Am I strong enough to negotiate? Forum

[pepsi]

I have heard about people negotiating scholarship offers, but it is usually people who are well-above the school's medians. Well what about us in-betweeners? At the school I want to attend, my LSAT is barely below the median (1 point) and exactly at the 75% for GPA. I was offered no money, but it is my number one choice. I am also in-state, female and non-URM. Is asking for money with this type of middle-of-the-road profile completely inappropriate?

How should I approach the situation?

[kumba84]

I have heard about people negotiating scholarship offers, but it is usually people who are well-above the school's medians. Well what about us in-betweeners? At the school I want to attend, my LSAT is barely below the median (1 point) and exactly at the 75% for GPA. I was offered no money, but it is my number one choice. I am also in-state, female and non-URM. Is asking for money with this type of middle-of-the-road profile completely inappropriate?

How should I approach the situation?

It might not hurt to give it a try--it's not like they're going to rescind your acceptance. If you have a $ offer from a peer school, that would probably give you some leverage.

[TTTennis]

I have heard about people negotiating scholarship offers, but it is usually people who are well-above the school's medians. Well what about us in-betweeners? At the school I want to attend, my LSAT is barely below the median (1 point) and exactly at the 75% for GPA. I was offered no money, but it is my number one choice. I am also in-state, female and non-URM. Is asking for money with this type of middle-of-the-road profile completely inappropriate?

How should I approach the situation?

Yes, you should try. What's the worst that could happen? Explain that the school is one of your top choices, but financial aid (in the form of scholarships) will play a significant role in where you decide to attend ls. If you have any other scholarship (preferably from a peer school) that would drastically help your cause. If not, it's still worth a try.

[msbeautifulbasham]

Silly question, but what would be an appropriate subject line of an email asking for more money?

[jl2032]

On all my correspondence with everyone at the law schools, I put my name and LSAC # as the subject.

[romothesavior]

I think I just put "Merit Aid" in the subject line. PM me if you want some help with writing a negotiation letter.

[dreman510]

On all my correspondence with everyone at the law schools, I put my name and LSAC # as the subject.

Cant go wrong with THIS.
or you could do "Question"
Definitely cant hurt to try-youve already been accepted

[cardnal124]

$$$$$

[kazu]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 22&t=79373

Will answer all of your questions.

[pepsi]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 22&t=79373

Will answer all of your questions.

Thank you for posting this. This confused me more though, because it addresses students that are above the medians, splitters URMs and people with peer offers. I am none of these things


Thank you everyone for the help

[Vincent Vega]

Silly question, but what would be an appropriate subject line of an email asking for more money?

GIMME MONEY BITCHE$!

[romothesavior]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 22&t=79373

Will answer all of your questions.

Maybe I'm in a small minority on this one, but I'm with pepsi on this one. I didn't find this article all that helpful when I first saw it, mostly because there is little about actually writing the letter and approaching the schools. For me, the hardest part of negotiation was framing the letter so that I came off as appreciative of the initial offer, but still confident enough that they took me seriously.

The main thrust of the entire Church article was: negotiating works best when you have leverage, but even if you don't, you should still try because the worst they can say is no. Seems like a common sense no-brainer to me. Maybe I'm just too math/formula ignorant to really understand the rest of what is going on in that article haha.

[dreman510]

Silly question, but what would be an appropriate subject line of an email asking for more money?

GIMME MONEY BITCHE$!

I believe the politically correct way of saying it is BIATCH

[pepsi]

I think I just put "Merit Aid" in the subject line. PM me if you want some help with writing a negotiation letter.

Thanks. I PM'd you

[td6624]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 22&t=79373

Will answer all of your questions.

Maybe I'm in a small minority on this one, but I'm with pepsi on this one. I didn't find this article all that helpful when I first saw it, mostly because there is little about actually writing the letter and approaching the schools. For me, the hardest part of negotiation was framing the letter so that I came off as appreciative of the initial offer, but still confident enough that they took me seriously.

The main thrust of the entire Church article was: negotiating works best when you have leverage, but even if you don't, you should still try because the worst they can say is no. Seems like a common sense no-brainer to me. Maybe I'm just too math/formula ignorant to really understand the rest of what is going on in that article haha.

Personally, I don't think schools care that much about how you write the letter, as long as you don't sound like a jackass.

"Mr./Ms. _____

I just wanted to let you know that I recently received a scholarship from ________ totaling ________. I just wanted to keep the admissions office updated on my situation.

Thanks,
__________"

Granted, this is negotiating from a starting point of 0 at UCLA, where they are pretty clear about their openness to negotiating. So maybe it's different at other places. But it worked fine for me.

[kazu]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 22&t=79373

Will answer all of your questions.

Thank you for posting this. This confused me more though, because it addresses students that are above the medians, splitters URMs and people with peer offers. I am none of these things


Thank you everyone for the help

It's a comprehensive summary, so parts of it may not be applicable to you personally. I do think it provides good advice on what your chances roughly are of obtaining scholarships, and how to leverage your position. If memory serves me right it also shows a rough draft of what you're email should look like, and who to contact first (and how).