Appealing Your Aid Decision
Appealing Your Aid Decision
Cornell University releases financial aid offers that best reflect the information submitted in the financial aid application.
If the information you provided in your financial aid application has changed or if the information was submitted incorrectly, you may submit an appeal. Please be prepared to provide documentation that supports your request. The financial aid appeals FAQ is available as an additional resource for students and families regarding financial aid appeals.
Examples of circumstances we will consider include:
- Significant loss of income due to termination or change in employment – circumstances and duration of the period of unemployment may be considered
- Unexpected life event
- High medical, educational, or family expenses
- Correction to income information reported on financial aid application
We are unable to consider appeals based on circumstances that include but are not limited to:
- High consumer debt
- Personal Expenses (pets, cars, housekeepers, vacations, sports, etc.)
- Fraternity or Sorority expenses
- Expenses that have not yet occurred
If you received a need-based financial aid offer from another Ivy League institution, Stanford, Duke, or MIT, we will strive to calculate the same eligibility based on the information provided. The components that we will evaluate are the parent contribution, student contribution, and initial offers of loan(s) and work.
Please submit a copy of the official aid offer from the other institution directly to the Financial Aid Office.
Cornell is unable to consider evaluating scholarship offers that are not from another Ivy League institution, Stanford, Duke, or MIT, or offers based on athletics and/or merit.
Note: International students who received financial aid and want to appeal the decision should email intl-finaid@cornell.edu. Current international students who received financial aid and want to appeal the decision should email finaid@cornell.edu. There is no appeal process for international students who were not selected to receive financial aid.