For most people applying for financial aid, now is the time that you are starting to receive your award letters. Around this time of the year colleges begin to look at applicants and make initial offers to prospective students and send out the award letters.
By now you have probably sent in the FAFSA (Free Application For Federal Student Aid) and that has been forwarded to your preferred school(s) of choice. When they make their decision on what to offer you, don't be surprised if it is less than you expected. Here are a few tips to help you negotiate for a better package.
1. Don't be afraid to negotiate. Think about the last time that you bought a car or your home. Very rarely do you agree to pay full price. There are always some negotiating that goes on and the financial aid offices are willing to talk. You just need to know the right way to approach it. Don't go into the negotiating screaming and threatning, but don't be soft either.
2. Send a pre-approach letter before you make any phone calls. In the letter, express gratitude for being accepted and that you appreciate their consideration. Then explain any financial hardships that you or our family may be going through.
3. When you see your award packages, take all the free money they offer. If they offer certain loans, try and get them to change those to grants. If you are un-successful then be slow in accepting their loans. Sometimes you can find better deals or more scholarships from third party sources and this may be a better route to go. There are some thir party places that are pretty good like ScholarshipExperts.com, or FastWeb's Free Scholarships Search.
4. It's okay to live at the dorms and sell your car or not drive quite a nice car. I think that many parents and students think that the student should live the same lifestyle at school as they did at home when the fact of the matter is that student life is different then home life in many ways, financially is one of them. Get rid of the credit cards for shopping and dinners. Live on a cash budget and control your spending.
Most importantly, don't automatically accept that because you think you should receive a great package you are going to. There are thousands of students applying for the limited funds that are available, but many of them do not realize that you can and should negotiate.
Take a proactive role and you might be surpised at what you can accomplish. | 
