Negotiating scholarships works!!!!! Forum

[Xs20]

How does one approach peer schools that offer equal money?

Is their a substantial cost of living difference between the locations of the two schools?

[jym_dawg]

How does one approach peer schools that offer equal money?

Is their a substantial cost of living difference between the locations of the two schools?

More importantly, is there an amount of $ that would absolutely seal the deal and make you commit this week?

[Xs20]

How does one approach peer schools that offer equal money?

Is their a substantial cost of living difference between the locations of the two schools?

More importantly, is there an amount of $ that would absolutely seal the deal and make you commit this week?

I think he was getting at how to make his case for a school to give him more money without having leverage in the form of a higher offer from a peer school. Just telling a school "I'll sign the papers right now if you give me X more dollars" isn't very convincing unless you give them a reason to do so.

[megagnarley]

How does one approach peer schools that offer equal money?

Is their a substantial cost of living difference between the locations of the two schools?

More importantly, is there an amount of $ that would absolutely seal the deal and make you commit this week?

I think he was getting at how to make his case for a school to give him more money without having leverage in the form of a higher offer from a peer school. Just telling a school "I'll sign the papers right now if you give me X more dollars" isn't very convincing unless you give them a reason to do so.

Precisely this.

Point well taken prior, that if I could sign now with a certain increase I'd have some leverage, but a raise would not necessarily seal the deal for me in this case.

The schools are Mich and Duke, so COL is about equal, and both offered $67,500.

Strategy?.

[Goodman]

I was hoping someone could offer some advice. Here's my situation:

In with 90k at UCLA, in with nothing at NYU, held at Columbia, and no word from anywhere else. I want to negotiate with NYU, but I know the UCLA offer doesn't give me much leverage. My numbers are a little above both of NYU's medians. I am hopeful that more offers will come my way. Should I begin the negotiation process now? Or should I wait until I have heard from more schools?

Thanks, and I apologize if this question has been asked before.

[shedl001]

How long should it take for a school to respond to your letter (emailed)? or How long should you wait? Im new to the process so any tips would be appreciated?

[Jredelman15]

Looking to get UH to match my offer from Tulane. Any tips? They have already upped it once. Tips for second steps appreciated.

[superhopefulwoo]

Looking to get UH to match my offer from Tulane. Any tips? They have already upped it once. Tips for second steps appreciated.

UH as in hawaii? If so, please pm with details on how!

[au2012]

Sent my scholarship negotiation letter and and was told that the school does not usually negotiate scholarships, but the admissions assistant was going to pass it on to the admissions committee. We'll see how it goes...

[SteelPenguin]

I currently have a 45k offer from Fordham and a 30k offer from GW. Would GW consider Fordham a peer? Other than their rankings (20 v Tie-29), they seem to be very similar schools, and Fordham might have the edge in employment prospects.

[nba101790]

Looking to get UH to match my offer from Tulane. Any tips? They have already upped it once. Tips for second steps appreciated.

UH as in hawaii? If so, please pm with details on how!

I'd think the UH in this case is Houston.

[amf728]

Hey everyone, I have a general question. I'm starting to put together a scholarship negotiation email and I was wondering how many peer schools I should list that have given me substantial offers; is it bad to list too many? I don't want to come across boastful or ungrateful. I'm applying in the NYC area so there are many competing schools within the same general ranking group. Some of my offers are at slightly lower ranked schools, but are full-tuition, and some offers are for higher ranked schools, but less money.

Thanks!

[shaynislegend]

Was also able to negotiate a scholarship with MSU so its definately possible.

[NIUmelk]

Hey guys, I'm new to this thread. I'm currently torn between UIUC and U of Minnesota. UIUC offered me 50% off in-state tuition, while Minnesota offered me 16K. Do you think it is possible to negotiate more out of Minnesota? With CoL aside, Minnesota would be 13K more per year in tuition. I'm thinking of telling them that if they can match or at least come close to making up the difference that I will send in my seat deposit right then and there. What do you guys think?

[Username123]

Hopefully you knowledgeable folks can offer some insight and good advice.

So, here's my situation...

Of the schools I have heard back from so far, these are the schools I am seriously considering: Cincinnati, Saint Louis University, Case Western, Cardozo, and Florida International.

I am still waiting to hear back from George Washington (part-time), Brooklyn (part-time), William and Mary, Washington and Lee, and WUSTL. I applied to those schools simply because I was given fee waivers late in the cycle, so why not?

Also, here are my numbers -- 3.1 and 156 URM.

