Negotiating With Leverage ... SHOW ME THE MONEY! Forum

[chameleon]

i have been offered no money from my favorite school, and a decent amount of money from a school ranked 26 points better. i want to negotiate with my favorite for some money -- even a little would sway my decision and i'd put down their deposit. any idea how to start this conversation?

i have no idea who to even contact...

[agentcom]

When I was applying, I also negotiated for more aid. I found schools very receptive to the idea. You continue to talk to the admissions people or at least find out from them whom to talk to. I went to each of the schools that I was looking at (sometimes as part of a visit, sometimes through e-mail) and tried to paint their offer in the worst possible light w.r.t. my other offers:

E.g. to school X I would say, School Y is offering me more money, I'm really interested in your school, but I don't know if I can afford to pay the extra money.
To school Y I would say, I'm very interested in your school, but school X has such a lower cost of living/higher chance of getting in state tuition/whatever, that I'm not sure I can pass up that opportunity.

I always filled it in with things like, "I really appreciate the generous offer", etc. I also never lied to any school about what other schools offered me, though I'm sure you could if you wanted to. That is my own personal moral consideration, however. Which brings me to this: I actually went to the schools that I wasn't as interested in FIRST. I tried to get their offers up as high as possible so that I would have more leverage with the schools that I actually wanted to go to. In the end, several of the schools that I contacted raised there scholarship offers by decent amounts.

I ended up at a school that I was really interested in anyway with more scholarship money, so I consider it a success.

Finally, a caveat, you can't really try to use lesser schools as leverage. A full ride from T3 probably won't help you negotiate a better scholly with a T2. They know how the game works and you should, too.

Hope that helps.

[FeuerFrei]

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[chameleon]

i do, so suck it.

[hotdog123]

Would it be poor form to send to school Y, a copy of your scholarship offer from school X, so they know you're not playing around?

[Mr. Matlock]

Would it be poor form to send to school Y, a copy of your scholarship offer from school X, so they know you're not playing around?

IMO, I wouldn't send it unless they asked for it. Is the school a peer school to it? ie. same rank or even a better ranked school? If yes, I think you're in a much stronger position. If not, then they probably wouldn't be interested in dealing.

I would just be very honest in a phone call or email and say this is what I got from XYZ school and is there anyway you could match or beat it?

[hotdog123]

Would it be poor form to send to school Y, a copy of your scholarship offer from school X, so they know you're not playing around?

IMO, I wouldn't send it unless they asked for it. Is the school a peer school to it? ie. same rank or even a better ranked school? If yes, I think you're in a much stronger position. If not, then they probably wouldn't be interested in dealing.

I would just be very honest in a phone call or email and say this is what I got from XYZ school and is there anyway you could match or beat it?

Is this how I should negotiate?

[vanwinkle]

i have been offered no money from my favorite school, and a decent amount of money from a school ranked 26 points better. i want to negotiate with my favorite for some money -- even a little would sway my decision and i'd put down their deposit. any idea how to start this conversation?

i have no idea who to even contact...

Contact the admissions representative at School X that you want to go to. You should know at least one by now, the person who sent you your acceptance, their name should be on it. Tell them that it is your top choice and you really want to attend, but you've received a scholarship offer from School Y and are having to consider that for financial reasons. Make it clear you want to attend School X and a financial aid offer would help make that decision easier for you.

Also be aware that not all schools award scholarship money equally. Some schools have larger endowments than others and can afford to give out a lot more scholarships; also some schools may be focused on one factor (like LSAT) that the other school isn't focused on quite so much. For example, WUSTL offered me a full scholarship even though many schools ranked well below them offered me little or nothing at all last cycle and wouldn't come up enough to match that offer.

[PlugInBaby]

Would I be able to do this if accepted from a waitlist of a school that most likely YP'd me?

[MixedGirl2009]

Do you guys think we should reference the rankings of schools who are competing with our top choice that have offered us scholarships? I assume admissions people are aware of the most recent rankings yet I'm not 100% sure that they would have recognized a particular top 100 school having moved up 10 spots in the 2009 rankings.

i.e., to top choice: 'school y (peer school), ranked XX according to XXX website, has offered me a full scholarship'..

[vanwinkle]

Do you guys think we should reference the rankings of schools who are competing with our top choice that have offered us scholarships? I assume admissions people are aware of the most recent rankings yet I'm not 100% sure that they would have recognized a particular top 100 school having moved up 10 spots in the 2009 rankings.

i.e., to top choice: 'school y (peer school), ranked XX according to XXX website, has offered me a full scholarship'..

DO NOT DO THIS. They read USNWR and are very fully aware of where schools are ranked in relation to them. Drawing attention to how they're a lower-ranked school than another one you're considering will only upset them, most likely by convincing them you're focused on rankings and therefore less likely to attend their school anyway.

[MixedGirl2009]

Do you guys think we should reference the rankings of schools who are competing with our top choice that have offered us scholarships? I assume admissions people are aware of the most recent rankings yet I'm not 100% sure that they would have recognized a particular top 100 school having moved up 10 spots in the 2009 rankings.

i.e., to top choice: 'school y (peer school), ranked XX according to XXX website, has offered me a full scholarship'..

DO NOT DO THIS. They read USNWR and are very fully aware of where schools are ranked in relation to them. Drawing attention to how they're a lower-ranked school than another one you're considering will only upset them, most likely by convincing them you're focused on rankings and therefore less likely to attend their school anyway.

I see your point - I just thought it would help because the peer school that offered me a full ride has moved up to about the same place as top school, but i would hope they know that so will leave it out....and hope for the best Thx.

[Mr. Matlock]

Is this how I should negotiate?

You're breaking my balls, Donny!

[vanwinkle]

If you want to "Negotiate with Leverage" then these are the guys that can help you:

[chicoalto0649]

I don't think you necessarily have leverage...

[Mr. Matlock]

If you want to "Negotiate with Leverage" then these are the guys that can help you:

I prefer my guys. They always seem to be able to get me the best deals:

[Compaq1984]

Would it be poor form to send to school Y, a copy of your scholarship offer from school X, so they know you're not playing around?

IMO, I wouldn't send it unless they asked for it. Is the school a peer school to it? ie. same rank or even a better ranked school? If yes, I think you're in a much stronger position. If not, then they probably wouldn't be interested in dealing.

I would just be very honest in a phone call or email and say this is what I got from XYZ school and is there anyway you could match or beat it?

Is this how I should negotiate?

HAHA
+1