Hypothetically. Can you negotiate financial aid after acceptances?

I have been told by no less an authority than another parent:), that if you have a financial aid package that is less than you need and you have a peer school that offered better financial aid that some schools will improve their offer if you indicate that they are your first choice. The key he said was peer institution. Is there validity to what he said? My Ds first choice has not yet sent their FA packet but she has received a package from a school would be considered a level up that meets our need and we, with some stretching, can have her attend without loans. It is her 2nd/3rd (she only applied to 4 schools) choice and frankly I would be happy for her to attend.

Yes, some places will “reconsider” their aid packages if you ask them politely to do so. Others won’t. Some of the ones that won’t, state that quite clearly on their websites. However, even if they are willing to reconsider, that does not mean they will match the other package.

I don’t know about it having to be a “peer” institution either. It probably depends upon the major and/or the individual. If they want you, they may increase the aid.

Would it be best to have her contact them or me? Perhaps both of us could be on the call? I would think it would be important for them to know it really is her first choice not just Dad trying to get them to lower the price. Of her other three schools two of them are state flagships and the other is known as a “public ivy” ( I really dislike that term) and is kind of a rival. She was accepted into the honors program for each of them except her first choice. They don’t have a traditional honors program at her first choice. The one they have is very selective and she didn’t want to go through that particular program. She would likely be in the top 5% of the accepted students at her first choice and maybe higher still of matriculating students. We’ll see.

“I don’t know about it having to be a “peer” institution either. It probably depends upon the major and/or the individual. If they want you, they may increase the aid.”

That is typically not how it works. The “if they want you, they can find money” trope is largely a myth. That did happen for me – because my university is highly specialized (aerospace), and I had highly unusual specialized accomplishments in addition to strong stats that were well above the 75th percentile. So, that trope may be true in rare situations like that. But most universities are not so specialized, and strong all-around students are plentiful. Money usually doesn’t spontaneously appear for individual students. Especially not if the student isn’t using a peer school’s offer as their leverage.

Not completely true. My wife just talked to a college about a peer college after son had already received a very good FA package and they called us back a few days later and offered another 2K. Not a ton more money but it makes a difference to us certainly. Not a specialized college, just a LAC. He does have strong stats though, but no special hooks or ECs.

@CourtneyThurston I guess your situation is similar to my daughters situation, as she is a music major and it is very much based on talent and is highly specialized in its own way. Still, I don’t think it can hurt to try even if the higher offer is from a non-peer institution.

@lvvcsf I think it is important that your daughter be the one to ask–seems like you have the right idea in that regard.

Peer colleges’ offers (can be) relevant. Non peer colleges’ offers typically are not.

EDIT: I think it’s worth trying. Just don’t expect anything.

You would have your best chance at a peer school. But even with that…some schools will not reconsider your financial aid that they award.

Re: the peer school aspect. This comes into play when students are acceoted at say…HYS where all have very generous need based aid…but do use different formulas.

But really…if UMass Amherst offers you a full ride, it’s not likely that Yale will care…at all…and your major doesn’t matter at all.

Also HYS have very very generous need based aid policies. So…expecting another meets full need school to come up,with the same money HYS awards might be an unrealistic expectation.

But you can ask!

In theory, yes, in ‘our’ reality, no. We have had no schools adjust their aid packages.

And you can’t go by the FA averages listed in places like collegedata. Those are based on enrolled students, not admitted. So the kids with lesser FA packages may end up opting for the other schools. That lower FA offer wouldn’t be reflected in stats anywhere.

I’ve done it. One school came up with an additional $10K. One school didn’t budge. A few tips:

  • Do not ask them to “match” another offer. Tell them that your kid has a comparable school where the cost of attendance is lower, and you are struggling to figure out how to pay for their school.
  • They may ask to see the other offer. I had it scanned and ready to email.
  • If you have any info on your finances that you think might help that wasn’t asked about in the FA paperwork, bring that up. They like to have a financial reason to adjust aid if possible.
  • Don’t bother with non-peer schools. A lower ranked school or a cheaper in-state public won’t move them.