So, I want to negotiate with the schools that I am seriously considering, but from what I can understand, its better to negotiate with other peer schools first to negotiate with your top schools for more money. I have also been accepted to these schools and the scholarships offered are included:

DePaul - 45K no stips

Michigan State - 25% no stips

Cleveland - Marshall - 60K top 50% stip

Stetson - 36K no stips

Nova Southeastern (I know) - 54K 2.8 stip

UMiami - 0K =(

St. Thomas (Miami) - 84K 2.7 stip

I was hoping you all would help with how I attack this negotiation process. Should I use UM, NSU, and Stetson toward FIU for more money? Use DePaul, Case, and SLU toward Cincy? Which schools do I use for Cardozo? Etc.

Here are the scholarship offers from my top schools:

Case - 50K (15 per year with an additional 5K stipend 1L year)

Cincinnati - 19.5K (7.5 1L; 6 2L & 3L - but, UC also offers the GMR program, where if you claim residency in certain Kentucky and Ohio counties up to 2 weeks previous to enrollment, you receive in-state tuition)

SLU - 57K (19K per year - but I would live with my fiance who lives five minutes from campus, so limited COL)

Cardozo - 54K (18K per year - high COL in NYC obviously)

FIU - 15K (5K grant per year - but I would live in an apartment my grandfather is offering to me. I am from Fort Lauderdale, FL, so I receive in-state tuition, as well)

Since I am waiting to hear back from those schools I listed way above in this message, I would only consider GW and WUSTL if admitted to those schools. I doubt any scholarship money would be thrown my way from any of the schools. GW and WUSTL would be the only ones I would possibly consider attending at sticker price.

So.... how should I attack this? Should I start negotiating now or is it too early still for the schools to feel pressured to offer more money?

I really appreciate you all taking the time to read this and look forward to hearing back from you.

[DoveBodyWash]

Hopefully you knowledgeable folks can offer some insight and good advice.

So, here's my situation...

Of the schools I have heard back from so far, these are the schools I am seriously considering: Cincinnati, Saint Louis University, Case Western, Cardozo, and Florida International.

I am still waiting to hear back from George Washington (part-time), Brooklyn (part-time), William and Mary, Washington and Lee, and WUSTL. I applied to those schools simply because I was given fee waivers late in the cycle, so why not?

Also, here are my numbers -- 3.1 and 156 URM.

So, I want to negotiate with the schools that I am seriously considering, but from what I can understand, its better to negotiate with other peer schools first to negotiate with your top schools for more money. I have also been accepted to these schools and the scholarships offered are included:

DePaul - 45K no stips

Michigan State - 25% no stips

Cleveland - Marshall - 60K top 50% stip

Stetson - 36K no stips

Nova Southeastern (I know) - 54K 2.8 stip

UMiami - 0K =(

St. Thomas (Miami) - 84K 2.7 stip

I was hoping you all would help with how I attack this negotiation process. Should I use UM, NSU, and Stetson toward FIU for more money? Use DePaul, Case, and SLU toward Cincy? Which schools do I use for Cardozo? Etc.

Here are the scholarship offers from my top schools:

Case - 50K (15 per year with an additional 5K stipend 1L year)

Cincinnati - 19.5K (7.5 1L; 6 2L & 3L - but, UC also offers the GMR program, where if you claim residency in certain Kentucky and Ohio counties up to 2 weeks previous to enrollment, you receive in-state tuition)

SLU - 57K (19K per year - but I would live with my fiance who lives five minutes from campus, so limited COL)

Cardozo - 54K (18K per year - high COL in NYC obviously)

FIU - 15K (5K grant per year - but I would live in an apartment my grandfather is offering to me. I am from Fort Lauderdale, FL, so I receive in-state tuition, as well)

Since I am waiting to hear back from those schools I listed way above in this message, I would only consider GW and WUSTL if admitted to those schools. I doubt any scholarship money would be thrown my way from any of the schools. GW and WUSTL would be the only ones I would possibly consider attending at sticker price.

So.... how should I attack this? Should I start negotiating now or is it too early still for the schools to feel pressured to offer more money?

I really appreciate you all taking the time to read this and look forward to hearing back from you.

Personally i was too overwhelmed by sheer number of schools/offers to really see a detailed strategy here.. My advice would be to group them by market and/or ranking. And then leverage the schools in those groups against each other. So for example maybe pit the Midwestern schools against one another etc....But in truth the whole "peer" aspect is less important than people make it out to be. Any competing offer is enough to ask a school to increase your award, especially if the competing offer is better and is at a school with cheaper COL.

