Acceptance and Scholarships

[kellyacole]

I recently got my first acceptance letter, which was very exciting. Part of my strategy in applying, though, was to aim low, so to speak, because I have been told that that gives you a better chance of getting a scholarship offer. If a school wants to entice me to matriculate with a scholarship offer, will they do so in my first acceptance letter, or do they wait? This will be a big factor in which school I choose, so it would be nice to know up front if anyone is offering me any money, but I don't know what to expect in this regard.

[03121202698008]

It depends on the school. At this point in the cycle, few schools will have any $ left for scholarships. It's getting to the time of year where you're lucky to be outright admitted. Also FWIW, applying higher is helpful as a school is more likely to give you $ if you actually have other options. Applying to lots of schools in the range is helpful because you can negotiate your scholarship up if you have larger peer offers.