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College financial aid officials have discretion to use “professional judgment” to increase aid if a student’s circumstances have changed. Many students are unaware that they can appeal aid offers, but it’s a common practice, said Abigail Seldin, chief executive and co-founder of the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation, which funds projects that expand access to public services.

The family foundation worked with FormSwift, a digital document company, to create SwiftStudent, a free tool to help students file appeals. The foundation sought advice from colleges and financial aid professionals to design the tool, Ms. Seldin said. It explains the appeals process and provides templates that students can use to write letters to submit to their colleges.

View the full article in The New York Times.

Ellie Bruecker, a doctoral student at UW-Madison who studies FAFSA completion rates, said the data is cause for concern because FAFSA completion rates, while not directly linked to college enrollment trends, are an indicator of the number of students who are seriously thinking about going to college.

"It's like a 'canary in the coal mine' situation," Bruecker said. "If students aren't filling out a FAFSA, they're probably not applying for colleges. There's this whole gantlet of steps you go through in order to eventually enroll in higher education, and if students are missing this step, it's likely they're missing other steps."

Students from low-income backgrounds — who may be the first in their family to attend college, lack reliable access to a computer or the internet, or haven't been told about the various options for paying for college — face some of the biggest barriers in getting all the necessary application work done.

The federal government uses 2-year-old income tax data to determine financial need, so many students will find themselves having to appeal for more financial aid because their financial situation changed during the pandemic.

Free help with appealing your financial aid package: https://formswift.com/swift-student

“‘Not enough students know you can appeal the financial aid you've been offered,’ explains Abigail Seldin, who founded a free tool called SwiftStudent that helps students through the process of asking for additional funds. The application form for federal student aid, known as the FAFSA, relies on tax data from two years ago. A lot can change in that time — especially today, with high unemployment and a tanked economy.

“‘Because of this, most schools have built-in an appeals process, but it's complicated and happens at the school level. ‘So much of our financial aid process is a formal process,’ says Seldin. ‘Students who may not feel comfortable asking for help, who are first-generation, are less likely to go reach out and ask for more resources, let alone resources that they don't even know exist.’

“She says she's hoping the SwiftStudent tool will make the process more transparent, especially as families struggle with job losses, reduced hours and pay cuts and even evictions related to the pandemic.”

View the full article in NPR.

“A digital platform unveiled Wednesday by the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation aims to take the guesswork out of financial aid appeals. The free tool, dubbed SwiftStudent, guides students through requesting more funding, explaining eligibility, the documents applicants need and the kinds of appeals. It provides templates, powered by software company FormSwift, that let users plug in their information to generate a letter for submission to their school’s financial aid office.

View the full article in The Washington Post.

The Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation recently launched SwiftStudent, a free digital tool designed to help college students seeking adjustments to their financial-aid packages. The tool offers templates that address more than a dozen types of appeals. It could be useful for schools that lack a formal appeals process; students should always be sure to follow their school’s specific requirements before submitting an appeal.

“‘Not enough students know you can appeal the financial aid you've been offered,’ explains Abigail Seldin, who founded a free tool called SwiftStudent that helps students through the process of asking for additional funds. The application form for federal student aid, known as the FAFSA, relies on tax data from two years ago. A lot can change in that time — especially today, with high unemployment and a tanked economy.

“‘Because of this, most schools have built-in an appeals process, but it's complicated and happens at the school level. ‘So much of our financial aid process is a formal process,’ says Seldin. ‘Students who may not feel comfortable asking for help, who are first-generation, are less likely to go reach out and ask for more resources, let alone resources that they don't even know exist.’

“She says she's hoping the SwiftStudent tool will make the process more transparent, especially as families struggle with job losses, reduced hours and pay cuts and even evictions related to the pandemic.”

View the full article in NPR.

“Abigail Seldin, along with a company called FormSwift, has created a free offering called SwiftStudent that helps users draft a formal financial aid appeal letter and coaches them through writing one efficiently and effectively.”

View the full article in The New York Times.