Negotiating scholarships works!!!!! Forum

[hadisious]

I've been negotiating back and forth with a school and I'm looking for some outside perspective/advice on a current letter. Anybody have a second to take a look at it?

Sure

Thanks! PM'd.

[PARTY]

yes, the thread title is true.

success at Duke and UCLA.

[fashiongirl]

Once you send an email asking for money... how long do you guys normally wait to follow up? I don't want to be pesky but I am getting anxious. I got an email saying that it was sent to a specific person, and the financial aid office gave me her email so I can follow up with her.

It's only been 2 days!

[Mr. Somebody]

Once you send an email asking for money... how long do you guys normally wait to follow up? I don't want to be pesky but I am getting anxious. I got an email saying that it was sent to a specific person, and the financial aid office gave me her email so I can follow up with her.

It's only been 2 days!

If you have a deposit deadline coming up, its perfectly justifiable to check in politely and see what your status is. Just tell them about the deadlines

[Soaphead_Church]

It's really not reasonable to ask any school for scholarship if you don't have another scholarship in hand from a competitive school.

In negotiating with a school while you have scholarship offer from another, it's fine to send the scholarship letter from the former to the school with whom you're negotiating, right?

[woeisme]

It's really not reasonable to ask any school for scholarship if you don't have another scholarship in hand from a competitive school.

In negotiating with a school while you have scholarship offer from another, it's fine to send the scholarship letter from the former to the school with whom you're negotiating, right?

Yeah, you've gotta

[zor]

So after three weeks of silence my top choice, BC, increased my scholly by a measly $2k/year, not even matching BU. Should I go back to them now and ask for more (using what leverage?), or wait until they figure out I've put down multiple deposits? Is negotiating at that point possible? My concern with this is that they might flip out and say "well you don't really want to go here," as I have heard anecdotally a few schools will do. I'm also going to be abroad for three weeks in mid-may, RIGHT when the schools find out, so calling will be more difficult.

I also learned that in addition to Brooklyn's full scholly I've been awarded a public interest fellowship that gives me $5k for the summer and special mentorship/opportunities. I am assuming that the ranking difference, however, means that it won't really affect BC either way, right?

So: go back to them now and just beg or wait for double deposit alert?

[Lawbro]

Hey guys I am in a bit of a dilemma and would appreciate your help. 2 days ago I received my financial aid package from cornell, and they gave me 20k a year. I'm a little bit disappointed as I was really hoping for 25k a year, and I would like to negotiate. However, at this point in time I do not have any competing offers to negotiate with. My deposit is due in just two days.

Should I attempt to negotiate now? And how should I go about doing this?
Or should I pay my deposit and then negotiate when/if i get off other schools waitlists?

[woeisme]

Hey guys I am in a bit of a dilemma and would appreciate your help. 2 days ago I received my financial aid package from cornell, and they gave me 20k a year. I'm a little bit disappointed as I was really hoping for 25k a year, and I would like to negotiate. However, at this point in time I do not have any competing offers to negotiate with. My deposit is due in just two days.

Should I attempt to negotiate now? And how should I go about doing this?
Or should I pay my deposit and then negotiate when/if i get off other schools waitlists?

Well, attending law school isn't really like buying a car where the norm is that people negotiate scholarships. Generally, the idea behind negotiation is that you were given a nice package from a given school and seek to leverage that offer to increase your award at peer or slightly better schools. If you were hoping for 25k based on what other people have been getting, you should keep in mind that (a) those people might have leveraged other scholarships which you don't have right now and (b) those people might have been given some extra need-based aid that you weren't.

Ultimately, though, there's no real harm in just writing Cornell and asking if they'd be able to give you additional money (e.g., 5k/year). I guess the tricky part is figuring out how to articulate the request, but it's not like you're going to risk anything by asking. And whether they say yes or no, you can always come back to them and ask again if you get off the waitlist with money at a comparable school. Either way, I wouldn't let the deposit deadline pass you by if Cornell is high on your list because there are plenty of people on the waitlist that could potentially take your spot.

