<p>…or the kid could be valedictorian from well know private prep. HS who otherwise end up going to Harvard, or college simply think that he would. Anyway, many times it cost them nothing, as most Merit awards are funded by private donors. there are some that are awarded by college, but not many in comparison. So, if school has great alumni base, then there are more funds available for Merit awards.</p>
<p>College is not a product, it is a service. You cannot negotiate down the price of a visit to the doctor or a public transit card. </p>
<p>Being accepted to most colleges is a privilege, not a right. Anyone with a decent credit score who can secure the necessary cash or a loan can walk in and buy a house or a car. But not everyone gets into a particular schools.</p>
<p>And, of course, you can’t get free money (scholarships, grants) to help you pay for a house or car.</p>
<p>This is for OP. Clark University in Worcester MA
“Is Clark your first choice of college? If you have a financial aid award from another academically strong institution, and it appears that the total cost to you and your family would be greater if you attend Clark, we encourage you to share that information with our Financial Assistance staff. Based on circumstances you and your family are facing, our staff can determine whether there are considerations that should be taken into account in the calculation of your need-based financial aid eligibility.”</p>
<p>"You cannot negotiate down the price of a visit to the doctor "</p>
<p>Sure you can. Insurance companies do it as a matter of course, and individuals often do it too.</p>
<p>Where we live, you can get a Groupon for a dentist visit, a plastic surgery procedure and other types of medical services. Suggesting that you clearly can negotiate for services.</p>
<p>Hey, who’d be up for a Groupon for college tuition?</p>
<p>The article argues that we can’t negotiate, but people do negotiate regularly. The “problem” is that for most, the school is the one in the position to make the offer, and often the student doesn’t really have much to offer in return. Those that do often start the negotiations long before they get their aid letter. If you’ve known any athletes being courted by Div I teams, you’ve may be familiar with that process.</p>
<p>If your furnace breaks down in the summer, you have time to shop around, and find a replacement you like, at a price you like. If it breaks down in the middle of a winter storm, and it’s below zero outside, you don’t have much negotiating power - you’ll accept whatever price your oil company offers, as long as you can afford it, or risk your pipes freezing, and having additional costs.</p>
<p>Negotiation can work both ways - you want a big screen TV the week before the Super Bowl, and only one place can get it set up in time - and they only have one TV. You’re not in a position to bargain if the guy standing behind you is ready to offer more than the sticker price. </p>
<p>When you apply to colleges, if you are an average student across the board, you’re not in much of a position to negotiate. If you have a hook, and have something specific to offer, that they can’t get from another average student, you are in a better position. If you are a student they heavily recruited, they have already spent money and effort to get you to their school - you can ask, and they may offer more. Clark University is a prime example, and I’ve seen similar statements from other colleges.</p>
<p>“Where we live, you can get a Groupon for a dentist visit”
-Where we live, we CANNOT. And prices are going up tremendously, while insurance coverages has been the same for about last 60 years or so. Talking about price break…the opposite way. Nothing you can do and unfortunately I have very huge problems with my teeth, in a process of implant #6. Implant is in, waiting for OK for a crown. The whole thing used to be $1700, went up to $4000 (exactly the same denstist/denta surgeon). After 2 insurances and spreading it over 2 years, I used to pay very little. Now my both insurances dropped implant coverage. Talking about price increase!!! I am sure, I have many more to go. yes, there is an option, pull all teeth and have dentures (covered by Medicare). But for people who absolutely refuse to have them and have very bad teeth, there is no option. Got to chew your food with something!
