<p>To start off, I'd like to say that I really loved Tulane. My visit was great and I really liked the atmosphere.</p>
<p>That being said, I was disappointed that I only received the $20000 academic achievement award. I have a 35 ACT, 4.2 WGPA, and extracurriculars out the wahzoo (I choreographed a major dance production at my school, which is pretty rare for a dude). </p>
<p>Is there any way to go about negotiating merit aid? I don't want to seem rude, as I'm glad to have received the $20000 a year scholarship as is, but I keep seeing kids with 3.6 GPAs and 30 ACTs receiving the top awards and its really bumming me out. I've been doing an extremely hard course load for four years at a top high school, and I feel as if the end result doesn't quite match up to the work put in.</p>
<p>I'm currently debating between Tulane and a higher ranked school, and I'd be much more inclined to go to Tulane if I received a bigger scholarship and possibly honors acceptance.</p>
<p>On the surface, you seem to have a good case for reconsideration. You don’t seem rude, btw, your concern is perfectly reasonable. After all, we are talking about a lot of money. But since we cannot see your entire application, there is no way to know why they made the decision they did. Only your admissions officer can tell you that.</p>
<p>Having said that, there is an excellent posting on Jeff Schiffman’s blog (Jeff is a senior officer in admissions) about how to handle yourself in this situation. I would follow his advice very strictly. [Tulane</a> University Admission Blog - Jeff: Dear Tulane- Send $!](<a href=“http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/2012/12/dear-tulane-send.html]Tulane”>http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/2012/12/dear-tulane-send.html) If you do not get a response that satisfies you, I would make a telephone appointment with your admissions counselor and ask why. After all, what do you have to lose? Just remain polite and “business-like”, as I am sure you would.</p>
<p>Thank you, the blog post was very informative.
If anyone has any more advice, feel free to post it. As for me, if anything changes, I’ll be sure to let you guys know, in case anyone else was thinking about going a similar route.</p>