[Mr. Somebody]

This may be a silly question but would a DNCG offer give equal leverage as an MVP offer? Or would the MVP offer give more leverage. Thinking in particular if one gets off wait list at another MVP school or ccn

[woeisme]

This may be a silly question but would a DNCG offer give equal leverage as an MVP offer? Or would the MVP offer give more leverage. Thinking in particular if one gets off wait list at another MVP school or ccn

I actually think it really depends on which schools you're talking about. My view is that, in terms of award giving, it's like CCN > P > VBMDC > NG. N and G are kind of wildcards though ... I've seen them treated pretty differently by different schools and in different circumstances. I also think that big money from some of the schools just outside of the T14 (namely Texas and UCLA) have leverage with some T14 schools.

I'd be surprised if any one of the non-HYS T14 increased a package in light of a mere acceptance to any of the other non-HYS T14s. And I think that any one of them might increase a package given a substantial package by any of the others. In terms of how much leverage each school has, I think my above ranking is a good rule of thumb, but it really seems like it's pretty situation-dependent.

Try out whatever you've got and let us know...

[Mr. Somebody]

This may be a silly question but would a DNCG offer give equal leverage as an MVP offer? Or would the MVP offer give more leverage. Thinking in particular if one gets off wait list at another MVP school or ccn

I actually think it really depends on which schools you're talking about. My view is that, in terms of award giving, it's like CCN > P > VBMDC > NG. N and G are kind of wildcards though ... I've seen them treated pretty differently by different schools and in different circumstances. I also think that big money from some of the schools just outside of the T14 (namely Texas and UCLA) have leverage with some T14 schools.

I'd be surprised if any one of the non-HYS T14 increased a package in light of a mere acceptance to any of the other non-HYS T14s. And I think that any one of them might increase a package given a substantial package by any of the others. In terms of how much leverage each school has, I think my above ranking is a good rule of thumb, but it really seems like it's pretty situation-dependent.

Try out whatever you've got and let us know...

Thanks this is useful

Basically I've got equal offers at an MVP school and a DNCG school and I definitely want to attend the DNCG school but just wondering if I get off another wait list at CCN or MVP if I've lost leverage to get that school that's let me off the waitlist to match my scholarship

Also find it curious northwestern isn't on boats matching scholly list

[woeisme]

Thanks this is useful

Basically I've got equal offers at an MVP school and a DNCG school and I definitely want to attend the DNCG school but just wondering if I get off another wait list at CCN or MVP if I've lost leverage to get that school that's let me off the waitlist to match my scholarship

Also find it curious northwestern isn't on boats matching scholly list

You mean you're nervous about letting go of a MVP for a DCNG because you feel like you might lose leverage in the event that you get off of a waitlist at a CCN or other MVP? If that's what you're saying, I don't think you're losing much by giving up the MVP. And what's your alternative anyway? Double deposit?

[hobojarpen]

I managed to go from paying sticker at UVA to getting a scholarship yesterday. Mainly, I leveraged my offers at Cornell/Vandy/Texas and spoke with their offices on a weekly basis for the last 2-3 weeks. Pretty surprised that I was able to get anything from UVA, but happy nonetheless. Now I'm leveraging my UVA offer with Duke, hoping they can offer a scholarship I can't turn down. My final school selection will come down who offers me the most money between UVA/Duke.

Even though I had already sent emails, talking on the phone about this definitely made me a little nervous. However, at the end of the day, if you share concerns, are honest, and remember that you have nothing to lose, the phone conversations will go just fine.

