<p>Here’s my standard reply to that question:</p>
<p>Succesful appeals at Pitt, and AFAIK, they are few and far between, come based on:
- Direct comparison of bottom line cost at a peer institution (Pitt does not care how much money school X offered, they want to see and compare your out-of-pocket costs.)
- They do compare peer institution offers - think public AAU universities.<br>
- Major to major admissions. If you were admitted to Pitt Engineering and you were admitted to Comparison U as a liberal arts major, Pitt does not consider that equivalent.
- Do your homework, merely saying that you need or want more money is a non-starter. Saying that you need more money since it’s clearly more affordable to go to a peer university gets their attention. Have a copy of that competing offer in hand.
- It should clearly understood that the higher your stats and other hooks (URM, geographical desirability, etc,) the better your chances of an appeal.
- Pitt wants you to enroll at Pitt. Creating the perception that you are looking at Pitt solely as a safety or a back-up school won’t help. (Hint - saying that your kid didn’t have time to complete the Chancellor scholarship application implies that Pitt is not her number one school.)
- Hey, you can always ask. Just don’t assume that you’ll get an increased scholarship.</p>