Every spring, millions of families open their college financial aid offer and feel the same sinking feeling: it’s not enough. The gap can be tens of thousands of dollars — and most families assume the number is final, accept it, and take on more loans than they should.But here’s what most people don’t know: financial aid offices expect appeals. Schools routinely adjust offers for students who ask, and those who write a compelling letter often receive thousands more in grants and scholarships. The problem isn’t that appeals don’t work — it’s that most families don’t know how to make their case.
That’s exactly what Juno’s Appeal Generator was built to solve.
Use Juno’s free, guided tool to generate a personalized financial aid appeal letter in less than five minutes. No account or login required. Answer a few targeted questions, and the Appeal Generator creates a professional, ready-to-send letter tailored to each school, along with everything you need to submit a strong appeal.
Who Should Use It?
Any student or family who feels like their financial aid offer doesn’t reflect their real financial picture. That includes:
- Students choosing between schools: If you received a stronger offer from one school, you can use it as leverage at another. Juno can help you frame competing offers professionally, without it feeling like a threat.
- Families with a change in income: A job loss, a pay cut, a parent’s reduced hours. If your family’s income today doesn’t match the tax return your FAFSA was based on, that’s one of the strongest reasons to appeal.
- Households with high expenses: Medical bills, elder care, ongoing therapy costs, or other significant expenses that the FAFSA doesn’t capture but that your financial aid office may consider.
- Students whose family situation has changed: Divorce, a death in the family, a new dependent, or a sibling entering college can dramatically change your financial need.
- Students who need a dependency override: If your family situation means you should be considered independent but the FAFSA still counts your parents’ income, Juno can help make that case too.
Whether you’re appealing to one school or five, Juno handles each letter individually — because every school’s offer is different and every appeal needs to reflect that.
How It Works, Step by Step:
The entire process is five steps and takes most people about five minutes.
Step 1: Tell Juno Where You Are
You start by selecting your enrollment status — whether you’re an incoming freshman deciding between schools or a current student looking to adjust your existing package. This shapes the rest of the process, because the appeal strategy for a prospective student leveraging a competing offer is very different from a current student reporting a change in circumstances.
Step 2: Select Your Appeal Reasons
Next, you choose the specific reasons for your appeal. Juno supports merit aid reconsideration (competing offers or new achievements), need-based reconsideration (income changes, one-time income, family changes, unusual expenses, or increased cost of attendance), multiple children in college, and dependency override. You can select multiple reasons, and Juno will combine them into one cohesive letter rather than separate appeals.
Step 3: Enter Your Financial Aid Offers
You enter the details of each school’s financial aid offer side by side — total cost, grants, loans, work-study, and what you actually pay. If you’re leveraging a competing offer, you add that school too, and Juno automatically highlights the strongest comparison points when it generates your appeal letter.
You can also note any recent accomplishments — new awards, improved GPA, leadership roles, internships — that strengthen your merit case.
Step 4: Answer Targeted Follow-Up Questions
Based on the reasons you selected, Juno asks a few focused questions to gather the details needed to strengthen your case — such as updated income, medical expenses, or changes in family circumstances. The questions are tailored to your situation so your appeal is specific and well-supported.
Step 5: Receive Your Complete Appeal Package
Juno generates your full appeal package, including:
- A personalized appeal letter (300–500 words)
- A recommended subject line
- A summary of your strongest arguments
- A document checklist of what to attach
- Clear submission instructions
Review the preview, enter your email, and receive everything in your inbox — ready to customize and send.
