<p>I'm looking for any and all advice regarding how to negotiate MERIT scholarships. I'm my parents first child to go to college so I'm looking for past experiences.</p>
<p>I'm looking at George Washington and Northeastern U which I got a little bit of money but not really enough to convince my parents. Unfortunately although my Dad's business is failing due to the recession, we don't qualify for Need-Based Scholarships. So far I have sent both schools a letter requesting to be reevaluated and an updated activities resume.</p>
<p>Any suggestions on how to use another school as a bargaining chip? I got a 75% scholarship to Bentley University which is actualy ranked higher for undergrad business than GW and NEU in some rankings.</p>
<p>Also has anybody received merit scholarships by volunteering their children for community service while in college?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>It’s pretty hard to negotiate for merit scholarships, as that’s one area where your qualifications don’t really change. If the college looked at your grades and test scores and decided that, while they may be very meritorious on their own, compared to the rest of the applicant pool they did not qualify you for a merit scholarship, those grades and test scores are not going to be different now than they were a few weeks or months ago. I doubt they would be attracted by your offer of volunteering, they have plenty of kids who will volunteer without the extra financial incentive. </p>
<p>It would be much easier to try to go back and explain the thing with your dad’s business. if it’s really failing and you can document that, you may be able to get some more need based financial aid since his earnings next year will be significantly lower than they were last year, but it’s not yet reflected in his W-2 or other financial documentation.</p>
<p>We were able to negotiate Merit scholarships for my daughter. It increased her merit by $5,000 per year = for all four years, making tuition 100% covered. I wrote a letter to admissions and asked that they review her merit - I included copies of her full scholarships that she received from other schools that were based on competitions she attend at the perspective school. </p>
<p>It never hurts to ask.</p>
<p>Hi ladybug,
Bentley is my daughters dream school, i was wondering if you can share some of your stats that qualified you for the bentley merit scholarship. any info is greatly appreciated.
Thanks</p>
<p>Georgeyporgey:
I received the President’s Scholar for Woman Leaders
I have a 4.0 gpa, 29 ACT, but that only got me into the honors program at Bentley,
The scholarship was soely a result of my activities resume and work history
-I am a leader in my high Schools Business Program, have taken college classes in high school for business classes, and interned this summer at a fortune 500 company., I’m an officer in my marching band, and am running a school fundraiser
Other people who I have heard received this have been leaders in other activities (clubs, sports, etc.
Best of Luck!</p>