<p>Dear parents I have already posted the following question on the fin aid board, but I thought you might be able to help me as well:</p>
<p>I need fast advice,</p>
<p>I have been admitted to several colleges (which I'm very happy about) My family needs a lot of money but has some special circumstances, parents divorced, my mum is severely handicapped, I live in the Netherlands etc. </p>
<p>I have received a very good fin aid offer from Princeton, a lot better than form other colleges. However Yale is my first choice and I haven't received the offer from Yale yet because they missed some forms, which I am faxing tonight. </p>
<p>I spoke to an admission officer at Yale and she advised me to include the Princeton offer right a way, when I fax the other forms but I was thinking that I should maybe keep it to negotiate, because I don't expect Yale to offer the same amount as Princeton!</p>
<p>So what do you think, should I include the Princeton offer right now, or use is to negotiate later???</p>
<p>I am no expert ... but it sounds like they already know you have a Princeton offer. Did you tell them? I'd send it right away if they asked for it and not waste time as if they asked for it, they are probably going to utilize it when they form your package. Again, just my opinion.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies, i suppose I'm also a bit hesitant about submitting it because I'm secretly hoping Yale will offer even more, even though my parents are happy with the Princeton package, since they have to pay even less than they said they could!</p>
<p>And Yale always has a lone component and a larger students contribution for international students and Princeton hasn't, will they consider this as well?</p>
<p>So, then hold on to it until you receive the offer, and then you can compare, talk about the loan thing, etc., and fax the offer later if the Yale offer is lower. (Yale HATES to lose a student to Princeton, though they hate more losing one to Harvard.)</p>
<p>My parents are saying the offer will never be lower, since Yale takes into account home equity AND my parents indicated they could pay 4000 a year, and Princeton asked 3000!</p>
<p>Don't play games. If they told you to fax it now, fax it now. Anything else will only annoy them and you could easily lose anything you otherwise may have gotten.</p>
<p>If they know that you are holding a FA offer from Princeton, then fax it. If you do not, they may assume that your are more interested in Princeton and not even bother to come to close. Fax it and see what they can come up with. And congratulations to your acceptances at both schools.</p>
<p>Since PHY all use more or less the same formula to calculate the parental and student contribution, I would expect Yale's offer to be quite close to Princeton's. I have to wonder why you are even dreaming of haggling about at most one or two thousand dollars that you don't really need. Personally, I think, Yale should offer you FA on the same basis as they do everybody else which I rather expect they will. "In matters commercial it is the fault of the Dutch of giving too little and asking too much". I could see them contemplating you turning them down for Princeton with some equanimity under the circumstances.</p>
<p>I think the Yale official put her in an awkward position by suggesting she send the other offer, in fact....They all use roughly the same formula. However, there was an antitrust suit on the issue of the Ivies and friends appearing to collude regarding financial aid offers. I am not a lawyer, but I would say she should just send the forms required(not the other offer) and hope for a similar offer from Yale. If the offer is not the same, then she can articulate 'disappointment' perhaps- and if they REALLY want her Yale can reply to her reply. I know an international student who got Yale to match the offer of a top LAC a few years ago, which he ultimately chose anyways...</p>
<p>OTOH there is not much time. Forget playing games and send the forms they need and feel very, very lucky for your situation....</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help! My mother and I have decided to sent the princeton offer along, to speed things up.</p>
<p>@paleozoic, I'm worrying about the few thousand because a few thousand, for four years is 10.000 ultimately, my family is very poor, my mum requires a lot of extra money for medical costs and I have 3 siblings who are going to college in the next three years, I can tell you, dutch or not, it is a lot of money then!</p>
<p>As I told you before, the Yale offer is likely to be very close to the Princeton offer whether you do anything or not. If you, considering your circumstances, could not afford to accept the Yale offer without hardship, which by your own account would emerge if you have to pay more than $4000 you would have some reasonable basis to go back to Yale and tell them that. At which point they would undoubtedly adjust their offer. </p>
<p>That however is not how the discussion comes across. Your going in position seems to be that you think you have enough bargaining power to haggle Yale down to nothing. I think if that is how it is perceived by Yale they will stick to their initial offer and let you go to Princeton. Isn't there a dutch saying thay if you are obsessed with getting whatever is in the bottom of the pot, you are likely to bruise your nose against the lid?</p>