How to Negotiate Your Financial Aid Offer in 2025

Did you know that it’s possible to negotiate a financial aid offer from a college you are considering? Yes, it’s true – especially if you are targeting a private or out of state university. This is because private universities have large endowments, and out of state universities have more funds to work with for out of state students, since those students pay more for tuition than state residents.

What is important to understand is that your negotiating power lies primarily with the cost of tuition – other costs, such as room and board, books and supplies, and other costs may not be malleable. Most private and out of state colleges have “flexibility” when it comes to what students are actually paying for tuition. And this is where your power lies.

If you’re in the process of comparing financial aid offers that you’ve received from multiple colleges, you’re now in the driver’s seat. You know which colleges want you, and now you can decide which college is best for you academically and financially. Once you determine which college or colleges interest you most, follow the steps outlined here and then reach out to them to see if you can negotiate additional financial aid and scholarships to bring down your out of pocket costs.

Do students really try to improve on the financial aid offers they’ve received? 

Colleges don’t advertise this information publicly on their website, but savvy students like you know their worth, and can and do negotiate their financial aid offers! You can too – but you’ll need to advocate for yourself to the financial aid office. To do this, you’ll need to do one of the following:

• Ask for a tuition discount or additional scholarship
• Complete a formal appeals process to appeal your financial aid offer

We’ll discuss both methods below so that you can decide which process would work best for you.

Get Organized

Whichever way you choose, the first thing you’ll need to do is get organized. Nobody creates a convincing case by marching into the college’s financial aid office unannounced. Instead, be prepared with the relevant documents to help make your request more legitimate. More on this later on in the post.

Part of getting organized is figuring out how much money you can afford to pay. Review the total cost of attendance (sticker price) listed on the college’s website. Next, look at the financial aid and scholarship offer you received from the college already, and deduct any grants and scholarships listed on the offer from that total cost of attendance. Don’t deduct loans – because loans are debts that you would need to repay with interest, so they are actually considered part of your out of pocket costs. Next, if you and/or your family have saved money for your college, deduct what has been saved and earmarked for your first year of college. The balance remaining will have to be covered by additional scholarships/tuition discounts and/or income from a job.

Example:

Let’s say that the college’s total cost of attendance is $50,000 per year, and the college has offered you a $5000 Pell Grant and $10,000 in scholarships. They’ve offered you student loans totaling $5500 for your freshman year, and your parents were offered a Parent Plus Loan for $29,500. In this example, your total amount of “free money” offered was $15,000, with the remaining amount offered in loans. So that would mean that you and your family would need to cover $35,000 in out of pocket costs. And let’s say that your parents have saved $10,000 for your freshman year of college, and that you’ve saved $2,500. That brings the total remaining amount that you’ll need to cover down to $22,500 for your first year of college – which is a significant amount.

If you would really like to attend this college, you would definitely want and need to receive additional scholarships to bring the cost down to something that could possibly be managed.

Next, it’s always a good idea is to see what institutional scholarships other students have been offered at that same college to bring their tuition price down. If you know what other students have negotiated for their tuition price, you’ll also know how much more you might reasonably be able to get through the aid negotiation process at that school.

Option 1 – Asking For Additional Scholarships or a Tuition Discount

Step 1 – Build Your Case 

Why should the college lower your tuition? You may have several reasons: 

