Part of why I don’t miss my job includes the relatively new idea espoused by the admissions rep who said they are used car salesmen. I absolutely never saw myself as such … not in my role admitting students, and not in my role providing financial aid. I never believed in “selling” a teenager anything. I never believed in “negotiating” financial aid. I wanted to help students decide if they wanted to attend my school, and if they really wanted to attend, I wanted to help them afford it. Sometimes they would tell me that they needed another $3,000 or $5,000 a year to make it work. If they were a student that we really wanted, I would try to make it work. If they said they needed $15,000 I probably couldn’t do it. But I appreciated the fact that they were honest, and I was honest in return. What really bugged me, though - and it was an increasingly common ask by the time I left - were students who said they couldn’t afford it without a relatively large ask for dollars, I said that we couldn’t do it, and then they came, anyway. That DID make me feel as if OTHERS considered me a used car salesman. If you can’t or won’t come without a certain increase, make the ask & see what happens. But be honest.
And remember, you need to compare total cost, not financial aid. If you receive a big scholarship at an expensive school, it’s not an equivalent ask at a less expensive school.