<p>My D received a Merit scholarship from one of the colleges she applied to. A comparable college she applied to and likes better offered her no Merit at all. Is it difficult to negotiate comparable merit aid from the college she likes based on the other other college's merit offer? What tactics should I use? Much appreciated.</p>
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<p>Most schools have their own criteria for awarding merit aid. What one school does may have no bearing on how another school awards their merit aid. </p>
<p>Having said that…there’s no harm in asking. You should mention that your daughter would like to attend their college but without some merit aid, she will not be able to do so. Maybe they will offer her something and maybe they won’t.</p>
<p>Are your D’s stats very high for the school? Do you know if her test scores are in the top 5-10% of the school?</p>
<p>Do you know if this school gives merit scholarships? If so, how many? Some schools mostly only give need-based aid. </p>
<p>Which schools are these?</p>
<p>If the colleges are comparable, or are rivals for students, and your daughter truly wants to go to the college that did not give her the merit award, she can explain that it’s her first choice school but the problem is the price differential, and ask if any turned down merit money can come her way. She can offer to send an essay on her community service, school service activities and why she so wants to come to that college. She can explain that it’s just tough enough to pay the costs even with this discount and it would make all the difference in the world.</p>
<p>My son got his merit award increased by saying this. The cost of highly selective school was less than his first choice, and when he made it clear that he would come to his first choice school if the cost were closer, admissions did come up with more money for him. But it doesn’t always work, something you should be aware.</p>
<p>@cptofthehouse: Thanks for your comments. My D in similar position for a highly selective school. So my follow-up questions: 1) how did you make this inquiry (i.e. by phone, written correspondence, email), 2) it is better that this be initiated by parent or student, and 3) how long did it take them to officially respond? Many thanks.</p>
<p>Hamilton & Boston College both give need based financial aid. There is no merit money to negotiate. </p>
<p>Another comparable school giving you merit money will not matter to a school that only gives need based financial aid. </p>
<p>What you can do is look at your financial aid packages when they come. For schools that give need based aid you are going to ask for a financial review. If there is something in your financial situation that you forgot to mention (loss of job, another child in undergrad, caring for special needs child/elderly parent) and you would like them to take it into consideration this is where you should mention it.</p>
<p>M2CK does bring up a good point about where is your child’s stats. If she is at the top of the class, the school may fight a little harder to keep her than if her stats fall within the middle 50% (you can check the school’s common data set of admitted student profile)</p>
<p>My daughter’s high school doesn’t rank students but she’s likely in the top 10%. She’s been taking honors and AP courses all along, ACT of 32, strong SAT2 scores, and a nice complement of academic, leadership, and community service extracurriculars. Both schools are in the US News Tier 1 national list within a few spots of each other and both offer merit scholarships. The one that gave her money is a top Engineering school, the one that didn’t hangs their hat on their Engineering and Business programs. Both are in locations that have seen better days (no great city or college town environment).</p>
<p>Did your D get an offer from the higher or lower ranked school? Was she accepted in the engineering program at both schools?</p>
<p>If both schools give merit, do their state their criteria for obtaining a merit scholarship from their school? </p>
<p>Some schools are straight forward and state in order to receive the _<em>'s scholarship, you must have a min SAT/ACT score of X, a minimum GPA of Y you must be ranked with in the top </em>% of the class. Even if your school does not rank, your school will rank confidentially for admissions and scholarship consideration. If there is a criteria for scholarship at the 2nd school, I would ask the GC to contact the admissions department, disclose the rank and ask for scholarship consideration.</p>
<p>Same questions for cptofthehouse. Trying to develop strategy for contacting a college next week that we can’t afford.</p>
<p>Good advice. She was accepted to Engineering in both. She received the scholarship from Rensselaer and not from Lehigh (they’re ranked 4 positions higher…negligible in my book). Both great schools and both a reasonably good fit.</p>
<p>My son made the phone call, but I helped script it for him with a blurb written out. Basically, he tallked to the admissions officer and told them that he loved the school, it was his first choice, he wanted to sign the enrollment contract and go there but he was aware of the financial burden this would be on his parents who reallly felt that XYZ College was comparable and that $40K difference is an awful lot of money ($10K X 4 years). Is there any merit award or anything that can close the cost differential? Are there unclaimed awards that are coming back? It’s really the only sticking point in all of this.</p>
<p>^^ I think that’s perfect cpt!</p>
<p>I think the posts are spot on…make sure you’re comparing apples to apples (not merit aid to finaid), make sure the colleges are competitive rivals and make sure you’re prepared to close the deal and take the acceptance if the money is offered.</p>
<p>Sybbie and others are 100% correct that it is a total waste of time trying to get merit money when the school simply does not give any or only in forms of large known awards. BC is a good example. I think that they have so many half or full tuition merit awards and that is it in terms of merit. Some schools do have a number of small awards that they do scatter around to attract students. Those such schools just might be able to come up with something. I wouldn’t expect the gap to be completely met, or met at all if it is significant either. If your S or D is lucky enough to win the JS Smith Award of $25K a year at a school that is given to just a few students, a competing school is unlikely to be able to come up with the same. Clearly, the student was not among the top wanted applicants at that other school but maybe if that school has a bunch of smaller awards it gives out, something can be cobbled together.</p>
<p>It does not always work but is worth a try.</p>
<p>When it comes to the ranking, Lehigh is considered most selective and Rensselaer is considered more selective meaning Lehigh with a 33% acceptance rate is more competitive than Rensselaer with a 44% acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Lehigh states:</p>
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</p>
<p>then they state</p>
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</p>
<p>While to me it is a conflicting message, it seems that Lehigh saves their merit money for students at the top of the applicant pool (who they hope to woo away from other schools).</p>
<p>Attaching a copy of their last Common Data set so you can get an idea of where your D falls in the admitted student’s pool.</p>
<p>[Lehigh</a> University-Common Data Set](<a href=“http://www.lehigh.edu/~oir/cds/lucds2009.htm]Lehigh”>http://www.lehigh.edu/~oir/cds/lucds2009.htm)</p>
<p>*The one that gave her money is a top Engineering school, the one that didn’t hangs their hat on their Engineering and Business programs. Both are in locations that have seen better days (no great city or college town environment). *</p>
<p>RPI desperately wants more girls, hence the merit scholarship. I don’t think LeHigh has the same ratio problems, even tho it is a bit heavier males.</p>
<p>It can depend on so many factors. If the school is truly flat out of the money, you won’t get any. You won’t get any if the policy at a school is not to give any. Kelsmom who works in financial aid says her school simply will not do it. They will check out financial aid numbers for mistakes and possible changes, but they are not going to match merit awards, and that is it. Also some schools have certain things on their list, and if you are a type that they are not particularly seeking (say a female at a school that is already heavy on the girls, majoring in a common field of study, coming from an already heavily represented area) , you are not going to have the same chances of a positive response as the type of kid that the admissions office is trying to get more of. My son was way outside of the geographics, is a male, and had very high test scores. Those are all things his school was and is seeking, so it worked out for him. Some one, like the example I gave, might have gotten a refusal.</p>