s best to go in with low expectations.
You can’t submit your enrollment deposit if you want to appeal for more merit aid because you would lose all of your leverage.
Merit aid appeals are typically more successful at less selective colleges, especially when the student is at the higher end of the applicant pool.
While the below steps are for appealing for more merit-based aid, you can also appeal for more need-based aid. We’ll be discussing that in next month’s blog post!
Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s dive into how to actually appeal for more scholarships:
Compile your recent accomplishments: When appealing for more scholarships, it's important to highlight your newest accomplishments - that will help your admission counselor figure out how to fight for you! This can include your academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and any awards or recognition you’ve received since originally applying to the college. Provide a detailed list of your accomplishments, along with any relevant documentation, such as transcripts, certificates, or letters of recommendation.
Compile all of your financial aid packages: Create a spreadsheet that clearly shows the net cost for all of your colleges. Simply Admissions has a financial aid analysis template available but you could easily make your own too.
When reviewing the spreadsheet, it’s important to focus on net cost, rather than the actual scholarship amount. Let’s use the following example to explain why:
College A’s sticker cost is $60,000 and they award you $30,000 in scholarships.
College B’s annual sticker cost is $50,000 and they award you a $20,000 scholarship. This means College A & College B have the same net cost.
College C’s annual sticker cost is $50,000 and they award you $25,000 in scholarships. That means that College C’s net price is less than College B and their scholarship is the best option to use as leverage against College B (even though College A’s scholarship is technically larger).
Reach out to your admission counselor: Typically, admission offices handle merit and financial aid offices handle need-based aid. Regardless, I always suggest starting with the admission counselor that covers your geographic area (you can usually find that information on the college’s website). Your admission counselor has their own quotas to meet, which might benefit you. Email your admission counselor an overview of the situation, explaining. that you are requesting a merit aid appeal. Include the updates you put together during the previous two steps and ask how you should proceed.
Be polite and respectful: It's important to remember that the admissions counselor is there to help you, but they also have many other students to assist. When appealing for more scholarships, avoid making demands or ultimatums. Instead, approach the process with a positive attitude and a willingness to work together to find a solution. The admission counselor you’re speaking with is answering to their supervisors; they’re often not able to
Follow up: If you haven’t heard back about your request in about a week, follow up to ensure that they have received your request and ask for a status update. Be persistent, but also patient and understanding.
Read between the lines: At the end of the day, colleges are a business and they want to protect their assets. Sending pressure-filled emails to families and setting seemingly arbitrary housing deadlines help deter families from appealing. Even if an admission counselor is implying the appeal won’t be successful it’s still worth pushing through until you hear the final “no.” Best case scenario, the outcome will pleasantly surprise you. Worst case scenario, you’ll know that you didn’t leave any money on the table!
Appealing for more scholarships from a college can be a lengthy and challenging process, but it's worth the effort if it helps you secure more financial assistance.
If you’re a Simply Admissions client, we’ll cover all of these steps, if applicable, during our work together. If you’re not a current client but have questions about the appeal process feel free to contact us!