Negotiating Scholarships : Did it work or not Forum

[kommatas]

I tried to negotiate scholarships and it did not work. Now, the school I want to go to is kind of expensive for me and I am debt averse. My negotiations did not work and the reason I was given was that the school I contacted said that they were at their limit.

Did anyone else fail at their negotiations? If so what reasons were you given?

Did anyone have success, and if so why do you think you did?

[hannah87]

see this thread: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =7&t=27221

[astro1819]

I have so far been unsuccessful, though I haven't received a definite "no" yet. The reason I've been initially refused is because they can't adjust awards until after deposits come in. Perhaps I should've driven a harder bargain BEFORE the school gave me its initial offer (no offer), but honestly I just don't think there is much leeway in these things.

My impression is that T14 peer schools have a very good idea of their competition (in terms of what other schools are offering) and base their awards on the numbers in the class they admit, not on other peer offers. I know this contradicts common TLS wisdom, but I have yet to see compelling evidence demonstrating that negotiating peer offers works for most people.

[kommatas]

see this thread: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =7&t=27221

Thank you for that.

But still aren't there more people who negotiated scholarships and received word yet? I just wanted to make one post where everyone can put down their results.

[greg11a]

I was successful at negotiating a scholarship and had a response within 1 day.

[nick637]

i was successful; got me an additional 12.5k

[cardinalandgold]

Worked for me as well. Went from nothing to $8k/yr. Not much, but anything is better than nothing!

[ihurtmyselftoday]

Worked. $0 to $45K at GULC. I think there are several people who received more after negotiating.

[kommatas]

For all of those who were successful I have two questions:

1). How long into the decision process did you decide to negotiate?
2). Did you have leverage to help you negotiate?

[efs410]

For all of those who were successful I have two questions:

1). How long into the decision process did you decide to negotiate?
2). Did you have leverage to help you negotiate?


I went from nothing to a full scholarship. I started with phone calls and they said that my numbers did not qualify. I then wrote a letter and had a little leverage. I had a few scholarships from REALLY crappy schools. I ended up with a half tuition scholarship within a day of sending the letter. I called again a few months later and some how go it raised to full tuition. You should not give up. The worst thing they can do is say no. Even if they are over their limit someone will withdraw who has been offered a scholarship so it is worth trying. BTW I did not receive a full scholarship to a top law school so that could make a big difference depending on your situation.

[NoleinNY]

I was only partially successful in that I won a battle and lost the war, so to speak.

Negotiated (read: pleaded for) aid despite not having super ridiculous stats and got 14k per year worth of need based grants + a revolving loan given by the school at a low rate... Even with that generous help - and as much as I absolutely loved the school - I couldn't justify the high cost given my goals.

Tried negotiating aid at a few T2 schools that offered me substantial money, showing marginally better offerings I received at peers to no avail.

That said, it's always worth a shot.

[dvd]

`

[Sauer Grapes]

.....

[Fark-o-vision]

[Sauer Grapes]

....

[Fark-o-vision]

Marginally.

[Kobe_Teeth]

Nope.

[Notor]

It worked for one school that I ended up withdrawing from. They offered me an additional $2k a year and were really cool about it. I think that they appreciated the fact that I was honest about trying to make law school as affordable as possible for myself, and they respected the fact that I was an above median-applicant who approached them in a really laid-back, humble manner. Felt bad when I made my decision to withdraw.

[solotee]

BU: Unsuccessful
George Washington: Unsuccessful
UNC: Unsuccessful

My leverage: Full Ride at IUB, 84K at Wake and a few other half scholarship awards within the T30.

[jlnoa0915]

Yes, definitely.

[Kobe_Teeth]

Nope. Yup.

[andreea7]

Epic fail -- guessing because Columbia has a ton of applicants with awesome grades.