Negotiating scholarships works!!!!! Forum

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prodigal.daughter

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by prodigal.daughter » Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:42 am

hearsay77 wrote:I just got an extension on a deposit deadline but was told the school would like to speak to me on the phone about what factors are preventing me from making a decision. Anyone have experience with this? Trying to figure out what questions to expect/what to say.
I spoke with a school's dean when they called to see what factors were holding me up. Since it was a school that I really was considering, I just told them very honestly my options and my goals, and explained that I was waiting on scholarship reconsideration from one of the schools. I made sure to say that their school was still in my top 3, and I highlighted all of the things I liked again, but just explained that I was having a hard time making the final decision.

They seemed to understand, and tried to combat it by throwing numbers at me that I knew weren't really all that important, and then listing off a bunch of their clinic opportunities (which, entertainingly, were not even in the field I had said I was interested in). Basically, they just asked what it was that was holding me back from committing to them and that was really it. They didn't ask what could make their school more attractive or anything.

As far as questions I asked, I went right ahead and asked some of the questions about national placement/recognition and whatnot. I got a pretty bullshit answer, though, which I didn't really appreciate... but at the same time, I get why he was trying to defend his school.

The conversation actually helped me decide, though, because it assured me that my worries were pretty justified.

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by Hikikomorist » Wed Apr 08, 2015 10:12 am

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Last edited by Hikikomorist on Tue Aug 04, 2015 8:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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rationalhound

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by rationalhound » Wed Apr 08, 2015 10:29 am

Do schools negotiate with job offers? I've got $45k from a bottom half T14 as my only scholarship money this cycle, but I also have a decent paying job offer in hand from a company in my home state. Putting aside the insanity of turning down a job for law school, I'm curious to know if anyone's heard of schools bumping up offers to counter a job.

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RareExports

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by RareExports » Wed Apr 08, 2015 10:36 am

Hikkomorist wrote:
prodigal.daughter wrote:
hearsay77 wrote:I just got an extension on a deposit deadline but was told the school would like to speak to me on the phone about what factors are preventing me from making a decision. Anyone have experience with this? Trying to figure out what questions to expect/what to say.
I spoke with a school's dean when they called to see what factors were holding me up. Since it was a school that I really was considering, I just told them very honestly my options and my goals, and explained that I was waiting on scholarship reconsideration from one of the schools. I made sure to say that their school was still in my top 3, and I highlighted all of the things I liked again, but just explained that I was having a hard time making the final decision.

They seemed to understand, and tried to combat it by throwing numbers at me that I knew weren't really all that important, and then listing off a bunch of their clinic opportunities (which, entertainingly, were not even in the field I had said I was interested in). Basically, they just asked what it was that was holding me back from committing to them and that was really it. They didn't ask what could make their school more attractive or anything.

As far as questions I asked, I went right ahead and asked some of the questions about national placement/recognition and whatnot. I got a pretty bullshit answer, though, which I didn't really appreciate... but at the same time, I get why he was trying to defend his school.

The conversation actually helped me decide, though, because it assured me that my worries were pretty justified.
Would it be poor form to bring up as a reservation the fact that applicants with comparable stats and lower initial offers have been bumped up to full-tuition scholarships, while mine has stayed put?
Yes

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prodigal.daughter

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by prodigal.daughter » Wed Apr 08, 2015 12:45 pm

6778628 wrote:
Hikkomorist wrote:Would it be poor form to bring up as a reservation the fact that applicants with comparable stats and lower initial offers have been bumped up to full-tuition scholarships, while mine has stayed put?
Yes
Seconded.

Just stick to talking about offers you have received. Those other applicants aren't the ones on the phone.

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Drowninmyowntears

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by Drowninmyowntears » Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:26 am

Hey all, what's an appropriate amount of time to wait on scholarship negotiations before following up? It's been over a week since I sent the negotiation email and I know that it isn't THAT long, but it is April and deadlines are passing me left and right! Is it too soon for me to reach out again? This is my top choice school and I really need the money so I don't want to mess it up!!!!


