Seeking your advice and thoughts on negotiating strategy…Son 19 is a sophomore and applied to 7 schools and was accepted by all. They are,
OSU
Clemson
Michigan State
Florida State
Purdue
Tennessee
Rutgers
He has genuine interest in the first 4 with OSU and Clemson being his strong preference as he has done campus visits to and they will accept all of his 32 credits from freshman year. His grades are very good…NHS in high school and Dean’s list both semesters in the freshman year at a state university in Maryland where he was a recruited D3 baseball player.
None of the acceptance letters mention cost of tuition so I’m about to contact the schools and start my inquiries as to the cost. We reside in NY and NJ so he would be considered out of state for all of the schools except Rutgers. I’ve been reading several articles that say enrollments are down at nearly all schools due to COVID and it is a wise move to treat tuition costs the same way as if negotiating an auto purchase… don’t pay list price, negotiate from a position of leverage, use the multiple acceptances as strong suits and take advantage of the present buyers market. Good articles here. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/29/how-to-negotiate-more-financial-aid-and-scholarship-money-for-college.html https://www.fool.com/student-loans/negotiate-college-tuition/
We didn’t complete the FAFSA as friends who did and who are in a similar economic strata and family situation didn’t qualify for any financial aid.
Your thoughts?..thanks in advance.
Colleges lost a lot of money this year, and I think that a not inconsequential number of families of current attendees have suffered financial setbacks too (and are asking for aid), so those who are willing/able to be full pay will have an advantage in admissions next year. I think that means that people who are looking for deals this year are likely to be out of luck. I don’t think colleges have a lot of money to try to outbid each other for students. I think they’re going down their waitlists looking for families who are willing/able to pay. But you can ask.
It doesn’t hurt to ask, all they can say is “no”. However I wouldn’t expect much, if any, additional funding.
Also, the colleges are likely to ask you to complete the FAFSA before they give you any financial aid. Your not having done this earlier is a huge flashing sign to them that you’re fully aware that you are capable of paying 100%. Be prepared to document any changes in your personal finances that indicate otherwise.
While enrollments may be down at some colleges, they may not necessarily be looking to replace those students. If they are planning to return to campus in the fall, they may be looking to thin out for social distancing, more single dorm rooms, etc.
I agree with the above that it’s going to be tough to get money at this point in the game, especially for an OOS public, with no FAFSA completed. Merit awards are not typically available for transfer students. I think if you are instate for Rutgers, that’s your best bet for seeing some $.
I also think that a lot of campuses are looking to de-densify campus so are not looking to have everyone they admitted accept. I believe OSU is no longer guaranteeing housing for transfers.
Purdue had a record yield this year and spent $50 million in covid preparations for the upcoming year so I very much doubt they would be willing to “negotiate” either. This is from Purdue’s FAQ on their financial aid website: "Purdue is unable to match financial aid offers from other schools and does not negotiate aid eligibility. " (My D is a rising junior at Purdue so they’re the school on your list I’m most familiar with).
I think you need to prepare yourself for your child to be full pay but give it a go.
Please circle back and let us know how it went. Good luck.
And for future reference- do NOT go by what friends/siblings have gotten or didn’t get. You may be a public school teacher with a spouse who is a police officer- and your neighbor may be in exactly the same jobs, and your local newspaper publishes a “who makes what” story so you know EXACTLY how much money your neighbor makes.
No. Your neighbor owns an inherited IRA from a great-aunt and gets a mandatory distribution from that asset every year. Your neighbor spends thousands of dollars a year on a treatment for an auto-immune disorder that nobody knows about, but which got “professional judgement” from the Adcoms. You have a money market account worth 12K for your emergency fund-- your neighbors emergency fund is $80, or 120K or non-existent.
Do your own financial aid application if you want to be in a strong negotiating position-- if you have a need, some of the schools on your list may be inclined to listen. If you don’t have a need, this might not be the year to be able to negotiate. And every family’s circumstances are different, you cannot extrapolate. Not everyone is transparent about an inheritance- even if it didn’t change the lifestyle one iota, it can sure change the asset picture. Someone co-owns a beach cottage with three siblings? Their 1/4 share of this “investment property” can sure change their financial aid application!
MSU might be all online so know your facts before attempting to negotiate anything
Incase you have more children… Always I mean always fill out the fafsa. I know too many families that you might consider well off, had kids in private school, drive nice cars and live in “the” neighborhood that got financial aid at some schools and not others. Don’t negotiate against yourself. Don’t reject yourself first let the school decide that.
I don’t think this is great advice. College price is negotiable, but colleges like to feel like they are above the fray of commerce. As quoted in reply #3, some schools like Purdue flat out say they will not negotiate. So one practice is to negotiate without ever mentioning that word or otherwise making it plain.
When negotiating a FA offer for need, one can mention other schools’ more generous offer and ask them to “take another look to see if something was overlooked in their analysis”.
Honestly, you are not in a great position to ask for discounted tuition for many of the reasons stated upthread and others.
–These are all public universities for which your son is a nonresident (except Rutgers). Public universities (except for University of Michigan, which is financially flush but not on your list) are hurting, and state revenue will be greatly impacted going forward as a result of less tax revenue.
–He’s a transfer. In a business sense, their only incentive for having him come is his full out-of-state tuition. Freshmen have more leverage because they contribute to the school’s freshman yield, and a high-stat student will positively impact median scores.
–You didn’t complete FAFSA. As someone upthread said, they now know that you fully expected to pay full tuition and were not relying on a financial aid determination. Indeed, your full tuition might have been a factor in his acceptance.
–Even if you did complete FAFSA, out of state colleges (with few exceptions, such as University of Michigan) do not give need-based aid to out-of-state students.
–Ask, but don’t use the word “negotiation.” They will flat-out deny you.
On many levels I think Rutgers is his best option. It will cost the least to you, and it’s in a state that is doing everything humanly possible to combat the virus. Michigan is also a good state for the virus-prevention measures, but he’d have to fly there and it will cost a lot more. Ohio takes third place. SC, FL, IN, and TN? Not so much. It’s going to spin out of control there, and he’ll be taking classes online at home anyway.