Negotiating Conditional Scholarship Forum

[Troianii]

I got what I think is a decent (though not great) conditional scholarship offer from a school which I would consider attending, but isn't at the top of my list. Still, I see no reason not to ultimately try negotiating, but my main concern is that its conditional. I don't want a conditional scholarship, and if it remains conditional I wouldn't even attend if the law school was my #1 choice.

So what I'm curious about is: has anyone ever negotiated a conditional scholarship to an unconditional one? That is, from one with a GPA requirement for renewal to one with simply a "good academic standing" requirement for renewal (which I realize is still a condition, but to my knowledge that isn't normally referred to as a conditional scholarship).

[lymenheimer]

I got what I think is a decent (though not great) conditional scholarship offer from a school which I would consider attending, but isn't at the top of my list. Still, I see no reason not to ultimately try negotiating, but my main concern is that its conditional. I don't want a conditional scholarship, and if it remains conditional I wouldn't even attend if the law school was my #1 choice.

So what I'm curious about is: has anyone ever negotiated a conditional scholarship to an unconditional one? That is, from one with a GPA requirement for renewal to one with simply a "good academic standing" requirement for renewal (which I realize is still a condition, but to my knowledge that isn't normally referred to as a conditional scholarship).

yes. not me, but others have. also, couldn't hurt to try

[TheSpanishMain]

Tell them you won't attend unless the only condition is you remain in good standing. You probably shouldn't attend a school that tries to pull this crap anyway. You don't really hear of reputable schools doing this.

[Troianii]

Tell them you won't attend unless the only condition is you remain in good standing. You probably shouldn't attend a school that tries to pull this crap anyway. You don't really hear of reputable schools doing this.

Is it true that you don't hear reputable schools doing this? This link below is two years old - may be outdated at this point - but it indicates that at least a third of the top 50 schools have conditional scholarships. But to be more direct and to the point, apparently even Stanford (as of 2013, see second link for verification) has had conditional scholarships. http://abovethelaw.com/2013/07/the-law- ... -goodbye/ http://abovethelaw.com/2013/03/when-eve ... ansparent/

That said, I do intend on telling them exactly what you said: that I won't attend unless the only condition is that I remain in good standing. I'm just trying to get a feel for how reasonable that is. I think everyone knows that if you want a law school to up their offer a few thousand its likely, but I have no idea how likely a law school will change a conditional scholarship to unconditional in negotiation.

[Troianii]

I got what I think is a decent (though not great) conditional scholarship offer from a school which I would consider attending, but isn't at the top of my list. Still, I see no reason not to ultimately try negotiating, but my main concern is that its conditional. I don't want a conditional scholarship, and if it remains conditional I wouldn't even attend if the law school was my #1 choice.

So what I'm curious about is: has anyone ever negotiated a conditional scholarship to an unconditional one? That is, from one with a GPA requirement for renewal to one with simply a "good academic standing" requirement for renewal (which I realize is still a condition, but to my knowledge that isn't normally referred to as a conditional scholarship).

yes. not me, but others have. also, couldn't hurt to try

OK, this was just the first conditional scholarship I've received and I didn't know if that's something that is generally on the table for negotiation.

Thanks to both of you for the replies.

[TheSpanishMain]

Well, technically, all scholarships are conditional: you have to remain in good standing. What TTTs typically do is condition retention on remaining in the top x% of the class. If good schools are doing this, that's surprising.

Also, I was under the impression that Stanford didn't give merit scholarships at all, conditional or not

[A. Nony Mouse]

Is it true that you don't hear reputable schools doing this? This link below is two years old - may be outdated at this point - but it indicates that at least a third of the top 50 schools have conditional scholarships. But to be more direct and to the point, apparently even Stanford (as of 2013, see second link for verification) has had conditional scholarships. http://abovethelaw.com/2013/07/the-law- ... -goodbye/ http://abovethelaw.com/2013/03/when-eve ... ansparent/

The second link is about schools fulfilling obligations to provide certain info to the ABA. Failing to provide a conditional scholarship retention chart doesn't actually mean the school gave conditional scholarships. It's particularly nonsensical in this case since IIRC Stanford doesn't do merit aid, just need-based...so no possibility of a conditional scholarship (and no need to provide a chart).

Edit: scooped by TSM

[Troianii]

Oh that's my bad then - in second link I assumed that meant Stanford gave out some conditional scholarships.

The first link, though, provides some data on conditional scholarship retention, to include that 15 of the top 50 have retention over 90%, with some having lower retention. I found a better below. I just don't think every school with a conditional scholarship is disreputable - I mean, there's Ohio State, BYU, Golden Gate, and Minnesota, so reputable schools have conditional scholarships.

And yes, I put GGU in for a joke. Though in essence I agree - most schools which give conditional scholarships aren't worth attending to begin with.

http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/re ... olarships/

Again, thanks for the responses.

[Troianii]

Well, technically, all scholarships are conditional: you have to remain in good standing. What TTTs typically do is condition retention on remaining in the top x% of the class. If good schools are doing this, that's surprising.

Also, I was under the impression that Stanford didn't give merit scholarships at all, conditional or not

My mistake with Stanford. For the record, the scholarship I was offered was about 75% tuition, requiring I maintain a 2.8.