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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by Hand » Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:27 am

Drowninmyowntears wrote:Hey all, what's an appropriate amount of time to wait on scholarship negotiations before following up? It's been over a week since I sent the negotiation email and I know that it isn't THAT long, but it is April and deadlines are passing me left and right! Is it too soon for me to reach out again? This is my top choice school and I really need the money so I don't want to mess it up!!!!


Thanks!
yeah asking whether they've had a chance to consider your request yet b/c deadlines are approaching blah blah after a week seems totally fine

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NoBladesNoBows

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by NoBladesNoBows » Thu Apr 09, 2015 12:48 pm

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IsThisForReal

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by IsThisForReal » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:33 pm

Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!
I haven't had a single ounce of success with negotiating. Everyone is saying no.
Last edited by IsThisForReal on Sun Jan 28, 2018 11:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Mack.Hambleton

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by Mack.Hambleton » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:43 pm

IsThisForReal wrote:
Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!
I haven't had a single ounce of success with negotiating. Everyone is saying no.
are u a splitter or something, not enough competing offers?

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IsThisForReal

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by IsThisForReal » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:59 pm

Mack.Hambleton wrote:
IsThisForReal wrote:
Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!
I haven't had a single ounce of success with negotiating. Everyone is saying no.
are u a splitter or something, not enough competing offers?
Splitter, but also have competitive offers. I guess I just chose the wrong schools. idk.
Last edited by IsThisForReal on Sun Jan 28, 2018 11:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

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tuxedocat

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by tuxedocat » Thu Apr 09, 2015 7:16 pm

Wash U gave me 96k originally, then initially turned down my negotiation attempt. I followed up with a 129k offer from UC Davis, which I thought was a long shot, then Wash U increased me to 120k. It's still so bizarre to me that negotiation works.

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by legallybrunette93 » Fri Apr 10, 2015 8:10 pm

I'm planning on negotiating with my top choice school after their deposit deadline because they claim to be currently out of money. I would probably go there if they offered me any money at all, no matter how little. I have an offer of $54,000 from a school that is tied with them in ranking and an offer of $60,000 from a school slightly lower than them in rankings. I'm debating if I should offer to withdraw from the other two schools if they match the $54,000 offer or telling them that even an offer as low as $5k per year ($15,000) would make it so much easier to choose them. They really do seem to be out of money, so I don't think standard negotiation tactics will work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by Itstatertot » Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:18 pm

NoBladesNoBows wrote:
spencercross wrote:
mec896 wrote:
spencercross wrote:One of my top schools has been asking most people who inquire about scholarship increases to wait until after their first seat deposit and ask again. I plan to reach out to them at the end of this week myself, and am expecting them to tell me the same thing. The problem is that they are absolutely, 100% not a financially viable option with their current offer, so I have no incentive to put down a seat deposit. Assuming they do ask me to wait, does it seem appropriate to point out that the position they're putting me in? They would essentially be asking me to gamble $500 on the hope not just that they'll increase, but that they'll increase to a viable amount and I'm not sure how they'll respond if I point it out (in a diplomatic way, of course).

Hopefully they'll give me a straight yes or no and it won't be an issue, but I'd love to get some perspective just in case.
Ask for the option to "skip" the first deposit until you have an answer. If its UCLA, PM me.
Ah, interesting idea. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks.
I successfully negotiated a 2 week extension on a deposit deadline, so yea definitely worth a shot.

How did you go about negotiating an extension? Would love any tips!

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PeanutsNJam

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by PeanutsNJam » Fri Apr 10, 2015 11:54 pm

I got 75k -> 120k from WUSTL with no leverage, just a nice email. So there's that.

