Merit Scholarships for college (negotiating...please advise) (1 Viewer)

[Gatorman]

Hey all,

Here is the story in a nut shell: My son is going through the college application process and has been admitted to a few schools. Higher tier (baby ivy league) as well as some very nice state schools. He is still waiting to hear from the ivy league schools, and I know they don't give you any money unless you have "need". Me, being a typical FBG, do not qualify to get him need based aid. Moving on...

My son got some merit aid from the school he would like to go to, but it is short by a decent amount what I would need to afford to send him there. I have no experience in whether you can negotiate with schools about this and if so, what are the criteria to talk to them about this. I figure more than one FBG around here has dealt with this already, so any help would be appreciated. There are some "professionals" who do this stuff while charging hourly, but most people who have worked with them give me mixed reviews...

Thanks in advance.

 

[Gawain]

I did a little of this for LS.

You want to have an offer from a comparable or better school with at least some money attached.

If the school he wants to go to is also the highest ranked school he's gotten into, you don't have much leverage.

Does he have anything that stands out to an admissions standpoint (high SAT scores generally, anything to help the USNWR rankings)?

If he's above the reported 75% anywhere, I'd use that as ammo. You can also give a figure that would cause you to commit.

 

[James Daulton]

Never hurts to ask.

My son received some scholarships from his first choice school. I had him write them an email saying that he was considering them, but an increase in the scholarship awards would likely make them his choice, and they increased the award by 20%.

 

[Fat Nick]

I feel like for undergrad this would be really tough. Big class sizes. Getting or losing a kid with 90% SAT scores won't make or break their "average class" rankings.

For smaller schools or graduate schools, it's a little different. I was 96th percentile on the GMAT, but had an average undergrad GPA. I got in to 2 good MBA programs at Penn State and Notre Dame. The slightly lower ranked one, PSU, gave me a full graduate assistanceship. No tuition at all in exchange for 10 hours of work. Notre Dame initially gave me $10,000 in aid, and had roughly a $50K/year tuition. I declined their offer, and was going to PSU, and their admissions guy called back and said, "Give me some time to find more money." He got it up to $25K in aid per year, but I still declined.

Ultimately, I declined 2 schools with better rankings in exchange for absolutely NO debt, and I'd never thought twice about it.

I think as previously posted, you have to have something they want. Something they can use to bolster their rankings, if you want more money. If you don't have it, you're just another student. Larger classes are also less likely to care if you accept or not. The moral from my story is to not overlook leaving college with no debt. I got a job at the same company in the same development program as folks from top-5 schools. When we landed our full-time roles, I started making money right away, and they were paying debt off for a few years. The cream will rise to the top in most cases...whether they go ivy or just good school.

 

[The Big Guy]

I got a little extra for my daughter but it wasn't easy. Having a FAFSA with all of your financial data in front of them leaves you in a horrible negotiating position.

 

[glock]

Go here and have a look.

I know the info is through 2010, but it has only gotten better due to increased federal scrutiny of schools ans hwat they do with their endowment

 

[Gatorman]

Ok, thanks. this is a lot of what I heard. He got into UChicago and got a little money, but we need about a 30% or so increase in the Merit to get him there. Our Fafsa is going to show that we get zilch so that is no help. He has a strong offer from Indiana and we are waiting for Wash U in St. Louis before going back to UChicago for some more $$$. Also, we just applied to the ivy's so that should help bolster his case. It is bragging, I know, but he is a special student both SAT wise and grades wise...

 

[Anarchy99]

I know folks that have successfully asked for more consideration in writing by illustrating that Little Jane or Johnny is continuing to do well academically, even after getting accepted and committing to a school. For example, KID X continued to be on high honors, had another 4.0 GPA for a quarter or a semester, earned an award or commendation for volunteering, etc. The kids ended up getting an extra $5-$8K per year more than the merit-based stuff they were already awarded. Not bad for writing a couple of letters (provided of course your kid didn't kick back and coast down the stretch). Not a guarantee but worth a shot.

In our case, our daughter got essentially a half merit scholarship to begin with so they were not as open to giving her more free money. However, I believe they gave her a housing upgrade instead (from a regular dorm to an apartment style suite). Certainly worth pursuing and asking what they could do. The worst they could say is no.

 

[Big Blue Wrecking Crew]