Here’s How to Negotiate a Better College Financial Aid Package
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Here's your money briefing for Monday, April 24th.
Why is the May 1st enrollment deadline the best time to ask for more financial aid?
I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. Most prospective college students have roughly a week, until May 1st, to decide where they plan to attend school in the fall. Financial experts say now is also a good time to ask for even more financial aid.
If your family's financial situation has changed or if you can provide new information that makes you an even more attractive candidate, it pays to let them know. Plus, rather than just accepting the initial offer, there's almost no risk in just asking for more.
Coming up, Oyen Adedoyen from the WSJ personal finance team will be here to discuss the best ways to make the request for more aid. That's after the break.
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How should families frame their request to schools without using the word 'negotiate'?
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The deadline set by many schools for prospective students to make their enrollment decisions is May 1st. Financial experts say that's also an ideal time for students and families to request more financial aid from the school since receiving the original offer. Oyen Adedoyen from the WSJ personal finance team joins us to explain how to negotiate a better package. So, Oyen, why is the May 1st deadline a good time to ask schools for more financial aid?
What specific information and documentation should you include when requesting more aid?
Some colleges still don't know how many accepted students are actually going to attend. So they have this yield and it's a percentage by which they're hoping that the offers that they extended will be accepted. And so this is a time where colleges are still grappling with who's coming and who's denying them. Financial experts we spoke to say that colleges and universities may offer additional aid for a variety of reasons. If your family's financial situation has changed or if you can provide new information that makes you an even more attractive candidate, it pays to let them know. Plus, rather than just accepting the initial offer, there's almost no risk in just asking for more.
All right. So how should you go about this? Is it like negotiating with the school?
Well, that's the first rule about negotiation. Don't say that you're making a negotiation.
Don't say negotiation.
How can you ask colleges for additional merit or scholarship money after admissions decisions?
Don't say that word now.
Oh, why not?
Well, advisors tell us that basically there's a technique here. So the key is to be more subtle about your advocacy. Instead, use phrases such as, our child is really excited about attending your college X. We're writing to ask what can be done to make it more financially feasible for them to attend.
Oh, so the tone really matters here.
Yes. Phrase everything in a positive and respectful manner. The worst they can say is no. They won't rescind an offer.
What unique achievements or updates should you highlight to strengthen a merit aid request?
And so schools will typically let you know how to best discuss a financial aid offer, whether that's something on their website or that's a representative from the admissions office that you can email to get that information.
All right. So let's say you're writing a letter. What else should you include in the letter when you're asking for more aid?
So for starters, if your family's financial situation has changed, for example, since you got that initial financial aid award, be clear about those changes.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:36
2
Why is the May 1st enrollment deadline the best time to ask for more financial aid?
0:36–1:32
3
How should families frame their request to schools without using the word 'negotiate'?
1:32–2:20
4
What specific information and documentation should you include when requesting more aid?
2:20–3:08
5
How can you ask colleges for additional merit or scholarship money after admissions decisions?
3:08–3:40
6
What unique achievements or updates should you highlight to strengthen a merit aid request?
3:40–4:55
7
How should you present competing offers from other schools to your top-choice college?
4:55–6:25
8
What outcomes can families expect and how should they handle a school’s response?
6:25–8:00
Speakers
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