cinephile wrote:NYC Law wrote:Just don't give ultimatums and don't be a dick, also don't be afraid to ask later into the cycle if you don't get anywhere at first. BU pretty much refused to negotiate with anyone prior to April or so, but closer to summer I was able to get them to open up to negotiations.
And yeah Fordham seems pretty open if you approach them the right way. It wouldn't hurt to throw all your offers out there and see what sticks, for the most part that peer group holds the most weight though.
Thinking back, I probably should have deposited at multiple places so that I could have continued negotiations closer to summer.
Absolutely. Deposits are powerful bargaining chips, and the money I lost in deposits was easily made up in scholarships. I used MN to get more from BU, then, BU to get more from BC, then BC to get more BU--this extended through mid July. I ended up with the same scholly as Cupidity (I'm assuming) with 15k/year + a 10k housing stipend my first year (off the waitlist at both BU and BC, mind you) and 16k/year at BC. I think mine worked out so well because I was very genuine in the way I approached the office. I truly couldn't decide between BU/BC and told them so in a very thoughtful way.
I think you can negotiate money from just acceptances, especially at peer schools. If it were me, I probably would have gone to BU or BC and let them know that you're leaning toward (or if you're really brave, planning to attend) a different school for X money-saving reason (shorter commute, can live at home, etc) but really like BU/BC for x reasons and could be easily swayed to commit if given a small scholarship.
+1 to everything Cupidity said--schools, especially very rank-conscious schools like BU and BC are concerned about their yield, and even moreso later in the the cycle. I actually think getting waitlisted helped me in that respect because both schools really wanted to start finalizing their classes when I was deciding.
Just my two cents.