You can get more aid in many situations. But you have to play it wisely, it depends on the school, and it depends on your circumstance. Typically this will occur with heavily endowed, meets 100% need schools, when you can tactfully and politely convince them that your financial situation clearly warrants another review, and when a true peer school offered more.

Do not think that complaints like “house needed a new roof” or “family is putting son #1 through law school” will gain any sympathy. Fin. aid officers can sniff out what they view as “true” need, even if you don’t agree with it.

We were fortunate to get another $10,000 per year in aid from one school. So it can happen. It just depends on the right situation.

Yes, the wording of asking for a review, and also mentioning cost of attendance at another comparable school is good wording.

Also, you asked if parent or kid should do it. I say parent. Kids are not well equipped for this discussion, and colleges know the parents usually pay most of the bills.

@intparent and all thank for the input. I’ll make the call if it becomes necessary. The goal is to get her through her UG without loans if possible. She is intending to study Physical Therapy which will require 3 years in a DPT program. Our EFC is around 3400 and we are able to contribute around $20k to her education over 4 years. But she will likely be borrowing a good bit to meet the cost of the DPT school. Purdue university has made it possible for her to attend w/o loans if she works her summers. We are waiting for FA packages from tOSU, Miami University and her first choice Ohio University. She likes Purdue and her older sister goes there but OU has the best program for what she wants to study and her interests. However, if it comes down to loans or no loans she’ll choose no loans. Like I’ve mentioned it’s all hypothetical at this point. It is good to have a school like Purdue that we are assured is affordable without debt.

As to who should be on the phone call…

When it comes to money matters, having the student do the calling can be a total fail. The student can be included in the call to stress that a particular school is number one and will attend if affordable, but many 17/18 year olds are not able to properly handle the money aspect with this sort of negotiation (but don’t use that word).

@lvvcsf I now see that you’re talking about some OOS publics who don’t typically give much need based aid to OOS students. Are you looking to have the other schools match merit offers??

Did Purdue offer her merit? If so, how much? Is one of these schools instate?

If your DD has high stats and Purdue offered merit, I wouldn’t be surprised if tOSU also offered a nice merit award. However, MiamiOh seems more unpredictable with merit.

She has received all the merit awards. She was awarded the Presidential scholarship at Purdue (her only OOS school), the Maximus Scholarship at Ohio State, 10k at Miami U and 7k at OU. Purdue’s FA (Pell grants, SEOG Grant, and university grants)brought us to $8671 without loans plus they offered her $2500 in work study. Our older D found that it was not hard to find a WS position at Purdue. That bring cost to around $6100 without loans. We can pay $5000 and I’m sure she can cover the other $1100. Some will be able to be covered in that we really don’t consider travel in our ability to pay. We treat it like we would vacations and it comes from a different fund. We have found by shopping at other places we reduce the cost of books and spending money is a controllable expense.

Terrific. What was her net cost at Ohio University?

Is the Purdue program a direct admit to the DPT program?

None of the schools has a direct admit to a DPT program though OU indicated it will give a preference to their own graduates. Miami and Purdue do not have DPT programs, OSU does but there is no preference given. She did not apply to any programs with a direct admit because some of her criteria were she wanted to continue dancing and she wanted a larger (over 10k) school. Most direct admit programs were smaller schools and did not have dance programs. At Purdue, Miami and OSU she would minor in dance and Miami and Purdue have dance companies. At OU she would major in dance (BA) and Exercise Physiology. They have a DPT program and it fills all of her other criteria.

Oh and as of right now without her FA aid package her net cost is around 19000 at OU. We expect at least $2425 in a Pell Grant at OU. She auditioned for the dance major and that may contribute a talent scholarship. There would still be a way to go to get the cost down to the $6000 that Purdue did. I really don’t know what to expect.

Don’t tell them you are trying to avoid loans. Most colleges expect that students will take out federal loans vs. having to college give them more need based aid. Also, we actually started our discussion via email – then I was able to be very careful about phrasing.