Requesting a Review

After reading your financial aid award letter, we hope that you feel confident about your family’s ability to afford a Yale education. You may, however, feel that the amounts listed on the award letter do not accurately reflect your family’s financial need and ability to contribute. In these situations, you may request a review of your financial aid award. It is preferred that submissions be made after the original financial aid decision has been provided.

Typically, awards can be reviewed if your family’s financial situation has changed significantly since you applied for aid, or if there is additional information that was not included on your original application. In order for us to adjust your financial aid award, you must demonstrate how the information might affect your family’s ability to contribute toward your educational costs.

Circumstances for which a review may be appropriate:

• Extended unemployment
• Changes in family size or number of siblings in college
• Extraordinary uninsured medical expenses

Please see the Request for Review of Financial Aid form for additional circumstances that may make a review appropriate.

The review process

Newly admitted students and incoming first-years

Newly admitted students and incoming first-years, regardless of their citizenship, should take the following steps to request a review of their financial aid award:

• Complete the Request for Review of Financial Aid form. Submit the form using one of the methods listed in the form's header.
• Attach to the review request form a personal statement explaining the circumstances on which your review request is based. Please note that quantifiable information should be provided for any financial-related review.
• Collect any applicable documents to help explain or verify your situation. Mark on the review request form which documents you are including and submit them with the form and personal statement.

Requests are submitted to the Financial Aid Committee. You can expect to receive notification within a few working days either with a result or a request for additional information. Some cases may take longer because they require a full hearing from the Committee.

If your request is approved, a revised financial aid award letter will be provided to you.

If you have questions as you are putting together your review request, you may call our office or contact us online. We would be happy to guide you through the review process.

Continuing students

U.S. citizens and permanent residents should follow the same instructions as newly admitted students and incoming first-years (see above).

International citizens (including Canadians) may request a review of their financial aid offer by submitting a new complete application for financial aid. See the instructions on the Continuing Students application page. The Request for Review form is NOT sufficient for a review of a continuing international student's aid award.

Submission deadlines