Staff report

Students & families experiencing special circumstances can ask for reconsideration 

Vermont Student Assistance Corp. (VSAC) is offering a free online webinar on how to appeal financial aid offers. It will take place on June 24 at 6:00 p.m. Students and families can participate via Zoom by registering  or by visiting VSAC’s Facebook page. The webinar will be recorded and available for viewing at a later date.

In a press release, VSAC wrote, “Appealing financial aid awards for college is not new. Every year, students and families experience unexpected circumstances that impact their original financial aid award package. A loss of a job. An increase in family size. Unanticipated medical expenses and other one-time events.” Because of the pandemic, many Vermont families are facing financial hardship. The webinar aims to assist families with the appeals process for aid that has already been awarded.

Vermonters who have received a Vermont State Grant or financial aid from the institutions they plan to attend can appeal and ask for reconsideration of their aid packages. For example, students who successfully appealed Vermont State Grants last year received, on average, an additional $3,000 in state grant aid.

In this online panel presentation, parents and students will learn what a financial aid appeal is; how the appeal process works; what qualifies as special circumstances; what documentation is needed; and how to present a compelling request.

Parents and students will have the opportunity ask questions during the presentation, which may be addressed during the live broadcast itself, privately during the broadcast, or in a followup 1:1 consultation. Submit questions prior to the webinar by sending them to Sabina Haskell.

Panelists include Marilyn Cargill, vice president of VSAC’s financial aid services, research and marketing; Miranda Roth, VSAC supervisor of grants and scholarships; and Zack Goodwin, president of Vermont Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

For more information, contact Sabina Haskell at (802) 542-2240 or via email.