Negotiating scholarships works!!!!! Forum

[beezy08]

If I am trying to negotiate a stip, should I put the amounts of the other offers I am considering, or just their stips? I am using peer/slightly superior schools and the amounts vary a lot

[punkyg0608]

Does anyone know of a good way to mention a peer school that gave a higher scholarship AND mention a superior school that gave a lower scholarship in the same email? Basically I have a little money at a T14 and a big scholarship from a T30, and I want to use both to try to negotiate. I can't really just say it's all about money because it'd be more expensive to attend the presitigious school. Any ideas? Thanks!

[llachans]

What are you guys putting for the subject of your email?

Scholarship appeal.

[gatorapplicant]

tried with w&m today... they haven't replied to my email yet. i'm hoping they match my wake offer, even though they are higher ranked

[zonto]

What are you guys putting for the subject of your email?

I found "Scholarship Increase Request" worked well for me last cycle!

[JamMasterJ]

Does anyone know of a good way to mention a peer school that gave a higher scholarship AND mention a superior school that gave a lower scholarship in the same email? Basically I have a little money at a T14 and a big scholarship from a T30, and I want to use both to try to negotiate. I can't really just say it's all about money because it'd be more expensive to attend the presitigious school. Any ideas? Thanks!

"I'm debating between three offers: your's, X's offer if $Y per year, and Z's offer of $Y per year. An increase in your offer would blah blah blah..."


I might add that if you have a small offer from a T14, the only thing you should even consider is a full ride to a T20

[tabbycam]

Deleted post

[admisionquestion]

I've tried to research this but have not found anything.

What is the worst case situation when negotiating?

imagine someone was very rude, "you schools much worse than Harvard so it would take at least 75% tuition for me to even consider you" or something equally dumb.

Is there any record of schools retracting admissions offers or retracting scholarships based on poor negotiation.

I'm just wondering--what is at stake when I am sending letters.

[NYCLSATTutor]

I've tried to research this but have not found anything.

What is the worst case situation when negotiating?

imagine someone was very rude, "you schools much worse than Harvard so it would take at least 75% tuition for me to even consider you" or something equally dumb.

Is there any record of schools retracting admissions offers or retracting scholarships based on poor negotiation.

I'm just wondering--what is at stake when I am sending letters.

There are records of schools (Michigan, I believe) retracting admissions offer because someone lied about scholarships they had received at another school. AFAIK, just being rude won't get your offer retracted. That being said, don't be rude.

[NYCLSATTutor]

Okay, I want to try to negotiate between two similarly ranked schools (both within the top 16.)

The issue is, School 1 is in my home state and I would receive resident tuition from it. School 2 is outside my home state and is giving me enough money to make the overall cost of tuition there equal to my resident's tuition at School 1. School 1 has made no mention of a scholarship (although, to be fair, I was accepted very recently. However, the dean of admissions made no mention of an offer on the phone and I hear that usually happens if you're getting one.)

Even though School 2's tuition wouldn't actually be cheaper than School 1, can I still use their offer to negotiate? What would the best way to go about that be? My LSAT is above the 75th median for both schools and I don't have a GPA because I went to a foreign undergrad.

I really like School 2 and my decision between the two is really tough, which is why I'd like the added bonus of a scholarship at School 1 to just make the decision for me.

Feel free to PM me, any help would be greatly appreciated!

If I were you I wouldn't list the cost of attendance. Just say "they have given me a scholarship for $X amount".

[omninode]

I've tried to research this but have not found anything.

What is the worst case situation when negotiating?

imagine someone was very rude, "you schools much worse than Harvard so it would take at least 75% tuition for me to even consider you" or something equally dumb.

Is there any record of schools retracting admissions offers or retracting scholarships based on poor negotiation.

I'm just wondering--what is at stake when I am sending letters.