Also i would highly discourage paying sticker for WUSTL or GW..neither school has the placement to justify the debt. And GW's COL is crazy expensive. I would prioritize the school that's in a market that you'd wanna live in and that's relatively cheap. SLU seems like a pretty good deal just because of your fiance and the scholly.

[Username123]

Hopefully you knowledgeable folks can offer some insight and good advice.

So, here's my situation...

Of the schools I have heard back from so far, these are the schools I am seriously considering: Cincinnati, Saint Louis University, Case Western, Cardozo, and Florida International.

I am still waiting to hear back from George Washington (part-time), Brooklyn (part-time), William and Mary, Washington and Lee, and WUSTL. I applied to those schools simply because I was given fee waivers late in the cycle, so why not?

Also, here are my numbers -- 3.1 and 156 URM.

So, I want to negotiate with the schools that I am seriously considering, but from what I can understand, its better to negotiate with other peer schools first to negotiate with your top schools for more money. I have also been accepted to these schools and the scholarships offered are included:

DePaul - 45K no stips

Michigan State - 25% no stips

Cleveland - Marshall - 60K top 50% stip

Stetson - 36K no stips

Nova Southeastern (I know) - 54K 2.8 stip

UMiami - 0K =(

St. Thomas (Miami) - 84K 2.7 stip

I was hoping you all would help with how I attack this negotiation process. Should I use UM, NSU, and Stetson toward FIU for more money? Use DePaul, Case, and SLU toward Cincy? Which schools do I use for Cardozo? Etc.

Here are the scholarship offers from my top schools:

Case - 50K (15 per year with an additional 5K stipend 1L year)

Cincinnati - 19.5K (7.5 1L; 6 2L & 3L - but, UC also offers the GMR program, where if you claim residency in certain Kentucky and Ohio counties up to 2 weeks previous to enrollment, you receive in-state tuition)

SLU - 57K (19K per year - but I would live with my fiance who lives five minutes from campus, so limited COL)

Cardozo - 54K (18K per year - high COL in NYC obviously)

FIU - 15K (5K grant per year - but I would live in an apartment my grandfather is offering to me. I am from Fort Lauderdale, FL, so I receive in-state tuition, as well)

Since I am waiting to hear back from those schools I listed way above in this message, I would only consider GW and WUSTL if admitted to those schools. I doubt any scholarship money would be thrown my way from any of the schools. GW and WUSTL would be the only ones I would possibly consider attending at sticker price.

So.... how should I attack this? Should I start negotiating now or is it too early still for the schools to feel pressured to offer more money?

I really appreciate you all taking the time to read this and look forward to hearing back from you.

Personally i was too overwhelmed by sheer number of schools/offers to really see a detailed strategy here.. My advice would be to group them by market and/or ranking. And then leverage the schools in those groups against each other. So for example maybe pit the Midwestern schools against one another etc....But in truth the whole "peer" aspect is less important than people make it out to be. Any competing offer is enough to ask a school to increase your award, especially if the competing offer is better and is at a school with cheaper COL.

Also i would highly discourage paying sticker for WUSTL or GW..neither school has the placement to justify the debt. And GW's COL is crazy expensive. I would prioritize the school that's in a market that you'd wanna live in and that's relatively cheap. SLU seems like a pretty good deal just because of your fiance and the scholly.

Sorry about the overwhelming amount of info I provided. I just wanted to explain it all, but I guess it was too much :/ this is twice tonight that you help me out with some good advice. Thanks a lot. Do you think it's still too early to begin negotiation, or should I begin now?

[cc6148]

Hopefully you knowledgeable folks can offer some insight and good advice.

So, here's my situation...

Of the schools I have heard back from so far, these are the schools I am seriously considering: Cincinnati, Saint Louis University, Case Western, Cardozo, and Florida International.

I am still waiting to hear back from George Washington (part-time), Brooklyn (part-time), William and Mary, Washington and Lee, and WUSTL. I applied to those schools simply because I was given fee waivers late in the cycle, so why not?

Also, here are my numbers -- 3.1 and 156 URM.

So, I want to negotiate with the schools that I am seriously considering, but from what I can understand, its better to negotiate with other peer schools first to negotiate with your top schools for more money. I have also been accepted to these schools and the scholarships offered are included:

DePaul - 45K no stips

Michigan State - 25% no stips

Cleveland - Marshall - 60K top 50% stip

Stetson - 36K no stips

Nova Southeastern (I know) - 54K 2.8 stip

UMiami - 0K =(

St. Thomas (Miami) - 84K 2.7 stip

I was hoping you all would help with how I attack this negotiation process. Should I use UM, NSU, and Stetson toward FIU for more money? Use DePaul, Case, and SLU toward Cincy? Which schools do I use for Cardozo? Etc.

