Finishing strong
If you have been accepted to start college in the fall, and if you finished strong academically during your senior year—by raising your GPA, for example, winning a significant academic award, or being valedictorian of your graduating class—then I encourage you to contact your college's admissions office and request more merit-based aid.
For this to be successful, you'll need to do several things. First, determine whether or not your college gives merit-based financial aid. Many elite colleges don't, because (1) they don't need to offer merit aid to attract top students, and (2) all the students they admit are, by definition, meritorious. But if your college does award merit aid, you may qualify for more of it.
Second, you'll need to send a letter (email is fine) to the admissions office. In your letter, you'll need to make the case for why you are deserving of more merit-based aid. Explain any awards you've won, any positive changes to your GPA, and any other major academic accomplishments you've had. Provide documentation (transcripts, award letters). This is not the space to make your case for financial hardship.
Third, address your email to a specific person in the admissions office. Ideally, this would be your regional admissions counselor, especially if you've already built a relationship with this person. This establishes rapport with someone in the office. Always use courteous and professional language. Manage your own expectations about the outcome and how much scholarship money the college can award.
Fourth, follow up if you don't hear back. College is expensive. It's worth a few minutes of your time to make sure that your request for additional merit-based aid gets handled thoughtfully. Taking the time to do this may result in your saving thousands of dollars. The worst that can happen is that the college says no, and you still attend in the fall and have a great experience.
If you'd like to learn more about preparing for college, applying to college, and paying for college, please use the contact form on my website and schedule your initial consultation.
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