Negotiating scholarships works!!!!! Forum

[IrishCatholic09]

This may have been answered earlier, but is it realistic to try and get Georgetown to match an offer from GW?

[jebsterb]

So just because I don't think a straight answer was given:

Is now a bad time to start talking to admissions departments or should we wait until we put deposits in? Phone or e-mail?

[yossarian]

So just because I don't think a straight answer was given:

Is now a bad time to start talking to admissions departments or should we wait until we put deposits in? Phone or e-mail?

Email. Writing is important. Before deposit deadlines. Once you've deposited, there isn't a ton of reason to throw money your way unless you have something WAY better.

[yossarian]

Once a final merit aid offer has been reached, is it tcr to beg for more Perkins loans?

[JazzieShizzle]

Once a final merit aid offer has been reached, is it tcr to beg for more Perkins loans?

haha maybe, as long as you haven't reached the cap

[jebsterb]

So just because I don't think a straight answer was given:

Is now a bad time to start talking to admissions departments or should we wait until we put deposits in? Phone or e-mail?

Email. Writing is important. Before deposit deadlines. Once you've deposited, there isn't a ton of reason to throw money your way unless you have something WAY better.

And to recap, generally say, "I have been lucky enough to be accepted to x school who provided my y dollars. My first choice however would be your program but the financial burden will be too much for me. Is there any possibility that my scholarship might be increased?"

[rion91]

I wonder if anyone has CC'd multiple schools at one time for negotiations. "Let the bidding begin!"

[SailorMoon9543]

I wonder if anyone has CC'd multiple schools at one time for negotiations. "Let the bidding begin!"

[jleighg]

I have a trip to vanderbilt scheduled for late march. Should I send an email now starting the scholarship negotiation process (starting point is 75k), or should I wait and do it in person? My main "chip" right now is a 108k offer from emory.

[Shortterm12]

So just because I don't think a straight answer was given:

Is now a bad time to start talking to admissions departments or should we wait until we put deposits in? Phone or e-mail?

Email. Writing is important. Before deposit deadlines. Once you've deposited, there isn't a ton of reason to throw money your way unless you have something WAY better.

And to recap, generally say, "I have been lucky enough to be accepted to x school who provided my y dollars. My first choice however would be your program but the financial burden will be too much for me. Is there any possibility that my scholarship might be increased?"

Thanks for all the advice in this thread. I am a little confused about two things, should we begin negotiating now? Also, should we attach other scholarship offers in the initial email?

[jdapplicant]

Thanks for all the advice in this thread. I am a little confused about two things, should we begin negotiating now? Also, should we attach other scholarship offers in the initial email?

If you are already in a good position to negotiate, you should start now. If you don't have any $ offers from comparable schools that you can work with right now, wait until more schools get back to you with offers. You want to negotiate when you're in the best position to do so, but the sooner the better.

I don't know about your second question. I'm curious what others think.

[BanjoCalhoun]

Also, should we attach other scholarship offers in the initial email?

I don't imagine schools would mind having proof that backs up the offers you're making assertions about, like a scanned copy of your scholarship letter. It would seem to remove potential ambiguities, including about scholarship conditions etc.

If you are already in a good position to negotiate, you should start now. If you don't have any $ offers from comparable schools that you can work with right now, wait until more schools get back to you with offers. You want to negotiate when you're in the best position to do so, but the sooner the better.

I'm curious as to why you think it's best to start soon? It would seem that schools may not be as willing to make additional financial commitments until they've seen how many other scholarship recipients accept their offers, perhaps in early April.

[mirroroferised7]

Also, should we attach other scholarship offers in the initial email?

I don't imagine schools would mind having proof that backs up the offers you're making assertions about, like a scanned copy of your scholarship letter. It would seem to remove potential ambiguities, including about scholarship conditions etc.

If you are already in a good position to negotiate, you should start now. If you don't have any $ offers from comparable schools that you can work with right now, wait until more schools get back to you with offers. You want to negotiate when you're in the best position to do so, but the sooner the better.

I'm curious as to why you think it's best to start soon? It would seem that schools may not be as willing to make additional financial commitments until they've seen how many other scholarship recipients accept their offers, perhaps in early April.

I UCLA at least requires that you provide your scholarship offer LETTER. They need proof so they know you're not just trying to pull a fast one on them.

[gerrydawg]

Also, should we attach other scholarship offers in the initial email?

I don't imagine schools would mind having proof that backs up the offers you're making assertions about, like a scanned copy of your scholarship letter. It would seem to remove potential ambiguities, including about scholarship conditions etc.

If you are already in a good position to negotiate, you should start now. If you don't have any $ offers from comparable schools that you can work with right now, wait until more schools get back to you with offers. You want to negotiate when you're in the best position to do so, but the sooner the better.

I'm curious as to why you think it's best to start soon? It would seem that schools may not be as willing to make additional financial commitments until they've seen how many other scholarship recipients accept their offers, perhaps in early April.

I UCLA at least requires that you provide your scholarship offer LETTER. They need proof so they know you're not just trying to pull a fast one on them.

I think in general it is good practice to include all offer letters from the other schools you reference in your email as attachments. Just shows you're being up front about everything.

