Asking one school to match merit aid offer from another school

Does anyone have any idea if I can call a SUNY school and ask if they would be able to match the merit offer of another SUNY school? I am so torn b/c the school I really want to go to didn’t offer any merit aid but my second choice school offered half tuition. I’ve heard of people calling to negotiate with private schools and was wondering if anyone has done that successfully with a public school. Thanks in advance for any input!

You can try. Presumably the one that offered no aid has more applicants or is generally considered better so it may make no difference.

Thank you for your reply. I probably won’t bother. Just curious if anyone out there tried and was successful.

@Erin’s Dad the school that I was hoping for merit aid from is Binghamton. What is your opinion about that school and merit aid specifically? -thank you

Bing is generally considered to be one of the two best SUNYs. I doubt they’ll try to match scholarships.

Ok-that’s what I figured - thanks

Most likely is not going to happen. On Bing’s website they are pretty straight forward as to what their requirements are. either you meet the requirements and they select you for a scholarship or they don’t. They don’t care what the other SUNY schools gave you because they have a higher threshold for general admissions than almost all of the other SUNY schools

https://www.suny.edu/media/suny/content-assets/documents/summary-sheets/Admissions_qf_stateop.pdf

If money is an issue, follow the $$

I’m assuming you’re instate. Bing doesn’t really offer scholarships for in state students–mostly of out state students get them. On their website they make it pretty clear that they don’t give many out. However, if you are there for consecutive years, they do mention that upperclassmen qualify for many departmental scholarships.

What’s your major? NYS offers free tuition to applicants in the top 10% of high school class who are majoring in STEM (if you stay in NY after graduation). Look into it. If you meet the requirement and don’t mind the rules they have, apply. It covers full tuition at any SUNY.

Yes, I am in state. Major is asian studies, so not a STEM major. Thanks for your input - I didn’t think they gave scholarships oh well it’s still my first choice school so I’m very happy that I was accepted.

Are you ranked#1-4? If yes, you may be eligible for an academic excellence scholarship from the state; $1500 for the student ranked #1 and $500 for all others. Your GC should know how many of these awards are being given at your school.

If you are in the top 15% you may be eligible for an AIMS scholarship from the state

I am ranked in the top 10. My GC did tell me that I would receive $500. They only tell #1 and #2 their exact number ranking and they both get $1500/yr.

OK, it looks like you may have a big graduating class so your school gets a good number of academic excellence scholarships. you can still apply for an AIMS scholarship, which will be another $500/year

https://www.hesc.ny.gov/pay-for-college/financial-aid/types-of-financial-aid/nys-grants-scholarships-awards/nys-achievement-and-investment-in-merit-scholarship-ny-aims.html

@sybbie719 Thank you! I never heard of that -your attachment said 2016 version will be available in May so I will check for it in a few weeks