"Talk to a financial aid administrator or admissions consultant, and the advice is the same: Never 'negotiate' your college award letter. For them, the word demeans the process," Student Loan Hero reports. 

"'However, any student can try to 'appeal' their financial aid package,' veteran college financial planner Deborah Fox told Student Loan Hero.

Fox said such appeals have skyrocketed over her 20-plus years advising students and their parents.

'But just because they can doesn’t mean they should,' she cautioned. ;With the larger volume, it is creating more competition and therefore harder to get a good outcome in general.'

...

If your circumstances change between the filing your FAFSA and the time you receive your aid package, you could be eligible to appeal. It’s called a professional judgment and, in the words of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), it’s not a 'negotiation'per se.

'Rather, it is a basis for change to the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) calculation based on documented facts that are present in the current circumstances of the student,' NASFAA vice president Dana Kelly told Student Loan Hero.

Such special circumstances include:

• Divorce
• Parent passes away
• Breadwinner loses their job
• Family suffers through a natural disaster
• Household’s income decreases
• Household’s emergency expenses increase (due to medical care, for example)

Thankfully, there may not even be a need to update your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Thanks to the Higher Education Act of 1965, the school’s financial aid office can independently recalculate the EFC that your FAFSA previously pumped out."

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

Publication Date: 11/12/2019