I need help in trying to get $3000 to $5000 more in scholarships, aid ,grants anything so my daughter can attend her first choice college. She’s decided on Wofford as her first choice. I have been in contact with financial aid office through phone calls and emails and they said they want my daughter to submit a letter for additional aid and they will consider it. They said tell them amount and why she is requesting additional aid and for the request to be reasonable.
It’s a long story but we have had some financial setbacks which Wofford cannot do anything about as far as what we reported on FAFSA. We really need to get the tuition lower at least $3000.00 which doesn’t sound like a lot but it is.
Anyone have experience like this and what should my daughter say in the letter? Wofford already knows about our financial setbacks so she can’t write about that.
So put your financial issues in the letter…and see what happens.
Remember…if this school costs too much this year, it will also cost too much for the subsequent years…and the school might NOT make adjustments to your aid in subsequent years.
Does your daughter have a job? She should be able to earn $3000 if she works full time in the summers, and say 10 hours a week while in school…beginning right now.
Does she already have the $5500 Direct Loan in her financial aid package? If not, she can take that.
@thumper1 , I have already put the financial issues in a letter and today they responded that my daughter would need to write the letter.
She does have a job but her job is to cover the costs that are not the billable costs - books, personal, etc which the school averaged around $3500
Yes she has the $5500.00 in her package
You do exactly that. Tell them you need $5000 and why - because of unusually high medical bills, or because of an emergency trip to visit relatives due to an illness or death, or because in 2015 your income included a lot of overtime and that overtime (and extra pay) are not available this year.
If you don’t have a reason, you are unlikely to get the money so think about your justification carefully. Maybe your health insurance premiums have gone up 3x, maybe your local taxes have been raised. You also might include what you have done to curb your expenses too, like sold a car, taken on a second job, cancelled cable, or what you are planning to do to make that $3000 up by next year.
So…help your daughter write the letter…giving her the reasons that your finances are not well reflected in the fafsa she submitted.
Help your D write the letter.
And then help your D start to fall in love with one of the cheaper options on her list. ASAP.
Exactly!^ You don’t know what the new Education Secretary will be doing to college funding. You need to plan ahead in case next year isn’t affordable.