Lower Your College Costs By Negotiating For Scholarship Money
Much has been made recently of the high cost of college tuition. Even with in-state reductions, public funding, and severe cutbacks in past years, the cost of attending college is an incredibly steep one, even for middle class families. Unless you’re attending an online or community school, receiving considerable merit aid, or capable of qualifying for sufficient need-based money, there’s a good chance that you’ll find yourself deep in debt when you graduate from college.
For student, parents, and workers who are thinking of going back to school to get a degree, these ominous expenses can have the effect of determining our career choices and crippling our budgets for years to come. But, fortunately, there are many ways to try to chip away at those looming college costs. These methods include applying for outside scholarships, refinancing your mortgage so as to qualify for more need-based aid, buying electronic textbooks, and budgeting strictly for cost-of-living expenses.
All the while, however, the truly optimal way to cut college costs is by maximizing the final scholarship package you receive. If the school offers you, say, a scholarship of $10,000 per year, negotiating that amount upwards by $5,000 can translate into minor losses for the school and considerable long-term gains for you.
But scholarship negotiations can be a tricky process. It’s ultimately all about leverage, after all, and you likely care more about a school than it does about you. Here are a few tips for trying to gain some leverage and increase your reward:
-Stress other acceptances. If you’ve been accepted to other, comparable schools, a college may take that into consideration when assessing your scholarship qualification. Saying that you have an offer at equally-regarded School X but would rather attend School Y, so long as the cost is manageable, is a great way to make financial aid decision-makers think twice and then give you more.
-Play for sympathy. Write a letter to the school that stresses your desire to attend, the burden that the tuition expense will place on you, and your determination to seek your dreams in the most cost-effective way. This is also the place where you would stress family hardships, childcare responsibilities, or any other extenuating circumstances.
-Compare and contrast. If you know (or can track down) any other people who attend or who might attend a given school, you can compare your scholarship situation to theirs and try to determine if you have been fairly rewarded. If not, present this information to the financial aid office. It can’t hurt to try.
-Release all your financials. If you believe that a school isn’t subsidizing your cost in a manner consistent with your ability to pay, send all financial information – tax returns, bank statements, property records, etc – to the school and make an appeal for a second look. Often times a basic financial indicator (ex. income) will seem less secure once another one (ex. child support payments) is taken into consideration.
These are a few tips for trying to negotiate with a school for more scholarship money. While these are not all guaranteed to work, taking a polite yet insistent approach may yield a boost – even a small one – that can help you substantially down the road.
