Advice Please On Negotiating

Question

I have a friend who was offered a pretty big scholarship to school X, and a small scholarship to school Y. He asked school Y if they could match school X, and they obliged. Both of these schools are ranked about the same (around mid-30s).

Would it be insane for me to ask Stern if they could match the offer I received from BU? BU is basically a full-ride (maybe closer to 90-something percent scholarship). Would Stern just laugh at me, or is it worth asking?

DJM · Answer

I would ask, but make sure your tone is not: 'match this or go sc**w urself'. Realistically, I doubt that they will match your other offer.

However, you might get something out of NYU.

pelihu · Answer

I'd guess that they would only consider something like this if they were bidding against a peer school. It can't hurt to ask, as long as you don't piss them off.

johnnyx9 · Answer

I do plan to be as polite as possible. 

I wonder if it would be worth also mentioning the huge difference in cost of living. My rent in Boston is $700/month, NY will be about double that.

agsfaltex · Answer

I don't think that is legitimate ammo, your asking for money simply based on financial expenses. You need to put your merit forward. See if you can mention anything that has happened since you applied/interviewed...perhaps a promotion at work or the completion of a class or even some additonal community involvement.

Simply saying it's more expensive than Boston could be counterproductive.

kidderek · Answer

Wow, it's worth a shot. Good luck!

Ozmba · Answer

Go for it !!

You never know until you ask, at max. they might deny the request but not asking will leave you "What would have been "

All the best

Cheers

johnnyx9 · Answer

I really don't have anything impressive to inform them of, no promotions or anything. Plus at this point I feel like that might seem silly, saying basically, "I know you're interested in me, but I'm an even better candidate now, how much is that worth to you?"

Although I do agree that merit scholarships are based on just that sort of thing. 

Maybe I shouldn't mention the name of the other school and just say that "another program" has offered my blah blah blah.

rhyme · Answer

EXACTLY right. Merit Merit Merit. Highlight what you've done that requires reconsideration - not cost of living.

johnnyx9 · Answer

Really? Hypothetically speaking, if I had recently been promoted, then you think I should approach it like, "I just wanted to let you know that I was recently promoted, and I was hoping that the admissions office would be willing to reconsider my eligibility for merit scholarship..." or something along those lines?

I don't know why that seems odd to me, but I guess if that's the way it works.

Thanks for everyone's advice, as always much appreciated.

lepium · Answer

There's 2 type of scholarships: 

1) Need based : prove you are poor and you'll get it.
2) Merit based: the school wants you more than the average applicant. (used to manage yield / class profile).

If Stern's scholarships are merit based, then you should take the advice given to you by rhyme and agsfaltex. I'm not sure how to efficiently execute such a strategy, talk to someone who has been succesful.

Cheers. L.

3underscore · Answer

Johnny - I would be careful on trying to get them to match BU, or giving them the impression that is what you are after. I could see that getting their back-up, especially (in hjort's assessment) BU is a lower school.

You should ask, try and see if you can get something, but going form  nada  to ask for a free-ride seems to stretch the hopes a little.

Obviously all the merit based chat is useful. Arguing it is more expensive to live in NYC? I can't see anyone falling for that, or yourself coming out great. Everyone knows NYC is expensive, so raising the issue could give the impression you don't really know what you are letting yourself in for by going there.

Although Admissions are now on the sell side rather than the buy, they are people you will interact with at school, and people involved in a lot of what goes on (there is a lot of student involvement in the Admissions Office as you are likely aware). 

So, what am I trying to say? Not sure. 2nd round Stern has less scholarships, but some. So if you have zero now, asking them about it, or leveraging against BU, isn't likely to get you the near free ride at BU. It might get you something though, and is definitely worth making them aware of - I doubt it is something you have informed them of, and may sway them a little.

johnnyx9 · Answer

3Underscore,

Points taken. I guess it would sound naive to be whining about the difference in the cost of living. 

Thanks!

rhyme · Answer

I would put it this way...

 * Although clearly Stern is my choice, a full ride offer from a lower ranked school does complicate the decision, particularly given the high tuition and cost of living. 
 * I would respectfully request the admissions committee reconsider any tuitiion assistance for me... 
 * I base this request on:

 * Change at work A, promotion whatever
 * Something I can bring to Stern 
 * Some other differentiator thats non academic, specific leadership oriented crap that you hope to do while at Stern
 * Something else you can bring to Stern

* I would also reiterate Stern is my top choice

Something like thta.

johnnyx9 · Answer

Rhyme,

That's very helpful, thanks for the suggestion!

rhyme · Answer

Does the seesaw represent some kind of metaphorical simile to your current state of mind re choosing schools?

johnnyx9 · Answer

You got it!

3underscore · Answer

I hope they make the decision easier for you Johnny. I am sure you have enough things to use in the way rhyme suggests. 

It is all about tact you see, and that is where I would struggle - I suppose my advice reflects my own understanding of how I would screw it up.

johnnyx9 · Answer

I hear you 3underscore. It is a delicate situation and I do need to be careful not to come across like a used car salesman trying to haggle with them over something that in many people's view, is an amount of money that will seem insignificant compared to the lifetime earnings an MBA will facilitate.

squali83 · Answer

Johnny, 

I wanted to let you know I just finished going through this with Vanderbilt. I was offered a 60K scholarship to Rice and wanted to see what Vanderbilt could offer other than my original 20K scholarship. I emailed the director of admissions, who then called and we chatted and I re-iterated what I had said in my email and how I really enjoyed my visit at Vandy and made sure that he knew they were my #1. Anyway, I heard back from them last night and they doubled my scholarship to 40K! So, emailing is not a big No No, to initiate the negotiation. I felt that way I could make sure I covered all I wanted to since I had enless time to compose it. Here is a copy of the email I sent:

Director Roeder, 

Recently, I have received admission decisions from multiple MBA programs. I was very pleased when I received Vanderbilt's decision. I have grown very fond of the school during my visit, interview and other time spent on campus. Vanderbilt, through the aforementioned exposure and research I have conducted, has clearly become my first choice school to attend in the fall. I feel that Owen is a perfect fit for me and have been thoroughly impressed with all my interactions with the school.

However, recently I have found myself stressed to make a decision as where to attend this upcoming year. As early stated I loved Owen and ultimately would love to attend there. However, I received a $60,000.00 scholarship to attend a comparable program. While, this program is not my first choice school, I am finding it very hard to financially justify attending Owen and incurring a substantial amount of extra debt. I respectfully ask if there is supplemental funding Owen may have to grant towards my studies, in order to limit the stress I place on financial considerations when deciding where to attend. Thus, I can weigh the more important factors, and ultimately end up at my first choice school, Owen. 

I appreciate your time taken to read this letter as I am sure you are still extremely busy. I look forward to hearing from you as soon as you have a chance to respond. As always, thank you for your time.

Respectfully, 


XXX

Advice Please On Negotiating

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