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ManoftheHour

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by ManoftheHour » Sat Apr 11, 2015 9:02 pm

tuxedocat wrote:Wash U gave me 96k originally, then initially turned down my negotiation attempt. I followed up with a 129k offer from UC Davis, which I thought was a long shot, then Wash U increased me to 120k. It's still so bizarre to me that negotiation works.
What you should do is throw WUSTL's offer back at Davis and see if they will increase. If they do, throw it back at WUSTL until one stops budging, then make your final decision from there. Even a small bump of $3,000 is a lot of money. That's $3,000 that you don't have to pay back.

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by hearsay77 » Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:16 pm

I have a pending scholarship negotiation request with a school who said they would get back to me by April 15th (Wednesday). I just received a scholarship from another school, that this school would probably consider much more of a peer than the previous offers I sent them, and this new offer is about $30k greater than the offer the first school has given me. Should I send them an email with an update to my request with this offer, or wait for them to get back to me before sending them this offer? I feel like waiting could give me more leverage if they say no or don't increase my scholarship as much as I'd like, but I also have three deadlines this week and am still undecided and would like a firm answer from them before saying yes/no to the deadlines I have this week. Any advice?

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sneezus

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by sneezus » Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:21 pm

damn, anyone else feel like the T14 is trying to put the clamp down on this practice? they've been pretty unwilling to budge for me, and in situations that i felt were really favorable.

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by MKC » Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:32 pm

hearsay77 wrote:I have a pending scholarship negotiation request with a school who said they would get back to me by April 15th (Wednesday). I just received a scholarship from another school, that this school would probably consider much more of a peer than the previous offers I sent them, and this new offer is about $30k greater than the offer the first school has given me. Should I send them an email with an update to my request with this offer, or wait for them to get back to me before sending them this offer? I feel like waiting could give me more leverage if they say no or don't increase my scholarship as much as I'd like, but I also have three deadlines this week and am still undecided and would like a firm answer from them before saying yes/no to the deadlines I have this week. Any advice?
Triple deposit?

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by secadc11 » Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:33 pm

sneezus wrote:damn, anyone else feel like the T14 is trying to put the clamp down on this practice? they've been pretty unwilling to budge for me, and in situations that i felt were really favorable.
+1

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by hearsay77 » Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:35 pm

MarkinKansasCity wrote:
hearsay77 wrote:I have a pending scholarship negotiation request with a school who said they would get back to me by April 15th (Wednesday). I just received a scholarship from another school, that this school would probably consider much more of a peer than the previous offers I sent them, and this new offer is about $30k greater than the offer the first school has given me. Should I send them an email with an update to my request with this offer, or wait for them to get back to me before sending them this offer? I feel like waiting could give me more leverage if they say no or don't increase my scholarship as much as I'd like, but I also have three deadlines this week and am still undecided and would like a firm answer from them before saying yes/no to the deadlines I have this week. Any advice?
Triple deposit?
Definitely can't afford that lol. I'm almost certain I'm going to say no to two of the deadlines this week, but would using them as leverage not be valid anymore after their deadlines have passed?

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by Hand » Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:38 pm

hearsay77 wrote:
MarkinKansasCity wrote:
hearsay77 wrote:I have a pending scholarship negotiation request with a school who said they would get back to me by April 15th (Wednesday). I just received a scholarship from another school, that this school would probably consider much more of a peer than the previous offers I sent them, and this new offer is about $30k greater than the offer the first school has given me. Should I send them an email with an update to my request with this offer, or wait for them to get back to me before sending them this offer? I feel like waiting could give me more leverage if they say no or don't increase my scholarship as much as I'd like, but I also have three deadlines this week and am still undecided and would like a firm answer from them before saying yes/no to the deadlines I have this week. Any advice?
Triple deposit?
Definitely can't afford that lol. I'm almost certain I'm going to say no to two of the deadlines this week, but would using them as leverage not be valid anymore after their deadlines have passed?
Email your target school with new info right now. No point in wasting time. Once a deadline passes and you haven't deposited, the offer won't do you any good.

