When to start negotiating? Forum

[ThreeRivers]

I've looked in other theads, but I either didn't see or accidently skipped over this... WHEN is the best time to start negotiating?

Should I wait for some more offers, or start doing it now when the $ isn't dried up

My situation:
With my numbers (167 / 3.48 it looks like the t14 won't be for me ). For this reason, scholly $ will have a large impact on where I go

So far this cycle I've received 2 bigger than I expected scholarship offers from higher ranked peer schools.

I then received 4 dissapinting offers from lower ranked schools in which I thought "I'd go if they gave me almost a full ride".. didn't happen.

I also received a pretty hefty scholarship offer from a lower ranked school

Should I start negotiation process now with these 3 schools (try to get a full ride from the lower ranked one with 2 higher ranked decent scholllys) AND try to get more $ from higher ranked schoolys by competing them against each other / higher offer from other school

OR

should I wait a little longer until I hear back from some more schools (I'm still waiting to hear back from 5 schools that would be peers with the 2 higher ranked offers / 1 lower ranked school)... even though on some of the higher ranked schools it looks like I may be in for a WL since its taking so long / they start out only giving acceptences

[Samara]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 22&t=79373

[ThreeRivers]

Like I stated in the OP... I read through the negotiation threads, but never really saw information pertaining my question.....

[soitgoes9]

Like I stated in the OP... I read through the negotiation threads, but never really saw information pertaining my question.....

I'm in a similar situation to the OP and at, I suspect some of the same places, any advice would be appreciated.

[JustE]

Not sure where you applied, but wait until you have most, if not all, of the information in front of you. So if you must have a window of time, I'd say March.

If you already know where you stand from every school you've applied to, start now.

E

[Samara]

If you have something to negotiate with, I would go ahead and broach the subject. It will take a while to go through the process. If you have a good scholarship at a school that is ranked, say, 22, having another equal scholarship from a school ranked 21 isn't going to make much of a difference. You only need one alternative in each "tier" of alternatives, as defined in the post I linked to.

If you get better offers down the road, it will be a tool you can use to show school's continuing interest. You don't want to show your hand until you have to.

[JustE]

+1

Also note that it can get a bit weird going back to a school you're really interested in 4 or 5 times. I did this last year and it wasn't fun. I'd negotiate with the schools I wasn't interested in now and then leverage those offers at my top 3 choices later.

[soitgoes9]

Did you show all the offers you had at that time or do not disclose all of your options?

[seahawk32]

OP, I've searched other negotiation threads, and they all inexplicably fail to answer your question. I've taken a look at some of those threads, and I've noticed a trend that in mid to late March schools more frequently respond that they have run out of money. I don't have a solid answer, but based on that observation alone, I would ask sooner rather than later. I plan on broaching the subject as soon as possible in February.

[JustE]

OP, I've searched other negotiation threads, and they all inexplicably fail to answer your question. I've taken a look at some of those threads, and I've noticed a trend that in mid to late March schools more frequently respond that they have run out of money. I don't have a solid answer, but based on that observation alone, I would ask sooner rather than later. I plan on broaching the subject as soon as possible in February.

Also, please note that when schools say "We've run out of money" it normally just means they don't have any money for YOU. I was negotiating with a T-30 school last year with a few other people up here. We all got a mixed bag of responses. Some got the "we're out of money" while others got $20-30k more.

I'm not sure this helps you much, but good luck all the same.

[Samara]

OP, I've searched other negotiation threads, and they all inexplicably fail to answer your question. I've taken a look at some of those threads, and I've noticed a trend that in mid to late March schools more frequently respond that they have run out of money. I don't have a solid answer, but based on that observation alone, I would ask sooner rather than later. I plan on broaching the subject as soon as possible in February.

I don't think it's inexplicable. When exactly you start negotiating depends mostly on your individual negotiating strategy. So, unless you want to link to a how to negotiate article, there's not a lot point in discussing detailed strategies. Open the line of communication early, but make sure you have something to bring to the table.

[seahawk32]

I don't think it's inexplicable. When exactly you start negotiating depends mostly on your individual negotiating strategy. So, unless you want to link to a how to negotiate article, there's not a lot point in discussing detailed strategies. Open the line of communication early, but make sure you have something to bring to the table.

In threads discussing in detail how to negotiate, it is inexplicable that they fail to mention when to begin the negotiation process.

[Samara]

I don't think it's inexplicable. When exactly you start negotiating depends mostly on your individual negotiating strategy. So, unless you want to link to a how to negotiate article, there's not a lot point in discussing detailed strategies. Open the line of communication early, but make sure you have something to bring to the table.

In threads discussing in detail how to negotiate, it is inexplicable that they fail to mention when to begin the negotiation process.

But there's no schedule for it, so why discuss timelines? Everyone's timeline is going to be different. Once you understand how to negotiate for aid, you should know when to start negotiating. If you have a way to operationalize a negotiating timeline, why don't you do so?

[seahawk32]

But there's no schedule for it, so why discuss timelines? Everyone's timeline is going to be different. Once you understand how to negotiate for aid, you should know when to start negotiating. If you have a way to operationalize a negotiating timeline, why don't you do so?

Wrong.

[Samara]

But there's no schedule for it, so why discuss timelines? Everyone's timeline is going to be different. Once you understand how to negotiate for aid, you should know when to start negotiating. If you have a way to operationalize a negotiating timeline, why don't you do so?

Wrong.

Clearly, your negotiation skills are honed to perfection.

[STLMizzou]

Samara is right, everybody’s timeline will be different because A. some schools start the process later than others, B. some schools you can only get to make an offer once, and C. some people would be better to wait if they are on multiple waitlists.

It seems like as soon as you have all or most of your initial acceptances/ initial offers you should start the process(mid-February seems about right for most people). Start with the lower ranked schools and squeeze as much as you can out of them before moving up the chain. Then, keep the process going as long as possible. Schools may say they “ran out of money”, but they may also be more incline to give extra money to assure one more seat is filled and they can mark that person down as a done deal.