Anyone have experience/knowledge on how negotiable a school’s FA offer is? How do you negotiate?
Do you have more than one offer?
Yes
PM me…
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If your first choice school offered you less FA than a school lower on your list, you can let them know and see if they have any flexibility.
You can write something like: “Thank you so much for extending an offer of admission to our child. Your school was always our favorite and top choice. Unfortunately, our final decision is going to have to depend on financial aid. We applied to other schools, and, quite frankly, their need-based aid was more generous, with expected family contributions of $X-Y. Is there any flexibility on your part with regard to the package? Your school has long been our top choice and we hate that our decision may come down to just dollars and cents. Please do let us know.”
Both FA offers are much lower than work for me. My son is really happy with either school. The two schools are quite different but each have great attributes. One school’s offer is way off what I can realistically pay, the other is a tough ask.
A school may budge on FA when there is a competing offer from a peer school. I have yet to hear of a successful appeal because an FA offer does not “work for me.”
Need-based aid, whether for HS or college, will always be based upon what the school considers the need to be, not what the parent(s) want it to be. In many instances, there is a large gap. Good luck.
Thanks for the feedback skieurope. I have no idea on what negotiating flexibility there may be, input from your experience is useful.
You should probably expect the “tough ask” to be a good offer. They’re probably not going to make it easy for you, but ideally they will make it possible. That was our experience, anyway; we paid an amount that was painful but possible, which I actually thought was exactly as it should be.
Twinsmama - did you counter on the FA offer?
No.
We appealed, mentioned other schools had been more generous, and outlined the additional costs (some school related, like supplementary insurance since ours wouldn’t cover our child in New England, some not) that made the expected family contribution difficult. Some schools were unable to budge due to limited funds and others were able and willing to adjust the numbers. Frankly, we were shocked at the variation in the fa packages given they were all based on the same PFS data and tax returns (EFC ranged from $4K to $22k).
CaliMex:
Did you appeal in writing or by phone? I’m trying to figure out who to call/how to approach this. We received awards that were worlds apart–one that was almost double what the PFS suggested we could afford–and I’m wondering if that particular award is negotiable. If they could at least bring the numbers closer to the PFS, we’d have a fighting chance at affording it. I know the offer was generous, and I don’t want to seem ungrateful or greedy, but without a little more help, there’s no way for us to afford the contract they sent. We’re lucky that we do have other, more affordable choices, but I know my son liked this particular school a little better than the others.
Thanks in advance for any help/information you can provide! We’re completely new to this entire process, and it’s been overwhelming on very front.
We did it in writing. Express gratitude and be gracious… and acknowledge that you understand that they just might not have the budget. We also asked questions re: school specific costs so we could compare our true cost of attending. We did not bother appealing the schools that were least generous as they also had the smallest endowments.
Thanks so much! I figure it never hurts to ask.
You can help by being very transparent. There are people who really can’t make it work. And there are people who can’t make it work without giving up the club membership. (That’s a real example, btw.) Different schools handle FA differently, so it really is a YMMV situation.
We have a similar situation. DD applied to 3 schools and was WL at her top choice. The remaining 2 schools, one she likes a little better than the other. The one she likes a little better was extremely generous, offering more than we ever thought would be possible while the other school offered about 1/2 of the first schools amount. Do we even approach the other school to see what they can do? Is this something I do now (though she might choose the other school even if they offer more) or wait until after revisit day when her choice is more clear and we might not even have to ask? We are new to all of this.
@laxswim29 Love the school that loves you most! Congratulations on getting such a generous FA offer. Embrace the school! They saw the potential that you see in your DD and are doing everything possible to give her the opportunity to attend and thrive at their school!