<p>I recently was accepted to a small private college in Washington and I fully plan on attending.</p>
<p>My parents make enough money for us to not qualify for financial aid, but it will stress them A TON financially to pay the full amount.</p>
<p>I haven't heard from the college yet about merit scholarship money, but I have worked hard and my gpa and test scores reflect it so I realistically should be receiving a decent amount.</p>
<p>THE PROBLEM: My dad is ready to call and "bargain" my college future with them by saying he won't pay the full tuition and what can they give him basically. I told him to at least wait until we hear how much they are willing to offer me before we negotiate...</p>
<p>I NEED HELP!! MY PARENTS HAVE NO EXPERIENCE AT THIS AND I NEED GUIDANCE AS TO THE BEST WAY TO APPROACH THIS BEFORE MY DAD REJECTS THE SCHOOL FOR ME!</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>well you can't really negotiate until you get their first offer...once they give it to you than "bargain" away.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply! That's what I told my dad!</p>
<p>scholarific-</p>
<p>I have been doing this for hundreds of students for years and completely agree with gatordan. Do not try to negotiate until you have received some kind of offer from the school.</p>
<p>Most colleges have not prepared their financial offers, so don't be surprised you haven't seen anything yet. And although you don't think you will qualify for FA, make sure you get the forms completed and in quickly. Some schools require them for their merit awards as well.</p>
<p>How high in the freshman class did you place? You can generally tell this by the SAT/ACT and GPA acceptance rates. If you look good to be in the top 25%, then you will have more leverage to negotiate with. If you are not in the top 25%, then you better have some other options.</p>
<p>And you did apply to other colleges... right? If you haven't, then get crackin! A school is not likely to negotiate if they know they are the only game in town.</p>