[PR-0927]

Any advice for the future on mentioning scholarships from schools which have already rescinded their offers (because of seat deposit deadlines)? I wouldn't mention the part about rescinded offers unless asked, but figure it would only help to mention that I'd been offered such-and-such amounts by certain schools. They don't have a way of finding this out, do they? A half-truth, if you will, I guess this is.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

[woeisme]

Any advice for the future on mentioning scholarships from schools which have already rescinded their offers (because of seat deposit deadlines)? I wouldn't mention the part about rescinded offers unless asked, but figure it would only help to mention that I'd been offered such-and-such amounts by certain schools. They don't have a way of finding this out, do they? A half-truth, if you will, I guess this is.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

Sounds okay as long as you don't lie, but do your scholarship letters have the deposit deadlines on them?

[PR-0927]

Any advice for the future on mentioning scholarships from schools which have already rescinded their offers (because of seat deposit deadlines)? I wouldn't mention the part about rescinded offers unless asked, but figure it would only help to mention that I'd been offered such-and-such amounts by certain schools. They don't have a way of finding this out, do they? A half-truth, if you will, I guess this is.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

Sounds okay as long as you don't lie, but do your scholarship letters have the deposit deadlines on them?

Not sure, do we need to show them? I'm willing to admit that the scholarships are expired, if asked, but would prefer not to bring attention to something which would put me at a negotiating disadvantage.

I would write something like "so-and-so school presented me with a scholarship offer of..." to stay within telling the truth, by not revealing that the scholarship is no longer being offered. Does that sound correct?

My intention is to show these schools that I have been "valued" by other top schools in the past, by showing what kind of scholarship was offered.

[woeisme]

Not sure, do we need to show them? I'm willing to admit that the scholarships are expired, if asked, but would prefer not to bring attention to something which would put me at a negotiating disadvantage.

I would write something like "so-and-so school presented me with a scholarship offer of..." to stay within telling the truth, by not revealing that the scholarship is no longer being offered. Does that sound correct?

My intention is to show these schools that I have been "valued" by other top schools in the past, by showing what kind of scholarship was offered.

Yeah, if they care about the other offers, they'll want to see proof.

But I think your plan otherwise sounds good. Get on it.

[ru2486]

would anybody mind taking a quick look at a letter requesting additional scholarship money?

any help would be hugely appreciated!!!

[PR-0927]

Yeah, if they care about the other offers, they'll want to see proof.

But I think your plan otherwise sounds good. Get on it.

O.K., thanks, I appreciate the input!

[zanzbar]

I was wondering if anyone could read over a letter for me since this is the one negotiation I need to go well.

[angelap614]

Any advice for the future on mentioning scholarships from schools which have already rescinded their offers (because of seat deposit deadlines)? I wouldn't mention the part about rescinded offers unless asked, but figure it would only help to mention that I'd been offered such-and-such amounts by certain schools. They don't have a way of finding this out, do they? A half-truth, if you will, I guess this is.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

They will find out any school you have or have not put a seat deposit down on by June 15 when the LSAC releases the info to all schools. By then you should have an idea of where you're going so it probably won't matter.

As for the mentioning a scholarship that you wont be using since you've already declined the offer, I recently did this in a negotiation email but did not consider it to be a half-truth. I simply mentioned that peer school X offered me twice the amount than they had to demonstrate why I was optimistic that this school would have offered me a comparable amount since the two schools are similar numbers-wise. I guess it depends on the wording, as long as you're not dangling it over their heads as some kind of threat not to attend. I did not mention that I was considering attending peer school X, only what they offered me to demonstrate that a similar school saw more value in my attending their school. I did hear back within the hour and was informed that they will reconsider my merit award and notify me by the end of the month.

[zsu]

Successful negotiation with Duke, unsuccessful with Texas. Both schools got back to me within 24 hours of receiving my request so major props to both Texas and Duke’s financial aid committees.

…still nothing from Cornell.

[Lawbro]

I asked for more money without listing any counter offers, and they raised my offer a total of 6k. I was very happy about that

[woeisme]

I asked for more money without listing any counter offers, and they raised my offer a total of 6k. I was very happy about that

Wow! Congrats!