[patfeeney]

What happens when you received no money from a school you were accepted to, but the only way you could possibly afford the school would be if they covered at least a portion of tuition? I can't just get $160k entirely in loans to pay off NYU tuition.

[arklaw13]

I have a trip to vanderbilt scheduled for late march. Should I send an email now starting the scholarship negotiation process (starting point is 75k), or should I wait and do it in person? My main "chip" right now is a 108k offer from emory.

Vandy doesn't generally negotiate. If you're going to try, best do it a week or two before the deposit deadline.

[francesfarmer]

What happens when you received no money from a school you were accepted to, but the only way you could possibly afford the school would be if they covered at least a portion of tuition? I can't just get $160k entirely in loans to pay off NYU tuition.

Are you unable to get federal loans?

[jdapplicant]

If you are already in a good position to negotiate, you should start now. If you don't have any $ offers from comparable schools that you can work with right now, wait until more schools get back to you with offers. You want to negotiate when you're in the best position to do so, but the sooner the better.

I'm curious as to why you think it's best to start soon? It would seem that schools may not be as willing to make additional financial commitments until they've seen how many other scholarship recipients accept their offers, perhaps in early April.

In past years ITT many successfully negotiated in early/mid March. Also, I know people that have successfully negotiated already this year. Of course that's only anecdotal, so here's my reasoning: It gives you time to negotiate back-and-forth with multiple schools before you have to accept offers. You might be negotiating with the same school multiple times. Also, the process is more of a chain, so you have to wait for a given school to respond before you can use that to negotiate with the next school, and so on. To me it seems like schools have a decent idea of how much they should have committed at each point in the cycle, so they'd have some allocated for negotiations in March.

[Shortterm12]

If you are already in a good position to negotiate, you should start now. If you don't have any $ offers from comparable schools that you can work with right now, wait until more schools get back to you with offers. You want to negotiate when you're in the best position to do so, but the sooner the better.

I'm curious as to why you think it's best to start soon? It would seem that schools may not be as willing to make additional financial commitments until they've seen how many other scholarship recipients accept their offers, perhaps in early April.

In past years ITT many successfully negotiated in early/mid March. Also, I know people that have successfully negotiated already this year. Of course that's only anecdotal, so here's my reasoning: It gives you time to negotiate back-and-forth with multiple schools before you have to accept offers. You might be negotiating with the same school multiple times. Also, the process is more of a chain, so you have to wait for a given school to respond before you can use that to negotiate with the next school, and so on. To me it seems like schools have a decent idea of how much they should have committed at each point in the cycle, so they'd have some allocated for negotiations in March.

This makes a lot of sense, thank you!

[AnonymousAlterEgoC]

Does anyone have any experience with negotiating with GWU? I've heard that they want people to pay the first seat deposit before negotiating, but that's $500...

More specifically, I have 75k from a school tied in the rankings, but they only offered me 30k initially. Do you think they would negotiate with that before the deposit?

[patfeeney]

What happens when you received no money from a school you were accepted to, but the only way you could possibly afford the school would be if they covered at least a portion of tuition? I can't just get $160k entirely in loans to pay off NYU tuition.

Are you unable to get federal loans?

I can, but I'm not sure if they will cover the entire tuition, over three years.

[theonerd]

As long as you do not have "adverse credit history," you will be able to borrow not only enough for tuition, but for living expenses as well (GradPlus loan).
It's not a good idea to borrow as much as they will offer you, but you will have that opportunity.

Edit: This comment assumes you are a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident.

[2017]

Suppose you want to get School A to increase their offer so you can leverage it at School B. Further, suppose you have no real interest in School A. I imagine that adcomms are wary of this, and so you must deceive the adcomms at School A into thinking that you are genuinely interested in attending their school. My question is, how deceptive is too deceptive?

[DerekZoolander]

Summary of my admissions cycle so far:

20. USC (Waiting)
24. Washington (Denied)
36. Fordham (Waiting)
54. UC-Hastings (Waiting)
54. Pepperdine ($15,000 per year)
64. Cardozo ($20,000 per year)
83. Brooklyn ($28,000 per year)
87. Loyola Marymount ($20,000 per year)
87. Seattle ($12,000 per year)
107. Santa Clara (waiting)
107. St. John’s ($40,000 per year)

My personal life situation essentially required that I apply to schools in NYC, Bay Area, SoCal, and Seattle. Would’ve loved to have mixed in a few more large public law schools, but it is what it is. Looking for some good advice from any of you who have successfully negotiated scholarships. Ideally, I would find a way to go to Pepperdine or Cardozo with more money than they offered at the beginning.

I’m a rookie on these forums and I haven’t been able to read a lot on strategy. Would you fine folks recommend starting now or waiting until a couple weeks from now? I am visiting Fordham, Pepperdine, Cardozo, Brooklyn, Loyola, and St. John’s all within the next ten days. Should I send negotiation letters now or wait until after those visits?

Sorry for the long post and copious questions. I’d really appreciate any help!

[dean414]

I sent out negotiation email out to a dean of admissions earlier in the week and got a response from her asking if we could discuss over a call next week.

What should I expect? If interested in helping, pls pm me. Thx