Negotiating scholarships works!!!!! Forum

[adj8103]

I do not understand who to send the email to specifically... I sent one to the director of student recruitment. was this wrong? should I send a new email to the financial aid office?

[laynie]

If anyone would be willing to PM me the negotiation letter they've sent, I'd be forever grateful! Feel free to delete any specifics--I'm just struggling with wording!

[gazorpazorp]

.

[haewon225]

.

[PatriotP74]

I do not understand who to send the email to specifically... I sent one to the director of student recruitment. was this wrong? should I send a new email to the financial aid office?

I would send it to whoever has been your main contact and notified you of the original scholarships. Out of 3 I sent, 2 went to dean of admissions and 1 to the general email because I was directed to send it there by the form.

[TheKisSquared]

Is it worth negotiating if you're below both medians? I haven't heard back from UCLA yet, but in the best case scenario, would like to leverage UCLA and USC against each other.

yes.

[adj8103]

I do not understand who to send the email to specifically... I sent one to the director of student recruitment. was this wrong? should I send a new email to the financial aid office?

I would send it to whoever has been your main contact and notified you of the original scholarships. Out of 3 I sent, 2 went to dean of admissions and 1 to the general email because I was directed to send it their by the form.

Ok thank you for the advice. I appreciate it

[adj8103]

If anyone is curious. I tried to go up from about 75% at U of Miami and they said no within a few hours. They wrote a very nice, long email encouraging me to still apply there.

[SpikeSeagull]

Anyone have any advice for negotiating w/ a school after you get the initial offer? Specifics for me:

—Non URM, GPA 3.78, LSAT 177
Offers are following:
—Columbia, Butler
—Chicago, 75k
—NYU, pending
—Penn, 46k
—Duke, 105k
—Cornell, 150k
—Vanderbilt, 125k
—WUSTL, Full tuition

Ideal situation would be to have Chicago/Penn to match Columbia or go higher, but I just don't know how to start the email being "Hey guys, thanks but plz give me more money." If anyone has a sample I'd appreciate it.

[SlithyTove]

Anyone have any advice for negotiating w/ a school after you get the initial offer? Specifics for me:

—Non URM, GPA 3.78, LSAT 177
Offers are following:
—Columbia, Butler
—Chicago, 75k
—NYU, pending
—Penn, 46k
—Duke, 105k
—Cornell, 150k
—Vanderbilt, 125k
—WUSTL, Full tuition

Ideal situation would be to have Chicago/Penn to match Columbia or go higher, but I just don't know how to start the email being "Hey guys, thanks but plz give me more money." If anyone has a sample I'd appreciate it.

My advice would be to read the first 15-20 pages of this thread. A lot of people share stories and examples of what they wrote to successfully negotiate. This thread is also very helpful: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 22&t=79373

[YoungSimba]

.

[BirdLawExpert]

Hello! If anyone is willing to coach me on negotiations out of the goodness of their heart, please PM.
Scholarship offers:
UVA $0
Vanderbilt $90K
WUSTL $120K
Emory $105K
USC $90K
Financing with loans. Want to get COA as low as possible. Nervous about how to communicate and when. Can give more details about goals in PM if needed. Thank you!

I have almost these exact offers, except replace "UVA $0" with "UT $1K", replace Emory with Iowa, and USC with Alabama. If you get any solid advice, I'd really appreciate it if you could clue me in. I'll send you anything I hear, as well.

[DeathByLSATWasTaken]

Hello! If anyone is willing to coach me on negotiations out of the goodness of their heart, please PM.
Scholarship offers:
UVA $0
Vanderbilt $90K
WUSTL $120K
Emory $105K
USC $90K
Financing with loans. Want to get COA as low as possible. Nervous about how to communicate and when. Can give more details about goals in PM if needed. Thank you!

I have almost these exact offers, except replace "UVA $0" with "UT $1K", replace Emory with Iowa, and USC with Alabama. If you get any solid advice, I'd really appreciate it if you could clue me in. I'll send you anything I hear, as well.

I'm also in a very similar positions, and FWIW I emailed Emory this morning (I also got $105k) and heard back immediately that they don't negotiate scholarships.

