Survey from CollegeFinance and Quatromoney Finds More Than 75% of Students Did NOT Appeal for More Financial Aid for 2020 Fall Semester

Those Who Did Appeal Awarded $3,497 More on Average

MARBLEHEAD, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CollegeFinance.com, a site to help students and college-paying parents learn how to best pay for college, and Quatromoney, a platform that helps parents and students make smart, personalized financing choices to pay for college for all four years, today released the findings from a survey (https://collegefinance.com/blog/financial-aid-for-the-2020-fall-semester-survey) on financial aid for the Fall 2020 semester. Over 1,000 college students were asked about how COVID-19 had affected their ability to pay for college.

“Collectively, our team has borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for college so we know how expensive college is and are eager to share our perspective and experience to help people get the most out of their college investment,” said Kevin Walker, CEO of CollegeFinance.com. “We were surprised to see so many students not asking for additional aid even though COVID-19 has affected us all.”

The survey revealed that 77.6% of students did not appeal their first financial aid award letter despite the widespread financial impacts from COVID-19. Overall, 57% of students have applied for financial aid for the 2020 fall semester. On average, they were awarded $8,906. Yet, the 5.9% who did appeal were awarded additional aid, on average $3,497 more.

It is easy to understand that the coronavirus has impacted these families and their ability to pay for school. COVID-19 has touched virtually everyone economically. College students are one group who typically struggle to afford basic living expenses and may be increasingly exposed during the pandemic.

“We know that many college students would like additional financial aid, but unfortunately many do not know they can appeal their financial aid packages,” said Patrick Kandianis, CEO of Quatromoney. “Families who have had a change in economic stability, such as a job loss or reduction, whether due to COVID-19 or other reasons, should always reach out to their financial aid office and request a review.”

Roughly 42% of respondents said the economic consequences of COVID-19 had affected their ability to afford school. Among the respondents, the top cause of these struggles was a lack of grant and scholarship money, the loss of a job or a reduction in income, reduced savings and lack of work study program.

As a result, many students reevaluated their college options. For the Fall 2020 semester many students made the decision to attend a local community college or local public university while a few still went to residential private or public colleges farther from home. A small percentage made decisions to attend an online university or a local private college. Some have made the call to skip this year, staying home and hoping for any available job, taking a gap year or searching for an internship or apprenticeship.

About Quatromoney

Quatromoney is a decision technology provider focused on helping families make the purchase of higher education easier, personalized and more informed upfront. We help banks, credit unions, employers and other trusted entities to become “paying for college heroes” with a turnkey college finance planning solution that helps their customers and families better plan for the significant costs of a four-year degree by showing all available financing options and costs. Learn more at https://www.quatromoney.com or follow us on Twitter @quatromoney.

About CollegeFinance.com

CollegeFinance is dedicated to helping students, parents, and graduates make informed choices about financing their college education. With the right data, people can make decisions that will minimize their borrowing costs and help them get the most out of their higher education investment. If you are asking yourself how you’ll cover the cost of attending school this year, visit https://collegefinance.com/ to learn how to reduce the cost of college through advice on how best to save for college, pay for college, and borrow for college.

Contacts

Colleen Krumwiede

Quatromoney

colleen@quatromoney.com
415.730.2573

Jan Jahosky

CollegeFinance.com

jan@collegefinance.com
407.331.4699