In 2024, 37% of families appealed their financial aid offers, and seven out of 10 received more aid, according to Sallie Mae. While not every appeal is a negotiation, the findings raise an important question: How do families interpret the initial financial aid award, and what expectations do they bring to it?
As colleges prepare to communicate awards for the upcoming enrollment cycle, understanding those expectations is critical. Students and families have different assumptions about scholarships, grants, and what they should ultimately pay. Institutions need to anticipate those assumptions and ensure their financial aid communications do more than present an offer — they help families understand it.
Financial Aid Expectations Vary Across Income Levels
The traditional financial aid process In a recent Wake-Up Call, The Price Is Right — or Is It? When Sticker Price Ends the College Search Too Soon, we explored how published tuition can lead families to eliminate institutions before discovering what they might actually pay. But affordability expectations continue to matter after admission, when families evaluate financial aid offers against what they anticipated receiving.
The Eduventures Prospective Student Brand Research™ illustrates how these expectations vary by household income. Figure 1 compares the resources students expect to use to finance college, revealing differences in anticipated reliance on need-based aid and family savings, alongside widespread expectations for merit scholarships.
Among students from households earning less than $50,000, 77% expect to use need-based scholarships or grants, compared with just 19% of students from households earning more than $200,000. Expectations about family savings move in the opposite direction, rising from 20% to 67% across those same income groups.
Merit aid, however, crosses income groups. About seven in 10 (or more) students in every income band expect merit-based scholarships or grants to help finance their education.
This widespread expectation is noteworthy. Institutions may use merit scholarships to recognize achievement or advance enrollment priorities, but families may regard them as a standard component of a competitive offer. An award that lacks merit assistance — or provides less than anticipated — may disappoint families even when their demonstrated financial need has been addressed.
These differing expectations create a communication challenge for institutions. Even when an award reflects a student's financial circumstances and institutional aid policies, families may struggle to understand why it differs from what they anticipated.
Students Need Help Interpreting Their Awards
Expectations about financial assistance are only part of the challenge. Students also need help understanding the aid process and evaluating the options available to them.
Figure 2 shows which resources prospective students believe would help them navigate financial aid more effectively.
Understanding scholarship options was the leading response, selected by 63% of students. Other commonly cited resources included videos explaining the FAFSA, financial aid website FAQs, access to a financial aid advisor, and links to federal student aid resources.
These findings point to a need for both information and interpretation. A financial aid website may contain every required fact while leaving students uncertain about what applies to them or what they will ultimately pay.
When an award arrives, families must distinguish scholarships and grants from loans, calculate their remaining costs, and determine whether the offer is financially manageable. They may also wonder why their award differs from what they expected.
Effective communication therefore requires more than an accurate accounting of assistance. It must help families understand what the offer means for their individual circumstances.
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When an Award Becomes a Conversation
For some families, receiving an award prompts additional questions or a request for reconsideration. Appeals may reflect changed financial circumstances, competing offers, or expectations about institutional assistance that have not been met.
The appeals figures cited in the introduction suggest that reconsideration is a significant part of the financial aid experience. They also raise important questions for institutions: Which students appeal, and why? How much additional aid is distributed through reconsideration? How do appeal outcomes affect yield?
Answering these questions can help institutions distinguish between genuine affordability challenges and gaps in communication. It can also inform clearer explanations of award decisions, more consistent appeals processes, and better preparation for conversations with families.
The goal is not to eliminate legitimate appeals. It is to ensure that families understand their offers and the circumstances under which additional assistance may be available.
Institutions Are Joining a Conversation Already Underway
Family expectations are shaped by more than institutional communications. Social media, peers, online resources, and increasingly AI provide information and advice about scholarships, college costs, and financial aid appeals.
According to Pew Research Center data cited in the presentation, 92% of U.S. teens use YouTube, 68% use TikTok, and 64% use an AI chatbot.
These channels can expose students to useful guidance, but also to generalized advice that may not apply to their circumstances. Families may encounter claims about how much merit aid they should expect or whether every initial offer should be negotiated.
Institutions cannot control these conversations, but they can anticipate the assumptions families bring with them. Financial aid communications should address common misconceptions and provide clear, institution-specific explanations that students and parents can trust.
What Institutions Can Do Before Awards Arrive
As the awarding cycle approaches, four priorities can help institutions prepare families to understand and respond to their offers.
- Set expectations about financial aid awards. Explain how need-based and merit-based assistance are determined, what influences institutional awards, and why offers differ among students.
- Make the initial offer easy to interpret. Clearly distinguish grants and scholarships from loans, explain remaining costs, and help families understand how their award affects affordability.
- Prepare for questions and appeals. Review past appeal patterns, common sources of confusion, and yield outcomes. Establish transparent reconsideration criteria and equip staff to explain decisions consistently.
- Communicate with students and parents. Recognize that these audiences may have different questions and assumptions. Address misconceptions circulating through social media and AI with accessible, institution-specific guidance.
The Bottom Line
The financial aid award letter remains a pivotal moment in the enrollment process. But its effectiveness depends on more than the assistance offered. Families need to understand how their awards were determined, how they compare with expectations, and what options remain if questions arise.
Institutions that anticipate those needs can turn the award letter from a source of confusion into a more productive conversation — and help families make informed enrollment decisions.