[hhollow]

Has anyone ever asked a school for a formal copy of their scholarship offer?

I got my scholarship info only in the body of the acceptance email, and want to use this school to negotiate with others. Not sure if it's bad form to ask for something official.

[lymenheimer]

Has anyone ever asked a school for a formal copy of their scholarship offer?

I got my scholarship info only in the body of the acceptance email, and want to use this school to negotiate with others. Not sure if it's bad form to ask for something official.

That is an official copy...?

[hhollow]

Has anyone ever asked a school for a formal copy of their scholarship offer?

I got my scholarship info only in the body of the acceptance email, and want to use this school to negotiate with others. Not sure if it's bad form to ask for something official.

That is an official copy...?

It is? Would it look silly if I forward this email to the other school?

[archipm]

Has anyone ever asked a school for a formal copy of their scholarship offer?

I got my scholarship info only in the body of the acceptance email, and want to use this school to negotiate with others. Not sure if it's bad form to ask for something official.

I just took a screenshot of the email and made it a PDF.

[TheKisSquared]

Has anyone ever asked a school for a formal copy of their scholarship offer?

I got my scholarship info only in the body of the acceptance email, and want to use this school to negotiate with others. Not sure if it's bad form to ask for something official.

I just took a screenshot of the email and made it a PDF.

You can also just print the email to PDF.

[hhollow]

Has anyone ever asked a school for a formal copy of their scholarship offer?

I got my scholarship info only in the body of the acceptance email, and want to use this school to negotiate with others. Not sure if it's bad form to ask for something official.

I just took a screenshot of the email and made it a PDF.

You can also just print the email to PDF.

Great, I think I'll just do this. Thanks!

[dylarama]

Getting a little ahead of myself here, but I'm on 7 waitlists so I'm assuming there's a reasonable chance I will get off at least 1. What's the protocol for discussing scholarships after an acceptance off the waitlist (especially in the summer)? Has anybody had success negotiating a scholarship based on in-state status at a peer school (specifically in-state at Texas -> low-T14)?

[TheKisSquared]

Getting a little ahead of myself here, but I'm on 7 waitlists so I'm assuming there's a reasonable chance I will get off at least 1. What's the protocol for discussing scholarships after an acceptance off the waitlist (especially in the summer)? Has anybody had success negotiating a scholarship based on in-state status at a peer school (specifically in-state at Texas -> low-T14)?

I cannot answer the part about in-state status, but I personally know people who were given money at GULC, at least, after receiving offers from the wait list. Same basic idea as negotiating normally, but maybe be more realistic in your ask. "I would love to go here but I've been offered x at y school, I will lose my deposit, any financial help the school can offer would greatly aid my decision. [wl school] also has a higher cost of living which I must factor into my consideration." etc. I also know people who were given more aid after accepting. depends on the finaid office.

[gsy987]

Just an anecdote about negotiating working:

I emailed Michigan asking for some kind of scholarship, and gave them the following "comparable" offers:

WUSTL: 40k
GW: 25k
Minny: 35k
BC: 25k
Admit at NW

You'll notice that none of those are particularly strong comparables (that's probably even understating it.)

Anyways.. Michigan emailed me today and bumped me up to a half scholarship! Moral of the story: ALWAYS email a school to ask/negotiate, even if you don't think you have a prayer of getting anything. No matter what most schools say, they will deal and negotiate most of the time!

[Remus]

Hey, first time posting on this forum. Anyone have any information on merit-based scholarships for columbia? Aside from Hamilton & Butlers I haven't seen much. Help?

[TheKisSquared]

Hey, first time posting on this forum. Anyone have any information on merit-based scholarships for columbia? Aside from Hamilton & Butlers I haven't seen much. Help?

Columbia hasn't released aid yet, and isn't expected to until after April 1. The Class of 2019 thread might be a good thread for you to read.

[Remus]

Hey, first time posting on this forum. Anyone have any information on merit-based scholarships for columbia? Aside from Hamilton & Butlers I haven't seen much. Help?

Columbia hasn't released aid yet, and isn't expected to until after April 1. The Class of 2019 thread might be a good thread for you to read.

OK. Anything I can do in the meantime?