Hi all, I had a question about if I could use a merit scholarship from one school to negotiate with another.
Last week I was accepted to both UChicago and Georgetown School of Foreign Service, and I was lucky enough to get a merit scholarship from UChicago of $4,000 for two summers each to pursue academic interests (not entirely sure what that means), so $8,000 in total.
Do you think I could either contact Chicago and have them allow me to use that for tuition, or contact Georgetown and have them make a similar offer?
Thanks!
The schools don’t really like it because they can claim other factors that affect their aid dollars. You can try.
Go through the financial aid office at Georgetown.
My feeling is it’s worth a try. Schools who want you may just give you more money. You never know unless you ask.
Georgetown doesn’t give merit awards, but $8000 is such a small % of the cost of these schools that I’m not sure it is worth the effort. Are you full pay?
I would make a plea, but also show your interest. If they want you, and if you let them know you need XX amount of additional aid to be able to afford to attend their school, that could make a difference. You would need to be at the point of being ready to commit if they do indeed give you that extra money.
Something along the lines of “I really want to attend XYZ college, I love your (something you love) and when I visited I felt so at home. I can’t wait to study (major) in such a stimulating environment.”
Georgetown’s “merit” scholarship have a financial need component. If you don’t have a financial need, they are really not going to care what another school has given you.
Thanks for the advice! To answer some questions, it’s probably unlikely that I’ll get much financial aid. So I guess unlikely, but I might give it a try. I think I’ll talk to my counselor when I get back from break.