Negotiating When #s Don't Align Forum

[vested]

Don't want to out myself, so hope you will tolerate this perfectly analogous hypothetical.

I got into schools A and B with a 170/3.8. School A gave me $110K and school B gave me $80K. In Feb I retook and got a 175. Unfortunately, this happened right after School B gave me their 80K offer. I told school B about the $110K offer and my LSAT score, and they only bumped me to $110K. I strongly suspect that if I wait until next cycle, I will have much more generous offers. And from lsn that looks to be the case. But is there any way I can negotiate now? I would actually prefer an incentivized deferral (say, 140K+ and I commit to go in 2017). Anyone know if schools respond positively to those requests, or if there's an ideal way to present them?

[magnum_law]

0L disclaimer, but it might be wise to hold off until after the seat deposit deadlines to resume negotiations. Money will free up and you'll have a better chance then, most likely.

[vested]

0L disclaimer, but it might be wise to hold off until after the seat deposit deadlines to resume negotiations. Money will free up and you'll have a better chance then, most likely.

Yeah, I guess that's a last resort though. I'd be guaranteed to lose $500, and could lose $1,000 if neither school budged.

[kcdc1]

I don't know what you mean when you say that the numbers don't align. What you seem to be describing is that the schools are offering less than you you think you deserve. My advice is to wait until you're a week or two out from the deposit deadline, and then explain why you're interested in the school, why the financial considerations make the decision to attend difficult, and why you would certainly enroll if they were to offer a greater tuition discount. Bear in mind that you already have a substantial offer in hand, so you'll want to be careful to avoid sounding entitled and tone-deaf.

[vested]

I don't know what you mean when you say that the numbers don't align. What you seem to be describing is that the schools are offering less than you you think you deserve. My advice is to wait until you're a week or two out from the deposit deadline, and then explain why you're interested in the school, why the financial considerations make the decision to attend difficult, and why you would certainly enroll if they were to offer a greater tuition discount. Bear in mind that you already have a substantial offer in hand, so you'll want to be careful to avoid sounding entitled and tone-deaf.

Thanks for the candid advice. I definitely have concerns about coming across as entitled, but at the same time I have to do what's in my best interest. And yeah, that's what I meant by not aligning... Based on mylsn, there's a big gap between my current offer and what I could get next year if I applied across the T14.

[tflan19]

Don't want to out myself, so hope you will tolerate this perfectly analogous hypothetical.

I got into schools A and B with a 170/3.8. School A gave me $110K and school B gave me $80K. In Feb I retook and got a 175. Unfortunately, this happened right after School B gave me their 80K offer. I told school B about the $110K offer and my LSAT score, and they only bumped me to $110K. I strongly suspect that if I wait until next cycle, I will have much more generous offers. And from lsn that looks to be the case. But is there any way I can negotiate now? I would actually prefer an incentivized deferral (say, 140K+ and I commit to go in 2017). Anyone know if schools respond positively to those requests, or if there's an ideal way to present them?

If I'm reading this correctly, school A gave you the offer before your updated LSAT? if so, ask them to reconsider your package, mentioning the increased LSAT score, the importance of financial considerations in your decision, and why you want to attend there. This probably won't let you renegotiate the other offer, but it might increase your offer at A.

On the sitting out and reapplying note - don't put too much weight (ie a whole year of your life) on LSN scholarship stats. I've overperformed admissions wise for my numbers (relatively similar to yours) but underperformed $$ wise. Unless you are indifferent between graduating in 2019 and in 2020 or $$$ is a ginormous consideration in your decision, I wouldn't put too much weight on feeling like you've underperformed your #s as far as money because of a negotiating timeline issue. It seems like scholarships are a little less predictable than admissions decisions.

[kcdc1]

Thanks for the candid advice. I definitely have concerns about coming across as entitled, but at the same time I have to do what's in my best interest. And yeah, that's what I meant by not aligning... Based on mylsn, there's a big gap between my current offer and what I could get next year if I applied across the T14.

You can certainly negotiate aggressively and walk away if schools don't offer enough. One thing I'd be cautious about is putting too much stock in mysln data. Aside from the obvious potential for sample bias (people who get great offers will be more inclined to share data than those who don't), scholarship offers depend on the applicant landscape for that year. My understanding is that high-end LSAT's were significantly more common this year, which could mean that schools just don't need a 170+ LSAT this year as much as they did last year.