There are records of schools (Michigan, I believe) retracting admissions offer because someone lied about scholarships they had received at another school. AFAIK, just being rude won't get your offer retracted. That being said, don't be rude.

http://www.law.umich.edu/connection/a2z ... 397d820295

[HellOnHeels]

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[Rawlberto]

I've been accepted into UT, although it was a reach it was not a huge one. I would really like to attend, just not at sticker which is my option right now. My only leverage at this point is a $30,000 a year offer at BC. I did get accepted at GWU, but they won't release scholly info until early next month. The longer the cycle goes on the less scholarship funds will be available. I hope to AT LEAST get in state tuition rate and ideally a little bit of scholly on top. Should I attempt to negotiate with only that or should I wait and see?

[wamanda]

Does anyone know of a good way to mention a peer school that gave a higher scholarship AND mention a superior school that gave a lower scholarship in the same email? Basically I have a little money at a T14 and a big scholarship from a T30, and I want to use both to try to negotiate. I can't really just say it's all about money because it'd be more expensive to attend the presitigious school. Any ideas? Thanks!

My advice is to use them separately. The more times you can negotiate, the more times they have to increase your scholarship. This approach definitely worked for me with UCLA. Start with your weaker offer first (however you interpret that for your current situation), then a few weeks later, email then again with your stronger offer. Negotiation is an ongoing process, guys. No need to rush it!

This applies to you, too, Rawlberto.

[Rawlberto]

Does anyone know of a good way to mention a peer school that gave a higher scholarship AND mention a superior school that gave a lower scholarship in the same email? Basically I have a little money at a T14 and a big scholarship from a T30, and I want to use both to try to negotiate. I can't really just say it's all about money because it'd be more expensive to attend the presitigious school. Any ideas? Thanks!

My advice is to use them separately. The more times you can negotiate, the more times they have to increase your scholarship. This approach definitely worked for me with UCLA. Start with your weaker offer first (however you interpret that for your current situation), then a few weeks later, email then again with your stronger offer. Negotiation is an ongoing process, guys. No need to rush it!

This applies to you, too, Rawlberto.

Would you be adverse to PMing me your first letter to UCLA? Really unsure about how to go about doing this...

[punkyg0608]

Does anyone know of a good way to mention a peer school that gave a higher scholarship AND mention a superior school that gave a lower scholarship in the same email? Basically I have a little money at a T14 and a big scholarship from a T30, and I want to use both to try to negotiate. I can't really just say it's all about money because it'd be more expensive to attend the presitigious school. Any ideas? Thanks!

My advice is to use them separately. The more times you can negotiate, the more times they have to increase your scholarship. This approach definitely worked for me with UCLA. Start with your weaker offer first (however you interpret that for your current situation), then a few weeks later, email then again with your stronger offer. Negotiation is an ongoing process, guys. No need to rush it!

This applies to you, too, Rawlberto.

Thanks! I think this is a good piece of advice. My only concern is that pestering them too much might be a bad idea. For example, what if they say no to my weakest offer? Should I really go ahead with my next best offer? And what if then I get an even better offer from another school? Wouldn't it be obnoxious to keep sending negotiation letters to a school when they've already said no?

So my addition to your method would be that if the school says no to your weakest offer (assuming it's actually a decent attempt), maybe it's best to bring out the big guns all at once.

What do you think? Maybe hounding them over and over despite rejections can't hurt, but it would still worry me a bit...

[Unagi]

Does anyone know of a good way to mention a peer school that gave a higher scholarship AND mention a superior school that gave a lower scholarship in the same email? Basically I have a little money at a T14 and a big scholarship from a T30, and I want to use both to try to negotiate. I can't really just say it's all about money because it'd be more expensive to attend the presitigious school. Any ideas? Thanks!

My advice is to use them separately. The more times you can negotiate, the more times they have to increase your scholarship. This approach definitely worked for me with UCLA. Start with your weaker offer first (however you interpret that for your current situation), then a few weeks later, email then again with your stronger offer. Negotiation is an ongoing process, guys. No need to rush it!

This applies to you, too, Rawlberto.

Thanks! I think this is a good piece of advice. My only concern is that pestering them too much might be a bad idea. For example, what if they say no to my weakest offer? Should I really go ahead with my next best offer? And what if then I get an even better offer from another school? Wouldn't it be obnoxious to keep sending negotiation letters to a school when they've already said no?

