Financial aid is an important part of college funding for most families. As a parent with three teens in college, the total cost of three universities means that  

financial aid

  and scholarships are a critical part of our education funding.

Knowing how intricate the financial aid process is, I helped my children fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms and sent them in months before the July 1 deadline. In April, we were notified that our forms were flagged for a random audit (a common practice called verification). I immediately sent in the requested information and copies of tax forms. In July, we received the financial aid packages from the various universities and we were excited to see that all three children received Pell grants. Our oldest daughter, Leslie, however, was denied a Pell-based scholarship (a merit-based scholarship tied to Pell grant eligibility). Leslie was an honor student, had filled out the forms on time, and should have been eligible. Oh well -- you can't fight the system, right? But is the financial aid package really the final answer?

Luckily, I didn't accept what I thought to be a mistake, but as someone who'd never faced such a situation, I was forced to learn the ropes quickly. I did and I'm happy to say that there are steps you can take to discuss and perhaps resolve questions about your financial aid package. Here they are...

Contact the Powers That Be
First up -- contact the university financial aid office to determine why aid was denied or less than anticipated. In our case, we discovered our daughter's Pell-based scholarship was denied because of an "incomplete" file. The random audit of our FAFSA forms was ongoing at the time in which the awards were disbursed. Because the approved documents were sent to the university by the federal financial aid office weeks later, the limited aid dollars were already gone and, therefore, Leslie was denied a scholarship. A staff member assured me there was nothing that could be done. I had feared hearing that response and was about to accept the defeat as bad luck, but I made an appointment to meet with the manager of the financial aid office to appeal my daughter's case anyway.

Appeal the Decision
Despite whatever reluctance you may feel going one-on-one with someone in charge of your financial fate, rest assured -- school officials are willing to help. "Most financial aid professionals welcome the opportunity to talk individually with the student or the student's family about how the financial aid package was determined," says Scott Medlin, director of financial aid at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, OK. In fact, he adds, when appealing your package, there's more involved than simple number-crunching. "There are many factors about a family's financial situation that are simply not addressed on the FAFSA."

At our meeting, we presented Leslie's appeal, basing it upon the fact that the original documents were turned in by deadline, and that the federal audit was random and not due to any errors on our part. We shared all documentation, including information we had gathered from a phone call to the United States Department of Education. Yes, we did our homework.

According to Ronald Shunk, director of financial aid at Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA, we made the right move. "While a student can and possibly should visit the financial aid office to question an award or award amount, it is best to place an appeal in writing and it is most helpful to give specific dollar figures if a case is being made for reduced income or other financial circumstances."

Financial Aid Awarded!
Two days after our meeting, we learned our appeal was successful! The university awarded our daughter a $1,000 cash scholarship. Though the original funds were allocated, because of the error, the university made an exception and awarded a scholarship from a separate fund. We also received an unexpected bonus. Leslie's Pell grant was smaller than that of her siblings, but after reviewing the information from our meeting, the university reallocated her award package, too. Her loan amount was reduced and her work-study funds were raised by $1,200. In the end, by not accepting the financial aid package as the "final answer," my daughter earned a prize of an additional $2,200 to pursue her education.

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