Editor's Note: Greetings, all! We'd like to take a moment to introduce a new featured column in Private School News, "FAST Answers to Financial Aid Questions," in which our financial aid specialists will answer pressing questions about the theory and practice of scholarship programs in private-independent schools. Please contact us if there's a financial aid question you'd like our experts to answer in upcoming issues!
Q: Can you share any tips for an effective financial aid appeal process?
A: As hard as you work to make fair and equitable financial aid awards, some families are going to be disappointed—or even angry. They feel as though they really need-or deserve-more financial aid than you deem they need based on their application. An appeals process gives the family an opportunity to plead their case one more time. If your school offers an appeal route, consider the following tips.
1. Require new, different information.
Ask families for any new, relevant information that would have given the school a reason to change its decision, or at least clarify the information on the original financial aid application the Financial Aid Committee already considered when it made its decision. An appeal should give clear reasons or extenuating circumstances why the committee should reconsider the award.
Essentially, the school should require any evidence necessary for the family to prove its case. Many times, a family may have different values from the school, and may simply appeal in an attempt to pressure your committee into a greater award. Just because the family feels that it is more important to pay down debt, for example, than pay your school tuition does not mean you have to agree.
The committee should be acutely aware of this tactic, and make awards based on the school's values.
2. Get it in writing.
You should accept appeals in written form only, and stress that the appeal letter should present the facts clearly, with as little emotion as possible. When you receive emotional appeal letters, extract the information into note form and present it to the committee. Make it clear to the family that verbal complaints—in person, on the phone, or otherwise—do not constitute an appeal.
3. The original committee considers awards.
Once you receive an appeal, the original committee should be the group that considers the appeal. These members are the ones most familiar with the application and the reason for the original award or denial of award. Allowing an outside person or committee to decide the appeal undermines the effectiveness of the Financial Aid Committee. By permitting secondary people into the process, two different deciding bodies are created—which begs the question of what the purpose of the original committee was in the first place.
Just one final thought: the more information (especially in writing) you equip yourself with, the fewer surprises you will experience in the long run.
Have your financial aid questions answered! Submit your issue, and we may answer it in a future column!