So my addition to your method would be that if the school says no to your weakest offer (assuming it's actually a decent attempt), maybe it's best to bring out the big guns all at once.

What do you think? Maybe hounding them over and over despite rejections can't hurt, but it would still worry me a bit...

This is pretty much what happened to me. When I get an answer I'll tell you if it worked.

[splitbrain]

Does anyone know of a good way to mention a peer school that gave a higher scholarship AND mention a superior school that gave a lower scholarship in the same email? Basically I have a little money at a T14 and a big scholarship from a T30, and I want to use both to try to negotiate. I can't really just say it's all about money because it'd be more expensive to attend the presitigious school. Any ideas? Thanks!

My advice is to use them separately. The more times you can negotiate, the more times they have to increase your scholarship. This approach definitely worked for me with UCLA. Start with your weaker offer first (however you interpret that for your current situation), then a few weeks later, email then again with your stronger offer. Negotiation is an ongoing process, guys. No need to rush it!

This applies to you, too, Rawlberto.

Thanks! I think this is a good piece of advice. My only concern is that pestering them too much might be a bad idea. For example, what if they say no to my weakest offer? Should I really go ahead with my next best offer? And what if then I get an even better offer from another school? Wouldn't it be obnoxious to keep sending negotiation letters to a school when they've already said no?

So my addition to your method would be that if the school says no to your weakest offer (assuming it's actually a decent attempt), maybe it's best to bring out the big guns all at once.

What do you think? Maybe hounding them over and over despite rejections can't hurt, but it would still worry me a bit...

I get that you want to be polite, and I like that, but you have to remember this is a business for you as much as it is them. Do what you have to do.

[punkyg0608]

Does anyone know of a good way to mention a peer school that gave a higher scholarship AND mention a superior school that gave a lower scholarship in the same email? Basically I have a little money at a T14 and a big scholarship from a T30, and I want to use both to try to negotiate. I can't really just say it's all about money because it'd be more expensive to attend the presitigious school. Any ideas? Thanks!

My advice is to use them separately. The more times you can negotiate, the more times they have to increase your scholarship. This approach definitely worked for me with UCLA. Start with your weaker offer first (however you interpret that for your current situation), then a few weeks later, email then again with your stronger offer. Negotiation is an ongoing process, guys. No need to rush it!

This applies to you, too, Rawlberto.

Thanks! I think this is a good piece of advice. My only concern is that pestering them too much might be a bad idea. For example, what if they say no to my weakest offer? Should I really go ahead with my next best offer? And what if then I get an even better offer from another school? Wouldn't it be obnoxious to keep sending negotiation letters to a school when they've already said no?

So my addition to your method would be that if the school says no to your weakest offer (assuming it's actually a decent attempt), maybe it's best to bring out the big guns all at once.

What do you think? Maybe hounding them over and over despite rejections can't hurt, but it would still worry me a bit...

I get that you want to be polite, and I like that, but you have to remember this is a business for you as much as it is them. Do what you have to do.

Right, I understand that it's all business. But if you keep annoying them over and over after they reject you they may question how much you actually want to attend the school. I've heard that schools are less likely to raise your scholarships if they don't actually believe you're going to attend.

[wamanda]

Does anyone know of a good way to mention a peer school that gave a higher scholarship AND mention a superior school that gave a lower scholarship in the same email? Basically I have a little money at a T14 and a big scholarship from a T30, and I want to use both to try to negotiate. I can't really just say it's all about money because it'd be more expensive to attend the presitigious school. Any ideas? Thanks!

My advice is to use them separately. The more times you can negotiate, the more times they have to increase your scholarship. This approach definitely worked for me with UCLA. Start with your weaker offer first (however you interpret that for your current situation), then a few weeks later, email then again with your stronger offer. Negotiation is an ongoing process, guys. No need to rush it!

This applies to you, too, Rawlberto.

