<p>Cami, have you tried/considered negotiating the aid package? If your son’s best friend was able to negotiate a merit award coming off a waitlist - then Brandeis is obviously flexible. (I mean, you can assume that kids who get waitlisted are probably not the strongest of the applicant pool - unless the kid’s stats are so strong that he got waitlisted because Brandeis thought he was using the school as a safety). </p>
<p>Keep in mind what I’ve posted about the strategic use of aid dollars – Brandeis is throwing out a lot of offers right now to try to entice very strong students who will add diversity to their body – but their strategy is leading them to throw money at those who are least likely to attend. So a lot of those dollars are going to be freed up in April.</p>
<p>Brandeis might not be the right place anyway, since you say your son is the adventurous type --(it might be too cozy and familiar to provide the excitement he is looking for) … but don’t make the decision based on the lack of merit money without doing a little bit of bargaining first.</p>