How to approach conversation regarding scholarship? Forum

[Ibelieve]

So I was offered a spot off the waitlist at my #1 choice. I was told to call to discuss the possibility of attending. This was after a 3 point increase on the June LSAT. How should I approach the conversation regarding a potential scholarship? I have been offered $60,000 at a school ranked 12 spots lower (US News and World Report). Should I mention this if nothing is offered?

I have been told that an increased LSAT score essentially "makes you a whole new applicant," so in this case, it wouldn't be rare to get $ of the WL. But what if none is offered? Or very, very little? How should I ask for some and/or more without coming off as a jerk? Should I mention my scholarship offer from the other school, or are the schools too dissimilar for that to matter?

Thanks in advance for any advice on how to approach this!

[hearsay77]

You should wait to see if they offer anything to you first, and if they don't you can let them know that you're very interested in attending but you're concerned about the cost/would like to be considered for financial aid. I would wait for them to come back with an offer before bringing up the scholarship you have from the other school, so that you have leverage to negotiate up if they offer you less than that other school. I can't say if they would compete with each other for you or whether the higher ranked school will consider the lower ranked school's offer seriously without knowing what schools they are.

[stego]

Knowing that School A is 12 places lower in the rankings than School B is not enough information to tell you how comparable the two schools are. One flaw with the rankings is that they give the impression that schools are evenly spaced, but that' not the case. The difference between NYU (#6) and WUSTL (#18) is likely much greater than say, the difference between two Tier 2 schools that are 12 spaces apart.

[Clemenceau]

(Tactfully) threaten to withdraw and reapply next year because you believe you would get a more financially viable option with your new lsat score.