<p>forrest is correct that a schools inability to negotiate “may be indicative of how much the department wants the student in question”, although if they accepted you into the program they most likely are. But, I would not always assume so. If a school or department has no money (or no more money) to give in scholarships they may very well want the student to attend, but simply do not have the scholarships available. It still can’t hurt to ask :).</p>