Negotiating scholarships works!!!!! Forum

[chuckbass]

You can double deposit generally FYI...

ETA: or more

[JMWZ]

You can double deposit generally FYI...

ETA: or more

Upside: More leverage in negotiation, gives more time to decide on schools

Downside: Lose deposit money, may be looked at unfavorably

Right?

[chuckbass]

You can double deposit generally FYI...

ETA: or more

Upside: More leverage in negotiation, gives more time to decide on schools

Downside: Lose deposit money, may be looked at unfavorably

Right?

Downside: lose deposit money

[JMWZ]

You can double deposit generally FYI...

ETA: or more

Upside: More leverage in negotiation, gives more time to decide on schools

Downside: Lose deposit money, may be looked at unfavorably

Right?

Downside: lose deposit money

You don't think there is an upside? Or just the one downside?

[buddyt]

You can double deposit generally FYI...

ETA: or more

Upside: More leverage in negotiation, gives more time to decide on schools

Downside: Lose deposit money, may be looked at unfavorably

Right?

Downside: lose deposit money

You don't think there is an upside? Or just the one downside?

There are myriad upsides, including tens of thousands of additional scholarship dollars, and the only downside is a few hundred bucks.

[secadc11]

There do seem to be some schools who do not allow this. For example, I recall Duke's language being pretty strong.

[calawgrl]

Don't you lose bargaining power though? I mean the school already think you're gonna attend so they won't take your requests for more money as seriously, right?

[hearsay77]

If I already have an offer for a T20 school for more $$ than a T25 gave me, should I contact the T25 now or still continue to wait for more offers before asking for more money?

[Dipper]

If I already have an offer for a T20 school for more $$ than a T25 gave me, should I contact the T25 now or still continue to wait for more offers before asking for more money?

I suggest waiting until mid-Feb. I think Spivey said something (in his thread) about law schools hating the first round of people who ask.

[cannibal ox]

Downside to double depositing is also that once the deadline has passed, the school may be more confident that they'll hold medians with you, whereas pre deadline they may value your numbers more because they're unsure of who will deposit and who will be withdrawn.

I double deposited last cycle and it worked out really well for me, but the downside was something I considered before doing it.

[HavingFun]

Sorry if this was asked before, couldn't find it. Just a few general questions that I think all could find helpful:

1) How does one go about mentioning to school A you are negotiating with that you got a scholarship from peer school B that appears to be a smaller amount, but when factoring in in-state tuition, would make it ultimately cheaper than school A? Do you explicitly mention this, or can we trust that admissions would know this already?

2) Somewhat related, when you are negotiating with school A, is it okay/effective to mention that if you went to school B the COL would be almost nonexistent due to living with family? Or, Can you mention that School B's location is simply cheaper COL (ie "living in NYC/Chi/etc is expensive, and COL in insert cheaper city/suburban town. Can you give me more monies?")

3) And related to both 1 and 2, do you simply mention the scholarship amount per year from other competing schools, or should you try to estimate a total COA of all 3 years? Mention total scholarship over all 3 years? from what I could tell there was some discrepancy on people who would just mention their scholarships, while others would try to get more direct numbers after factoring everything else.

Thanks

[Louis1127]

Sorry if this was asked before, couldn't find it. Just a few general questions that I think all could find helpful:

1) How does one go about mentioning to school A you are negotiating with that you got a scholarship from peer school B that appears to be a smaller amount, but when factoring in in-state tuition, would make it ultimately cheaper than school A? Do you explicitly mention this, or can we trust that admissions would know this already?

2) Somewhat related, when you are negotiating with school A, is it okay/effective to mention that if you went to school B the COL would be almost nonexistent due to living with family? Or, Can you mention that School B's location is simply cheaper COL (ie "living in NYC/Chi/etc is expensive, and COL in insert cheaper city/suburban town. Can you give me more monies?")

3) And related to both 1 and 2, do you simply mention the scholarship amount per year from other competing schools, or should you try to estimate a total COA of all 3 years? Mention total scholarship over all 3 years? from what I could tell there was some discrepancy on people who would just mention their scholarships, while others would try to get more direct numbers after factoring everything else.

Thanks

Definitely tell them #1 and #2 in my opinion. Especially if you're still in undergrad, your permanent address may be different from your current one or whatever. I see no harm in telling them #s 1 and 2. Hell, you NEED to- those are important factors in choosing where you will go to school.

[HavingFun]

Sorry if this was asked before, couldn't find it. Just a few general questions that I think all could find helpful:

1) How does one go about mentioning to school A you are negotiating with that you got a scholarship from peer school B that appears to be a smaller amount, but when factoring in in-state tuition, would make it ultimately cheaper than school A? Do you explicitly mention this, or can we trust that admissions would know this already?

2) Somewhat related, when you are negotiating with school A, is it okay/effective to mention that if you went to school B the COL would be almost nonexistent due to living with family? Or, Can you mention that School B's location is simply cheaper COL (ie "living in NYC/Chi/etc is expensive, and COL in insert cheaper city/suburban town. Can you give me more monies?")

3) And related to both 1 and 2, do you simply mention the scholarship amount per year from other competing schools, or should you try to estimate a total COA of all 3 years? Mention total scholarship over all 3 years? from what I could tell there was some discrepancy on people who would just mention their scholarships, while others would try to get more direct numbers after factoring everything else.

Thanks

Definitely tell them #1 and #2 in my opinion. Especially if you're still in undergrad, your permanent address may be different from your current one or whatever. I see no harm in telling them #s 1 and 2. Hell, you NEED to- those are important factors in choosing where you will go to school.

Thanks for the advice!

