"… Most families sending a child off to college for the first time don’t realize that paying the sticker price for college isn’t a foregone conclusion. With that in mind, there is room to get some discounts and more financial aid which has prompted some to turn to help. After all, filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is complicated enough, but appealing for an aid package from a school can be downright impossible. Despite the difficulty, pulling it off can save big bucks.
Take a professional college tuition haggler, Joel Peck. The certified public accountant who advises on college admissions told the New York Times that haggling could lower the cost of tuition by anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000. With the prospect for some serious discounts, some families are paying for professional hagglers—Peck charges as much as $1,300—which is well worth it if families can save several thousands of dollars in tuition each year." …
https://lendedu.com/news/students-hiring-hagglers-to-negotiate-financial-aid-packages/
Oh, good heavens. The day I get a call from a professional haggler is the day I quit financial aid. They don’t pay me enough to deal with this …
Aren’t there legal issues involved in discussing financial aid with someone who isn’t the student?
Do these hagglers actually call the university on your behalf, or do they give you advice on how to best do it on your own? It seems to me that universities may not be receptive to hearing from professional hagglers. The article wasn’t very in depth about it.
Well, this doesn’t surprise me. I’d tell the “agent” to take a long walk off a short pier, if I were a financial aid person. Does your son or daughter want to go to school here or not. No soup for you! Next!
Maybe the haggler provides the written words for the parent/student to put in a letter/email? Or provides verbiage for telephone convos?
I’ve helped many people here on CC get more money, and I haven’t had to talk to any of their FA people. I’ve provided verbiage and (soft) arguments as to why more money is needed/warranted. I’ve written things up for them that they use in their letters.
(I don’t charge…lol)
Joel Peck basically only tells you that you should negotiate directly with colleges for financial aid and provides you with their history of awards which is directly available to you for no charge at BigFuture.com. The only haggling Joel does is to get you to pay him for money and then he is very hard to get in touch with via email, texts, or calls. DO NOT USE as he is a waste of time and money.