<p>I recently read what I thought to be an odd urban legend. It went something like this: a girl was accepted to her dream Ivy school with little financial aid and to her safety school with alot of financial aid. She then sent documentation of the generous offer to the Ivy school, and the Ivy matched the offer. Can this actually happen? Would it work only with need based, or would merit-based aid be included? Has anyone else heard of this very tantilizing possibility?</p>
<p>I saw the post. It has always been a recognized and recommended policy to apply to like colleges that are competing for the same pool of students if you want money, so that you can submit a higher offer if your first choice school offers you less than a like school. Some schools, like CMU, actually encourage the practice, I suspect, by low balling aid and waiting for negotiations. At the very least, a school will examine a competing offer and see why their package is lower than the other school's, and MAY consider increasing their offered amounts or even matching the other offer, especially if the student says that it is going to make the difference where he will go. It usually only works for like schools. CMU is not going to care that South East State offered you more money. Also, how much they want you will weigh heavily in the equation.<br>
But ivy league schools and other highly selective colleges? I don't know about that. I think those large amounts of money that the post was mentioning are truly extreme rarities and there may have been a mistake or change in circumstances that accounted for the discrepancy. It is highly unusual for like school with like methodology to be that far off in amounts that it goes over $10K without some other explanation. I have never heard of such a case unless merit money is involved, and most of these top schools do not give merit money outside of need. Those that do, generally have certain special packages, and they are not going to draw outside of those for someone.<br>
In fact, most everyone I know who has negotiated a package, has gotten around $1000 increases or less, and many times it is a matter of loans turned to grants, rather than an increase, or more loan money offered. Any big changes are attributable to mistakes or misunderstanding or overlooking something on the financial aid statement or ancillary letter of special circumstance. </p>
<p>Though it is always encouraged to attempt to negotiate and leverage, don't count on it working, or feel that you are unusual in not getting much out of the conversation. Though I won't deny that these things can happen, I have not seen them. Often when it comes to money, you cannot believe what some tells you. Unless you actually see the documentation, there maybe a lot more to the story (or less) than you are told. Some of these things reach urban legend proportions. I know that highschools are now requiring a look at the original letter from colleges from accepted students, and of the award letters as well before posting that information in their brag lists, because they have too often been burned by lies even from parents. Rejections become waitlists. Amounts are inflated. Aid becomes merit. Athletic scholarships pop up that are really financial aid. Don't believe everything you hear or read when it comes to money or merit.</p>