My son has EA offers from a few schools and has done very well on the merit aid side of things but without additional aid. He is undecided as to his first choice school and is waiting to hear from some uber-competitive schools with no scholarships but very generous aid; he would not necessarily attend them over the places he has already been admitted if costs are equivalent. He’s looking for the school that will serve him the best over the long term.
As part of the appeals process, the current highest-priced school asked for offers from comparable schools. I am rather uncomfortable playing small schools with holistic reviews off against each other, especially given he is not yet sure where he wants to go. Part of the reason he isn’t sure is that financial differences must be considered when deciding!
When I mentioned that to the Aid Office, I was told that it helps them understand the decision the student is weighing…
So one school has a net cost 6-10k less a year than the other. The more expensive school actually awarded a larger scholarship, but that’s because their list price is higher. I don’t want to turn the less-expensive school into a pawn, as it’s a great place, too!
It depends on the school. Big low percentage to get into schools don’t think will care. But small lacs then yes. We did this exact thing and when they said there was no more to give we asked for a housing credit… And they gave us one. Free money is good money…
I wouldn’t hesitate to share offers and negotiate. The schools using differential pricing (often labeled as merit) have usually paid consulting firms or in-house staff to predict what you’re willing to pay. Showing them that you can pay less elsewhere is an important part of the process. I’ve seen friends get tens of thousands in extra merit when one college sees what a direct competitor offered. Good luck!
I wouldn’t hesitate to share offers either. With that said, I would avoid thinking you are in a negotiation, and wouldn’t waste FA peeps’ time unless there is a certain number they can get to where your kid will 100% attend…and tell them that number.
Our Dd friend was able to negotiate tuition for the top schools but only top schools of each other. So she got aid from Yale and used to it negotiate CMU and Brown. But she could not use her Pitt aid to negotiate with these private schools or they wouldn’t budge with the Pitt aid. Even after that Yale was still the lowest so she went there even though Brown was her first choice and where she Ed but got deferred to RD.
During one of a webinars attended for T-20, the financial aid officer mentioned that they will only consider if the offer is from the comparable school, which basically confirmed what you stated: these schools know who their peers are and won’t bother if the students end up going to “less prestigious” schools.
He’s maxed out the merit, so it’s a question of how much they think we can afford out-of-pocket. They think we can afford more than we think we can.
This is part of my hesitation. They have a question about how much it would take to make it feasible to attend, but they also ask for comparables. I think at the current price he 100% wouldn’t attend given his other good options, but if the schools were more closely priced I am not sure which he would choose. These are not huge schools, so I think they would like him to come; I think the cheaper and more expensive schools would both be good fits but they do have a number of differences.
But I still wouldn’t hesitate to share details of other packages. They may or may not be able to adjust the need-based award but you’re not slimy for asking. This is common practice among even the most selective schools, with the rationale being that fit not cost should be the primary consideration for students (yes, there are other reasons but that’s a prominent one).
This is very different than something like a negotiation at a car dealership. You’re just making them aware that other schools have calculated your ability to pay differently, trying to understand the difference, and asking if they have leeway to recalculate your ability to pay. That’s all very legitimate and if handled politely will not offend anyone.
We went to T20 alumni event as my son was accepted to the school and the president of the local chapter of the alumni club said that “I am sure xxx will also give you a financially competitive offer. If cost is a concern for you, talk to the Financial Aid Office. It is okay to talk to them and ask. Share your concern”.
These people are used to dealing with situation like yours. If they ask, then you can show / share the other offer because they also need evidence to make adjustments. I have no knowledge about how the approval works but I guess there is a limit for adjustment for each FAO before having to ask for higher approval with sufficient backups to support the request for adjustment.
I just want to add to politeperson’s excellent post that it can be beneficial to talk with the FA depts sooner rather than later. FA budgets do max out the later we get in the process. It’s always ok to ask them questions as to how they determined what they think you can pay, and also fair to show them how peer schools calculated that.
One query: Does it make sense to try and argue based on net Cost of attendance rather than absolute merit amounts? With gross COA varying wildly only that would make sense?
Take 3 schools’ starting COA…one relatively inexpensive for all students like Western Illinois, one middle of the road cost like Purdue, and one expensive school like Tulane. Tulane won’t care how low WIU and Purdue net COAs are, because the starting point was so much lower than Tulane’s.
Best to ask questions about how each school determined what you can pay (your sitch as an international will be different and highly variable from school to school), and how they determined what aid to give your student.
Like I said above, if there is a net COA the school can get to where your student would 100% attend, tell them that number. If a peer school offered more aid, share that. No need to have a lot of back and forth, and definitely don’t ‘argue’ (even tho I’m sure you wouldn’t I wanted to make that point for others).
If a school asked and they are under consideration, then I would share. I mean, they asked for a reason.
Schools are businesses. Less tuition may mean profit margin but to them, that’s better than an empty seat. Small schools may have small yields and maybe can’t afford to lose out on an interested prospect. Some revenue is better than no revenue.
I have been thinking about this as well. Seems to be best to be in a position where the student can say they will 100%?go the school if it is $x per year. My D is very undecided and is waiting on 3 decisions at the moment (2 of which are ones that are probably in her top 3-4). She also is waiting on a school that already gave a merit decision but she applied honors and that comes with some additional merit.
Anyone ever tried to bring merit down without being certain? Maybe not wise/tough to do. Nowhere has asked us about this yet.
If he’s maxed out the merit, I’d be careful. Financial need is reassessed every year and therefore financial aid can be readjusted from year to year. You might be enticed by a good number for freshman year but then find yourself back in the same boat for sophomore year but with a kid whose now through their first year of college and committed to that school. Unless the money is guaranteed for 4 years, things can get dicey.
If you have two schools that are very similar in rank, test scores, GPAs and would be drawing on the same applicant pool, but one has a lower sticker than the other, they can given what they consider “equivalent scholarships” and the higher-priced school still comes out higher. Which is why I was focusing on cost-to-attend.
I have spoken to the FA offices- it seems they don’t really look at your exceptional circumstances unless you question how they got the number you did. Then they tell you to appeal even though most of the info was in the CSS!
Well, the merit money is guaranteed(with reasonable GPA, etc.!) The merit awards are very substantial - the amount of aid we think we need is small relative to the size of the scholarships. We have some exceptional circumstances that are probably a bit more nuanced/unusual than what FA is probably used to, but which were explained on the CSS. I think the schools involved don’t necessarily make you redo CSS every year, either.
It would be nice if my son could choose the best school and not have to automatically say no to the one because of the billing difference. There’s less self-doubt that way, I think. And of course decisions from the deep-pocketed schools that define need much more broadly won’t come out for another month and a half, but may not be as good a fit as the schools he’s already in.
Thank you, everyone. Given the discussion here, I think I will probably share since they asked and I told them I was hesitant to share and they still would like me to.
