1° Federal aid is already packaged into your financial aid package.
2° if the school doesn’t meet need, it’s “late” to request a review because the deposit deadline typically is May 1. Most people who get an insufficient package and can guarantee that with $5,000 their kid WILL attend make a request to “non meet need” colleges immediately, not 10 days before the deadline. It’s too short for them to re-evaluate and offer something, unless they’re really short of their enrollment target. An issue of course is the economic crisis that’s hitting colleges just as hard as families so there may not be any money left. But of course go ahead with your appeal, ONLY at colleges your child would absolutely attend if affordable.
3° if you told us your EFC, the COA, and the college, it’d help us help you; most importantly please tell us WHICH COLLEGES (all of them) your child has been admitted to for which net cost.*
4° your child may have to take a gap year at his point. S/he may well be an “admit-deny”: nominally admitted but without providing a sufficient financial aid package, so that if you feel like paying great for them and otherwise they’ve already written him/her off. It’s a nasty practice.
- to find the net cost at each, take the financial aid letter and calculate (tuition, fees, room, board) - (scholarships, grants) =