How should I negotiate for money without much leverage? Forum

[Hahalollawl]

Hey all,
Does anyone have any tips for negotiating for more money with a school when you don't have much leverage? I've already made the first deposit and the second deposit deadline is coming up soon but I'd like to see if I can get more financial help, but I seem to have very little leverage so I'm not sure how best to go about doing this.

I'm on some waitlists for higher ranked schools, but I don't think that counts for much of anything, and since I don't have any other competitive offers right now, my only significant leverage seems to be myself as a candidate (not sure how far that can take me though as a splitter...). I don't want to go in too abrasive and do something like threaten to withdraw if I don't get more money (sort of an empty threat anyways at this point right? Aside from reapplying next cycle...), and I don't want to piss anyone off or give the impression that I think I'm too good for what their offering. But honestly 200k+ is a lot of money, even for a top tier school. I want to be courteous, but not appear weak you know what I mean? So if anyone has any helpful advice for negotiating in this situation, I would appreciate it! Thanks!

[Nova]

Tell them you can't afford to attend

[SolidSolendon]

If you have a money offer in a worse ranked school, you can tell them that your heart is in their school, but you believe that the other school is a financially smarter choice.