<p>i got into tufts and have been wanting to go there for a while. however, their financial aid package wasn't too generous...5k a year, compared to 22k a year from george washington university. how exactly do i contact the financial aid office and say "hey, give me more money or i'm going to george washington u?"</p>
<p>bump...come on guys</p>
<p>first of all, did GWU give you 22k merit aid or need based finanical aid.</p>
<p>Tufts does not give merit aid, only need based financial aid. If your GWU package is based on merit aid (as they are notoriously stingy when it comes to need based aid), it will get you know where with tufts (think about it, almost every one admitted would be eligible for some type of merit aid). Schools that only give aid based on need will not consider financial aid packages that have merit money (2 separate methodologies, mixing apples and oranges)</p>
<p>If tufts only gave you 5k in aid, it is in their professional judgement that your family has the income and assets to pay the balance. They may not want to pay it (that a whole different story) but they have the means to do so. </p>
<p>With this in mind, if you feel that your family has extenuating circumstances that were not addressed in you financial aid documents, you shoudl definitely suggest a financial review (as colleges do not "bargain" nor do they "negotiate"). However, if all you have is GWU gave me X amount of $$, and I want to know if you can meet it, be prepared to go where your money can take you.</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>Tufts and GWU are very different schools. It is highly unlikely that Tufts will match GWU's finaid offer.</p>