• Financial Need: Your family’s current financial situation may look very different than it did two years ago (which your FAFSA is based on.) This might be due to a sick family member or outstanding medical bills, unemployment, a death in the family, rising inflation, etc. Perhaps your family’s business hasn’t been as successful as it was a couple of years ago. Or maybe your family’s home was damaged or lost due to a recent natural disaster, such as a wildfire, flood, tornado or hurricane.
• Special Achievement: Do you excel in school or a sport? Have you received honors and awards? You may be able to leverage these kinds of achievements to convince the college that you are worth their investment. 
• Request to Change Your Dependency Status: If you have special circumstances that would support your request to change your FAFSA filing status to “Independent” vs. “Dependent,” you may be eligible for need-based aid and need-based scholarships that you otherwise wouldn’t qualify for. You can explain your unique special circumstances to the college’s financial aid advisor and ask what you would need to provide to substantiate this request. Examples of situations that might qualify for a change in dependency status:
  • You are homeless or at risk of homelessness – note that if you are a student who “couch-surfs,” stays in your car, or stays with various friends or family because you are not able to live with your family, then you are considered to be homeless or at risk of homelessness
  • You are in an abusive family environment
  • Parent/guardian is incarcerated or institutionalized
  • Your home is unsuitable requiring legal intervention
  • Severe estrangement from parents
  • Parent/guardian mental incapacity
  • Death of a parent/guardian

Step 2 – Schedule a Meeting 

After getting yourself organized and building your case, it’s time to schedule an in-person or virtual meeting with a financial aid officer. To set up a meeting, contact your school’s financial aid office and identify the correct person to speak with. Ask if you can schedule a meeting to discuss your financial aid offer. 

 

Step 3 – Be Confident 

At the end of the day, you are a customer and the college wants your business. Have confidence in yourself that you are worthy of receiving an additional scholarship or discounted tuition. 

Part of having confidence is knowing what you can offer the school. Do you have a good GPA or excel at a sport? Are you involved with extracurricular activities? If you can present yourself as well-rounded, you’re more likely to convince the college that you will be an asset to their student body. 

Additionally, if you have financial need, or if you feel your financial aid offer should be re-considered because you should be re-classified as an independent student, be confident in your case and why you should be offered additional financial aid and scholarships.

Now that you are organized and have some confidence under your belt, let’s get to the nitty gritty of negotiating your college tuition  – meeting with a financial aid officer. 

 

Step 4 – Meet With a Financial Aid Officer 

Prepare for your meeting by having any supporting documents and materials with you – this would include financial documents to show how your situation has changed (recent pay stubs, verification of recent job loss, death certificate to verify death of a parent, etc.) If you are trying to demonstrate that your financial and/or personal circumstances have changed, you’ll need to have documentation in-hand, and ready to provide to the financial aid office. You’ll also want to have documentation that showcases any achievements you are basing your request on, such as your most recent transcript, honors/awards you’ve received, etc. 

If possible, attend the meeting with your parents/guardians. If you are filing a request for a change in dependency status, bring documentation with you that verifies why you quality to be considered an independent student. Examples of supporting documentation could be a letter from a therapist or school counselor, a police report documenting situations that required legal intervention, etc. 

During the meeting, be respectful and honest about your situation, and state clearly why you feel that your financial aid offer should be re-evaluated, enabling you to receive additional financial aid or scholarships. Avoid sounding entitled – just because you might feel you want or need additional funds doesn’t mean that the college needs to give them to you. You’ll need to present a rationale that supports why, and it will need to make sense to the financial aid officer. 

 

Option 2 – Appeal a Financial Aid Award 

The next way to lower your college tuition is by appealing a financial aid award. If the financial aid award you received isn’t enough, you can try to appeal it. To appeal a financial aid award, first call the financial aid office and ask them what the process is for requesting an appeal. Typically, there will be an official form that you’ll need to complete, and then you’ll also need to provide supporting evidence of why you feel your financial aid offer should be modified. Often, that “evidence” will include either a personal statement or letter explaining your situation. You can see a sample letter below.

In the letter, explain why you need more financial aid. As we stated earlier, there can be several reasons for this, including both needs-based reasons and merit-based reasons. Perhaps you received better offers from other schools or experienced a loss in the family. Whatever it is, include it in the letter.

Attach all documents you have which support your appeal to the letter. These may include your family’s bank statements, which show a change in finances, or your school transcripts which show your academic achievements. 

Keep your letter or personal statement short and to the point. Make it clear why you need or deserve additional support based on your situation.