[LMD]

Does anybody have any experience negotiating on top of a full ride.

I could attend most of the T-14 but I am geographically bound and will be attending a lower top-50 school. Should I just accept my full scholly happily or should I be negotiating for a stipend, fourth year support, housing allowance, etc.?

It's worth noting that my partner is taking a job at this school in the middle of nowhere, they know I'm moving there so I might not have much leverage, although I am not super excited about attending law school there so I could legitimately walk away.

[Poptorts]

Does anybody have any experience negotiating on top of a full ride.

I could attend most of the T-14 but I am geographically bound and will be attending a lower top-50 school. Should I just accept my full scholly happily or should I be negotiating for a stipend, fourth year support, housing allowance, etc.?

It's worth noting that my partner is taking a job at this school in the middle of nowhere, they know I'm moving there so I might not have much leverage, although I am not super excited about attending law school there so I could legitimately walk away.

Try to ask for more, but if they say no, walk away and never look back. If you aren't excited about attending, do not go. Don't miss out on 3 years of income and extremely marginal (at best) job prospects from a school ranked that far down the list. Not sure what your goals are, but unless that school will help you get there then you should just walk away.

[adil91]

I got 23k per year at Miami, I'm taking the February LSAT. I've also gotten accepted in the GSU law and will be paying instate tuition(16k). Should I try negotiating with Miami right now? I would tell them that I could pay less to attend a similarly ranked school. Or should I wait until the February scores come out and hope that I score higher and that they still have money to dole out?

[danielspaniel]

Two quick questions:

1) Will you find out if a school is giving you $0. I.e. will I hear directly that no scholarships have been offered or I won't hear anything?

2) If there is a school that I am definitely interested in as my top choice, do I submit a seat deposit now? Will it help with negotiations to submit a seat deposit now or would it hurt leverage? I was under the impression that it hurts leverage but from the posts here it seems that you have to put a seat deposit to even negotiate with the school. Which is correct?

Thanks!

[hairbear7]

I got 23k per year at Miami, I'm taking the February LSAT. I've also gotten accepted in the GSU law and will be paying instate tuition(16k). Should I try negotiating with Miami right now? I would tell them that I could pay less to attend a similarly ranked school. Or should I wait until the February scores come out and hope that I score higher and that they still have money to dole out?

Wait. Regardless of your Feb score, it's too early to start negotiating.

[js1663]

Two quick questions:

1) Will you find out if a school is giving you $0. I.e. will I hear directly that no scholarships have been offered or I won't hear anything?

No, I believe they just won't send you a scholarship offer, though they might send you need-based forms or reminders about it to fill out. But as far as i'm aware they don't send rejection letters for scholarships (possible exception for scholarships where you interview specifically for that scholarship i.e. mordecai, though I doubt even there they do)

2) If there is a school that I am definitely interested in as my top choice, do I submit a seat deposit now? Will it help with negotiations to submit a seat deposit now or would it hurt leverage? I was under the impression that it hurts leverage but from the posts here it seems that you have to put a seat deposit to even negotiate with the school. Which is correct?

Only reason to submit your seat deposit is a) If you're sure you want to attend that school or b) If you're deciding between two schools and want to thing about it past the deadline they give you (i.e. their first seat deposit deadline) - in which case you can deposit in both and withdraw from one later (assuming the school has no policy expressly forbidding this)
I can't see how you'd gain anything from depositing other than showing them that you really want to attend, which presumably they know from the fact that you're asking them to make it easier for you to attend their school over another, less appealing though financially cheaper alternative. It certainly isn't gonna strengthen your hand - they have the upper hand as you now have money down (which you'd lose if you withdrew).

[ManoftheHour]

Agreed with the above posts. I negotiated a month before deposits were due. I then waited until a week before deadline to make my first deposits. I started negotiating when the second deposits loomed. That took a while and over 20 emails and a few phone calls. Hell, I make my final decision until June.

ETA: There is so much upside to double depositing at the first deposit. I had offers that nearly doubled because I double deposited. The only downside is losing your deposit from the school(s) you don't attend.

[Dipper]

What's the TLS wisdom on how/when to go about negotiating scholarships? I have a close to full tuition schollarship from school B, but really want to go to school A, which is in a different geographic area and ranked two spots higher than school B. Should I come out and tell school A about the offer now, or wait until I hear their initial offer, or wait until I get more offers from other schools?

[Aeon]

What's the TLS wisdom on how/when to go about negotiating scholarships? I have a close to full tuition schollarship from school B, but really want to go to school A, which is in a different geographic area and ranked two spots higher than school B. Should I come out and tell school A about the offer now, or wait until I hear their initial offer, or wait until I get more offers from other schools?

Wait. Schools don't like it when applicants begin negotiating too early. It is also easier to negotiate when you have several offers outstanding.

[spencer.414]

Should you mention things like a GPA increase in your email? I'm thinking about waiting until the end of February to send my renegotiation email.

[BaberhamLincoln]

man if i knew how well this worked at some schools i would've apply to schools that are more generous and gotten a scholly to use to negotiate at somewhere i really wanted


I applied to A,B, and C. A and B gave me 30K per year and C gave me 27K. i wanted C most so I showed them the other offers to get them to 30K. but if i could go back i would apply to D that maybe i didnt care much about going to but that would have given me more and maybe used them to negotiate more from C

but it does work

[ManoftheHour]

Should you mention things like a GPA increase in your email? I'm thinking about waiting until the end of February to send my renegotiation email.

Definitely. I would do that and send them the competing offers you have by then too. End of Feb/early March is not a bad time to start considering most first deposits are due in April-ish.