Dental example just another proof of the same. Supply/Demand is pretty universal. If not, why would they study it in very basic economic class? yes, the higher power can interfere, but then there is a price fix and everything is going down the drain. Familiar? Of course…no politics though, right?</p>
<p>It’s not about whether we SHOULD be able to negotiate, of course we should. </p>
<p>But at the demand-exceeds-supply colleges/U.'s, trying to negotiate would be an exercise in futility UNLESS that college’s student profile/quota is shy an underrepresented minority, a fencer, a valedictorian from a zero-income family, or something similar. Then, it’s possible I suppose. Only trick is to find out what that college needs, and they don’t usually show their cards.</p>
<p>Now…for a college looking for students, and there are lot of really fine schools in exactly this predicament, I would say that it’s a buyer’s market, all day long. There are or will be a TON of opportunities in this arena over the next 3-5 years, as the reality sinks in that some of these places just ain’t worth the money. </p>
<p>If I were doing it over (my 2 daughter ships have sailed 
), a year in advance I would get that list of schools looking for slots to fill after the May 1 drop-dead date, and start handicapping. If my kid had great stats & was willing to travel–and the parents were cool with it too–I would definitely do heavy research for quality, do campus visits, then inevitably play the schools against each other & make sure I had plenty of time to do it. I would guess one could save $30,000-$40,000 over a 4-year period by playing it the right way.</p>
<p>I saw that list floating around the boards in May…can’t find it via search now. Anyone know where it is?</p>
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<p>Running a University is not a cheap proposition. A mid-range, medium-sized state school will operate on an Endowment of hundreds of millions of dollars, top public schools will top 1 billion. Consider that my state, NC, runs 16 colleges with 222,000 students. If school was free for all of them, not just those with the most need requirements, think of how much of a tax increase would be needed.</p>
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I think that it is more beneficial to give the best general education possible in high school, making them aware of all the opportunities out there, and allow the Community College system to train those students who wish to enter trade professions.</p>
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<p>I understand the idea, that you want to ensure that all motivated students are able to afford college without having to worry about huge debts, but that’s not the way to do it. See Texas. </p>
<p>Additionally, I do not believe that we as a society should want everyone, or even most people, to go to college. The whole reason why we subsidize education at all in the US is because we believe education will allow people to be more productive and will benefit the country’s economic strength, spur innovation, and increase government tax revenues. Bachelor level education for everyone does not promote this goal. Someone’s gotta be the person to take your order at the drive through, and it really does no good for the country to subsidize that person’s college education.</p>
<p>We were fortunate in having S have grades, STATs & ECs that made him attractive to Us that he was interested in attending. For him, 3 of the Us he applied to offered significant merit aid, valuing about $80K total over the course of 4 years. He tossed out the other Us and we did get the U he most wanted to increase their merit offer by telling them about the competitor’s slightly higher merit award.</p>
<p>D who ended up transferring to that same U after some semesters of CC saved us some tuition by getting some of her GEs at very low prices. It has been worthwhile for her & us. We wish she were offered ANY merit, but she is full pay at that same U. For us, it is hard to allow one kiddo to attend a U but deny sib opportunity to attend same U, even though the out of pocket costs to us are vastly different. We are grateful we can afford to do this.</p>
<p>“I agree. State schools should be free so long as you graduate with a minimum GPA.”
-Put a vote on a ballot, ask taxpayers to cover college education and you will be all set. I am sure they will be very happy to devote good chunk of their income to that in addition to already doing it for k -12 education. k -12 is awesomely successful, so why not follow good example?
The truth is most Merits are covered by private donors, who spoecifically state who should get the awards. The “B” student might get some, but not much. These donors are alumni who wants to see the very top kids in their UG.</p>
<p>I know of one college coach that helped a student get one of their large merit scholarships by encouraging him to take the SAT one more time after he was accepted. That higher score made him eligible for the automatic scholarship. Most people wouldn’t think of taking the SAT again after they were admitted to their favorite college.</p>
<p>After my son picked a college, most of the other colleges where he had been accepted sent him a survey asking him how much aid he was offered from the college he picked. I assume that is common.</p>
<p>I think it’s becoming more common, the ‘shopping’ aspect of it. With D1 back in 2004, it was almost unheard of, but with D2 in 2008, I found that a school that really wanted her kept upping the ante with every phone call, $500 here, $750 there, asking where else she had applied. Completely one-sided. Of course, she ended up attending a school that gave her nothing as an incoming frosh, although she’s gotten a couple of departmental scholarships since then.</p>
<p>You really cannot negotiate, but you can say “no thanks” and vote with your feet, and dollars. Too many students pay less than full fare. Why should I, having come from nothing and receiving no need-based aid back in the day, have to pay more than other parents? Nowadays I would have qualified for a free ride at Harvard. It would be much more egalitarian to lower tuition and fees for EVERYONE and do away with financial aid grants. Imagine private schools at half their present cost, which is where they should be given the outrageous suprainflationary rate at which they have raised tuition and fees. Revenue would remain the same. Many public schools with relatively low tuition and fees have done just this. Loans should be the only financial aid. Merit based scholarships are another thing altogether.</p>
<p>at the school my sisters going to they gave her 60,000 dollars worth of scholarships (through the school) and we got them to bump it to 70 grand.</p>
<p>@AlmaPater, I completely disagree. If someones making 150+ grand a year, I think they can manage to pay 20-30grand tuition (in most cases), while some one with a child just as smart is bringing home 50grand a year should be allowed the same opportunity for there child. </p>
<p>And, not everyone can get a ton of loans. Because of my parents income and because of bad credit due to a foreclosed house, my sister was only allowed 4 grand worth of loans towards her 40,000 dollars due.</p>
<p>Actually, there CAN be SOME room for negotiation, if they REALLY want the student. I & others I know have been able to get our kids dream schools to “sweeten” the pot to increase their merit aid to more closely match or exceed that of schools target school deems “peers.” It made a difference of several thousand over 4 years for us. Some schools even add further merit while kiddo is at their U–this happened for us, so S was “cheaper” each year he attended the U (though it was still a BIG chunk of $$$$).</p>