Post
by Stupendous_Man » Sat Apr 23, 2011 9:45 pm
Maybe send it to both? Certainly can't hurt. Take my advice with a grain of salt, since when I tried, they said no, and clearly they were right because I came anyway. But what I did was: Thank them for their generous offer, say a few reasons about why USC is a top choice for you, but your other choices are also strong, and that your decision is going to be heavily based on the scholarships available because of your financial situation. Then tell them what your other comparable/better offer(s) are, and say as it stands, you don't know that you could choose USC because your other very attractive offers are more financially viable for whatever reasons, and respectfully ask that they reconsider your scholarship offer to help make your decision easier.
In your case, tell them that UCLA gave you a $20k grant, and told you that you would get the same grant every year if your financial situation didn't change, and say if USC would match (beat?) your grant, USC would be your first choice (if that's true). If they end up denying you, they'll say something like "Although our amount is smaller, it is guaranteed over the 3 years, and our tuition has increased at a much lower rate etc. etc." and they would kind of have a point since a lot of students would take a guaranteed $15k over a possible $20k, but it's worth a try. In some cases, the school just doesn't have any more money to give out, because they've allocated much more than they have already knowing that not everyone offered a scholarship will take it. In the mean time, you'd want to make an internal decision based on the facts you have at hand, and if they change, reevaluate then. Goodluck!