 

Include All Information You Can Think of

Don’t leave anything out of your appeal letter. Are you a student from an underserved community? Do you have a disability? Are your parents going through a divorce? Is there another event that’s had a negative impact on you? These are all things that can further support your argument and you’ll want to include this information in your letter.

Use Offers From Other Schools

You can use financial aid awards you’ve received from other schools as leverage to convince a college to lower their tuition for you. Make sure to attach the awards to your letter. You can ask the college you are hoping to attend to match the offer you received from a more affordable school. Give reasons why you’d rather attend their college instead of the more affordable school. Stress that they are your number one school but that price is a barrier for attending their college. Show your commitment and desire to go to their college. This strategy will be most successful with private universities, but you can also try it with public universities.

Be Realistic 

Be realistic with what you can afford to pay. Many financial aid officers will want to help you, but likely won’t be able to give you a full ride. Decide with your family how important price is in your decision. If it’s the most important factor (remember, graduating thousands of dollars in debt isn’t fun), then choose a school that is more generous with financial aid or try your luck at one of these full-ride scholarships.

Make Your Letter Personal 

If you are writing appeal letters to multiple colleges, make sure that you personalize them. What is it about that college that you really like? Be specific and avoid writing a generic-sounding letter that could have been sent to multiple colleges.

Sample Appeal Letter 

To help you with your financial aid appeal letter, here is a sample appeal letter you can use as a template. 

Dear Mrs. Samson,

My name is Dan Coolidge and I am a senior at Carlisle High School in Carlisle. I am so excited that you accepted me to be a student at the University of Iowa in the incoming class. 

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dreaming of this moment since I first visited my brother at the University of Iowa two years ago. I would love nothing more than to join him on campus and cheer on our football team together.

I have worked extremely hard during high school, as is evident by my transcripts, which I’ve attached to this letter. I am even starting off college with some credits, thanks to my scores on my AP history and AP calculus exams.

[Use this paragraph to list valid reasons for a discount – in this example we’ll use unemployment of a parent, but make it unique to your situation] Unfortunately, my family’s financial situation took a major blow this year. Unfortunately, my father lost his job in October this year.  This has greatly impacted my family’s finances and of course, our ability to afford both mine and my brother’s college tuition at the same time. 

I received an attractive scholarship from Drake University for $4,000 per year as well as a $3,000 scholarship from Briarcliff University. I have attached those awards for you to see.

That being said, I would still like to attend the University of Iowa where I plan to major in finance. I have heard that you have a great program. I hope to learn a lot in the program and one day pursue my MBA.

I am writing this letter to ask you to consider lowering my college tuition. I am falling short by $3,000. I am so grateful to be accepted to the University of Iowa and really hope to be able to enroll in the upcoming school year.

Please let me know if I can provide you with additional information.

Best,

Dan Coolidge

 

Final Thoughts 

Negotiating your financial aid and asking for what you want may feel strange and intimidating, but remember, most college staff are happy to try and help. Although they might not be able to offer you a full-ride, they can still help you lower your tuition and pursue your degree at their college. College is expensive and you really have nothing to lose by trying to negotiate. Many students have success, so if you have a valid reason, we think it’s certainly worth a try!   

But what if you the college is unable to give you additional financial aid or scholarships? If you haven’t been successful with your requests, all hope is not lost. There are a lot of different ways to pay for college, including the many scholarships on the ScholarshipOwl platform! You can also look into federal work-study or simply get a part-time job during the school year, and work full-time during breaks. And be sure to checkout “side hustle” opportunities that can supplement your income, such as driving for a ride-sharing or food delivery company.

Finally, you can and should consider colleges that are more affordable. Review your financial aid offers again and consider selecting the college that has the lowest out-of-pocket cost, or start at a community college, and then transfer to a university later on. Remember, you CAN carve your own affordable path to college – the ability to negotiate your financial aid offers is just one tool in your toolbox!