Thanks! I think this is a good piece of advice. My only concern is that pestering them too much might be a bad idea. For example, what if they say no to my weakest offer? Should I really go ahead with my next best offer? And what if then I get an even better offer from another school? Wouldn't it be obnoxious to keep sending negotiation letters to a school when they've already said no?

So my addition to your method would be that if the school says no to your weakest offer (assuming it's actually a decent attempt), maybe it's best to bring out the big guns all at once.

What do you think? Maybe hounding them over and over despite rejections can't hurt, but it would still worry me a bit...

My rule of thumb is to give up when they have said no twice in a row. If they keep rejecting you then, yeah, don't pester them. But I still think it can be good to have multiple negotiations rather than one large one. A lot of schools increase offers incrementally, so the more chances you have, the more you will get.

I get what you are saying about combining offers to make a stronger case. But, I would advise to just say something in your second letter like, "School A just offered me ___ and, as I mentioned before, I also have an offer for ___ from B." That way, you get the same affect while still have multiple opportunities.

Remember, aid can open up at random times. A no in April may not be a no in May. I was negotiating from March through to July, about once a month or so.

As far as the point about schools giving money only if they think you want to attend...yes, this is true. But that is why a wisely-worded negotiation letter is key. I agree, don't take a completely down-to-business tone. Be sure to sound earnest and genuinely interested in their school. See my advice in previous posts about how to do this.

[wamanda]

I've got a few requests for sample negotiation letters. Rather than sending them out one by one via PM, I thought I would post it here:

Hello Dean ____,

Last week, I was excited to find out I have been accepted to [other school] with a scholarship of $____ a year. With deposit deadlines looming, I likely need to make a firm decision soon; needless to say, it is not an easy choice.

____ remains at the top of my list due to its [great thing #1] and [great thing #2], but I know I need to carefully consider all of my options in making such profound decisions. [Insert concern about why other school may be better/fit me better than this school].

I will certainly be thinking long and hard about this decision, but I wanted to check to see if my options at [this school] may have changed at all in the meantime. While I certainly appreciate the generosity of the aid I am currently receiving, I am wondering if any additional merit aid might have become available. Regrettably, given the current legal market, financial concerns will be playing a substantial role in my ultimate decision.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

[bbalcrzy23]

Can a Penn acceptance be used as leverage to get money from GULC? Or does it only work if you actually received a scholarship from Penn?

[landla]

I've got a few requests for sample negotiation letters. Rather than sending them out one by one via PM, I thought I would post it here:

Hello Dean ____,

Last week, I was excited to find out I have been accepted to [other school] with a scholarship of $____ a year. With deposit deadlines looming, I likely need to make a firm decision soon; needless to say, it is not an easy choice.

____ remains at the top of my list due to its [great thing #1] and [great thing #2], but I know I need to carefully consider all of my options in making such profound decisions. [Insert concern about why other school may be better/fit me better than this school].

I will certainly be thinking long and hard about this decision, but I wanted to check to see if my options at [this school] may have changed at all in the meantime. While I certainly appreciate the generosity of the aid I am currently receiving, I am wondering if any additional merit aid might have become available. Regrettably, given the current legal market, financial concerns will be playing a substantial role in my ultimate decision.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thanks! While obviously everyone should craft their own so that it doesn't look like we used a form, it is tremendously helpful to have a guide of what has been successful in the past.

[vbc515]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick question... does anybody know if I still have to be a prospective student of all the schools who I am mentioning to try to negotiate scholarship money? I'll use an example to clarify... I have been accepted to U of Miami with $25k a year and Tulane with $30k a year, but there is close to 0% chance of me going to either. Do I still have to be a prospective student at both when I write UGA or Emory, for example, schools that I am seriously considering and trying to negotiate scholarship money with, or can I go ahead and withdraw from Miami and Tulane so the spots open up for others and just attach copies of the acceptance/scholly letters when I write to UGA/Emory?

Thanks!!

[laxbrah420]

Doesn't the negotiation have to be like, "if you fucks don't give me fuckin money im gonna go to these schools who will"