Here are the scholarship offers from my top schools:

Case - 50K (15 per year with an additional 5K stipend 1L year)

Cincinnati - 19.5K (7.5 1L; 6 2L & 3L - but, UC also offers the GMR program, where if you claim residency in certain Kentucky and Ohio counties up to 2 weeks previous to enrollment, you receive in-state tuition)

SLU - 57K (19K per year - but I would live with my fiance who lives five minutes from campus, so limited COL)

Cardozo - 54K (18K per year - high COL in NYC obviously)

FIU - 15K (5K grant per year - but I would live in an apartment my grandfather is offering to me. I am from Fort Lauderdale, FL, so I receive in-state tuition, as well)

Since I am waiting to hear back from those schools I listed way above in this message, I would only consider GW and WUSTL if admitted to those schools. I doubt any scholarship money would be thrown my way from any of the schools. GW and WUSTL would be the only ones I would possibly consider attending at sticker price.

So.... how should I attack this? Should I start negotiating now or is it too early still for the schools to feel pressured to offer more money?

I really appreciate you all taking the time to read this and look forward to hearing back from you.

Personally i was too overwhelmed by sheer number of schools/offers to really see a detailed strategy here.. My advice would be to group them by market and/or ranking. And then leverage the schools in those groups against each other. So for example maybe pit the Midwestern schools against one another etc....But in truth the whole "peer" aspect is less important than people make it out to be. Any competing offer is enough to ask a school to increase your award, especially if the competing offer is better and is at a school with cheaper COL.

Also i would highly discourage paying sticker for WUSTL or GW..neither school has the placement to justify the debt. And GW's COL is crazy expensive. I would prioritize the school that's in a market that you'd wanna live in and that's relatively cheap. SLU seems like a pretty good deal just because of your fiance and the scholly.

Sorry about the overwhelming amount of info I provided. I just wanted to explain it all, but I guess it was too much :/ this is twice tonight that you help me out with some good advice. Thanks a lot. Do you think it's still too early to begin negotiation, or should I begin now?

+1
Is it too early to start? Seat deposit deadline is April 1st for me.

[DoveBodyWash]

+1
Is it too early to start? Seat deposit deadline is April 1st for me.

It would ultimately depend on the details of your offer and what schools you have on the table.

If you go back a few pages, manofjustice provides a pretty good argument regarding timing. But in general you can either 1. stall as much as you can...2. or start early in the hopes of finishing negotiations earlier.

Different people will tell u different things, but the conventional wisdom ITT seems be to stall. Keep in mind that no matter when you start, schools won't really have the ability to reconsider scholly awards until the first or second deposits have passed. So prepare to pay multiple deposits

[whsy]

I started negotiating already, and I've had decent results so far. I'm going to try renegotiating for more $ later on before deposit deadline, let's see how that goes...

[btp]

Is there an area where someone has given a detailed summary for negotiating scholarships? It seems tedious to read through 900+ posts to figure out negotiation strategies. Just wondering if someone in particular has made a particularly great post or if there is an article elsewhere on TLS. Thank you in advance. Hopefully others can benefit from this as well.

[Xs20]

Is there an area where someone has given a detailed summary for negotiating scholarships? It seems tedious to read through 900+ posts to figure out negotiation strategies. Just wondering if someone in particular has made a particularly great post or if there is an article elsewhere on TLS. Thank you in advance. Hopefully others can benefit from this as well.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 22&t=79373

[whsy]

I sent my letter of negotiation to one of the schools. They went from giving me nothing to $30,000 total. I was given a little more at a higher-ranked school... do you guys think I should ask if they could match the other school's offer now, or does it seem ungrateful.... or try again later?

[DoveBodyWash]

I sent my letter of negotiation to one of the schools. They went from giving me nothing to $30,000 total. I was given a little more at a higher-ranked school... do you guys think I should ask if they could match the other school's offer now, or does it seem ungrateful.... or try again later?

try again after deposit deadline

[rabbitrun]

Is there an area where someone has given a detailed summary for negotiating scholarships? It seems tedious to read through 900+ posts to figure out negotiation strategies. Just wondering if someone in particular has made a particularly great post or if there is an article elsewhere on TLS. Thank you in advance. Hopefully others can benefit from this as well.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 22&t=79373

I briefly looked through that post a couple of times, still have a question. Am I supposed to be compiling a PDF w/ the scholly offers I am negotiating with, or do I just say School A gave me XXX amount of money?