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Home | Reference & Education | College And University Like most questions about financial aid, many variables must be considered before coming up with an answer. And, there is no "one size fits all" answer. It is accurate to say, however, that in some instances, meeting with a financial aid or admissions counselor can lead to a better financial aid package than the one offered initially. Virtually all colleges and universities require students seeking financial aid to answer questions on a federal form (called a FAFSA) designed to provide an indication of a student's need for financial aid. Some private colleges also use a second form to obtain additional relevant financial information. The financial information on a student's FAFSA is fed into a formula to determine whether or not he or she is eligible for federal grants and/or subsidized (low interest) student loans. Understand that other kinds of aid, including many scholarships and unsubsidized loans, do not require established need, but federal grants and subsidized loans do. You also need to realize that federal dollars can not be used to award more dollars than required to meet a student's full need. Therefore, the only way to get an increase in the amount of federal aid offered to you in your initial financial aid award letter is to convince a financial aid officer that there has been a significant change in your financial standing since the submission of your FAFSA or that there are special circumstances not reflected in your FAFSA answers. If you can prove what you say, you will have a chance. Institutional financial aid, however, can be a different story. Individual colleges and universities can offer you grants and scholarships even if you have no financial need. But, not all choose to do so. The very most selective colleges tend to offer money only to those with demonstrable financial need (and meet the full need of all students). Many colleges employ their own scholarship monies as a tool to compete with more prestigious or less expensive institutions...institutions to which they might otherwise be likely to lose students. These colleges are more than willing to put scholarship dollars on the table to attract top students. As a result, students bound for colleges in this category may have some luck in upping their financial aid package if they can point to other institutions which have offered them better packages or make a convincing case that the initial financial aid package presents a difficult financial challenge. These kinds of appeals should be made to an admissions counselor or to the Dean of Admissions. Remember, you are asking for help, not negotiating. If you behave like an aggressive business professional or consumer, you are very unlikely to get what you want. And, remember, there are any number of laws, rules, and regulations to which college administrators must adhere; they are not always able to help even when they want to. In some instances, however, they may enjoy a fair amount of discretion. So, if you need more financial help than you are first offered, open the lines of communication with someone in the admissions office...it can only help. Article Source: http://www.articlewheel.com
Daniel Kane, a university Dean, has created and maintains websites on online college programs and online college degrees .
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