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by MKC » Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:42 pm

hearsay77 wrote:
MarkinKansasCity wrote:
hearsay77 wrote:I have a pending scholarship negotiation request with a school who said they would get back to me by April 15th (Wednesday). I just received a scholarship from another school, that this school would probably consider much more of a peer than the previous offers I sent them, and this new offer is about $30k greater than the offer the first school has given me. Should I send them an email with an update to my request with this offer, or wait for them to get back to me before sending them this offer? I feel like waiting could give me more leverage if they say no or don't increase my scholarship as much as I'd like, but I also have three deadlines this week and am still undecided and would like a firm answer from them before saying yes/no to the deadlines I have this week. Any advice?
Triple deposit?
Definitely can't afford that lol. I'm almost certain I'm going to say no to two of the deadlines this week, but would using them as leverage not be valid anymore after their deadlines have passed?
A couple of things here.

1) You can always request an extension on the deposit deadline, especially the first one. This should buy you a little bit of time without having to pay up. It also politely communicates to the school that you're still on the fence.

2) Re: "I can't afford to double deposit": You're playing for keeps here, and there's huge money on the table. If you can get even a token $1k/year increase, your deposit money is more than covered. Odds are, you can get much more than that. It's still relatively early. The nail-biting won't happen until the second deposit deadline if you do it right. So do what you need to do to put up the money for multiple deposits. Credit cards, parents, whatever. Get it done. Now is no time to be frugal. Penny-wise, pound foolish and all that.

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by hearsay77 » Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:59 pm

MarkinKansasCity wrote:
hearsay77 wrote:
MarkinKansasCity wrote:
hearsay77 wrote:I have a pending scholarship negotiation request with a school who said they would get back to me by April 15th (Wednesday). I just received a scholarship from another school, that this school would probably consider much more of a peer than the previous offers I sent them, and this new offer is about $30k greater than the offer the first school has given me. Should I send them an email with an update to my request with this offer, or wait for them to get back to me before sending them this offer? I feel like waiting could give me more leverage if they say no or don't increase my scholarship as much as I'd like, but I also have three deadlines this week and am still undecided and would like a firm answer from them before saying yes/no to the deadlines I have this week. Any advice?
Triple deposit?
Definitely can't afford that lol. I'm almost certain I'm going to say no to two of the deadlines this week, but would using them as leverage not be valid anymore after their deadlines have passed?
A couple of things here.

1) You can always request an extension on the deposit deadline, especially the first one. This should buy you a little bit of time without having to pay up. It also politely communicates to the school that you're still on the fence.

2) Re: "I can't afford to double deposit": You're playing for keeps here, and there's huge money on the table. If you can get even a token $1k/year increase, your deposit money is more than covered. Odds are, you can get much more than that. It's still relatively early. The nail-biting won't happen until the second deposit deadline if you do it right. So do what you need to do to put up the money for multiple deposits. Credit cards, parents, whatever. Get it done. Now is no time to be frugal. Penny-wise, pound foolish and all that.
1. The first one is actually a deadline that I already got a 2 week extension on.

2. Point taken, and I am willing to double deposit if necessary, but triple is stretching it.

I'm going with Hand's advice and emailing them right now, and will continue to negotiate all around :?

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ms9

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Re: Negotiating scholarships works!!!!!

Post by ms9 » Mon Apr 13, 2015 4:12 pm

sneezus wrote:damn, anyone else feel like the T14 is trying to put the clamp down on this practice? they've been pretty unwilling to budge for me, and in situations that i felt were really favorable.
It gets trickier every year. heck I suspect there are some schools who are intentionally not meeting the April 15th deadline (of other schools) to simply have admitted students make a decision without upping scholarships.

That said, there is still a race for students and need among law schools. I know someone who got 40k more a year today at a t14, ie 120k more.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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