how to negotiate a "close to full tuition" scholarship Forum

[FlanAl]

So I read viewtopic.php?f=22&t=79373

and I think its great but it doesn't quite give me all the advice I'd want for my situation so if anyone wants to help I'd really appreciate it. So I was awarded a pretty good scholarship at my local T2 it covers all but 2k a year for tuition. Even with the scholarship after COA over three years I'll still be out 75k. People in previous years with lower numbers have gotten full tuition and a living stipend but I have a hard time not feeling like a dick asking them for more money when they are almost offering full tuition. In all honesty I would only attend if I wasn't going to be going into more than 30k debt.

my cycle is going really slow and the only thing that I really have to leverage is a solid offer from a t30 which would put me in about the same amount of debt as the T2 (mostly due to lower COA). But I'm not sure this will be enough to get them into living stipend or whatever territory.

Has anyone else negotiated after being awarded like a dean's or something. It seems like it would be hard and definitely awkward so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[BlueDiamond]

just ask them in a concise, sincere email.. its not hard

[cj2k14]

this wouldn't happen to be Cardozo (T2 with 45k and also known to give housing stipends) and IU-B (T30 with 40k and lower cost of living) would it?

[FlanAl]

this wouldn't happen to be Cardozo (T2 with 45k and also known to give housing stipends) and IU-B (T30 with 40k and lower cost of living) would it?

nah but a fairly similar situation

Also I understand that I should write a letter I'm just looking for some advice from someone who has negotiated a living stipend out of full tuition or something similar.

[Trequartista]

I am sure you will get into a T-14 with your stats. Would be a real bummer for a fellow international like me if you didn't make the T-14 with a 170.

P.S How much debt would you be willing to take on at a T-14 by the way?

[cj2k14]

I shot an email to Cardozo earlier this week about this very thing. I got 45k/year which is practically full tuition so I wrote about how I'm concerned with the cost of living (COL) given that I have other substantial offers in areas with lower COL. The dean of admissions wrote me back and asked I submit my scholarship offers from the other schools so I scanned the letters from my higher ranked acceptances that I thought would be my best leverage (IU-B 40k/year, OSU, 1/2 tuition, Emory 1/2 tuition). He said they would do a one time reconsideration of my award taking into account my other offers. I am not sure whether Cardozo is atypical in this matter (maybe since I have read extensively that OSU will NOT negotiate offers at all). Hope this helps!

[FlanAl]

cj2k14: thanks a ton for your advice I'm probably going to write up an email doing exactly what you did to send off monday.

nael: Yeah I'm definitely still holding out for a t14 I just figure it might be best to get the negotiations started with the local t2. I want to be able to make the choice between my t2 for next to nothing and t14. But t2 putting me back 75k and t14 putting me back 200k i'd definitely still take the t14.

Anyone think i should hold out until I hopefully get a t14 acceptance to start bargaining or should I just go with the t30 scholly?

thanks again for all the help

[FlanAl]

If anyone could take a look at this I'd really appreciate it. The t2 i'm addressing in this dropped quite a few places in the rankings this year and their employment stats are not very good. Unfortunately I'm still waiting to hear back from most of the schools I applied to so I don't really have anything to leverage except for a scholarship at a midwest t30.

Dear X,
I am very excited to be accepted to Local Law School as a member of the class of 2014. Growing up in Local Area, Local Law School has always been a top choice of mine. I am also extremely grateful to have been awarded the Named Scholarship. Like many students the cost of attending law school will be a major factor in determining which school I attend in the fall. After reviewing the total cost of attendance figures listed on your website I am hoping that I could be reconsidered for additional merit aid. Once again I would like to express my gratitude for the offer already extended and to thank you for your time.
Thank You,
FlanAl

Thanks again for any help!!!

[arvcondor]

If anyone could take a look at this I'd really appreciate it. The t2 i'm addressing in this dropped quite a few places in the rankings this year and their employment stats are not very good. Unfortunately I'm still waiting to hear back from most of the schools I applied to so I don't really have anything to leverage except for a scholarship at a midwest t30.

Dear X,
I am very excited to be accepted to Local Law School as a member of the class of 2014. Growing up in Local Area, Local Law School has always been a top choice of mine. I am also extremely grateful to have been awarded the Named Scholarship. Like many students the cost of attending law school will be a major factor in determining which school I attend in the fall. After reviewing the total cost of attendance figures listed on your website I am hoping that I could be reconsidered for additional merit aid. Once again I would like to express my gratitude for the offer already extended and to thank you for your time.
Thank You,
FlanAl

Thanks again for any help!!!

You forgot to mention the T30!