Can You Negotiate Tuition or Financial Aid?

[coffeelover347]

I’m wondering if anyone knows if it is normal to call a med school’s financial aid office to see if they will be able to come down in cost/offer a scholarship non need base? I had to fill out the CSS profile but my parents will not be helping me pay for med school at all (and that is dependent on your parent’s financial information). I have gotten into my two IS med schools and was wondering if the private medical schools would be willing or able to match that cost or at least reduce it a little bit? If not that is fine I just don’t know the answer or if this is even a common thing to do lol? Thanks!

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[Mr.Smile12]

We have a financial aid forum.

Thread 'VIDEO (University of Chicago) Negotiating financial aid for medical school'

Feb 28, 2024

Please let me know if the video disappears. Link added to Becoming a Student Doctor.

• Mr.Smile12
• financial aid negotiation
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Financial Aid

• 

 

[GoSpursGo]

first of all, congrats on your acceptances. You worked really hard to get to this point, and you should enjoy all the rewards that come with earning multiple acceptances.

If it really would help determine where you want to go, it is definitely fair game to ask for more financial aid from one school or the other. But if you choose to do so, please email rather than cold calling. Nobody is going to be able to give you an answer if you put them on the spot.

 

[coffeelover347]

first of all, congrats on your acceptances. You worked really hard to get to this point, and you should enjoy all the rewards that come with earning multiple acceptances.

If it really would help determine where you want to go, it is definitely fair game to ask for more financial aid from one school or the other. But if you choose to do so, please email rather than cold calling. Nobody is going to be able to give you an answer if you put them on the spot.

Got it, thank you so much!

 

[pedneuro6894]

I wanna follow this up with my own question: let's say you have a merit-based scholarship at one school, and the school you want to go to only offers need-based institutional aid. Are you able to leverage in that situation? Asking for a friend lol.

In my head, if both cases are need-based it makes total sense, but using merit-based scholarship money to try and get more need-based aid doesn't seem like it would work. I'm hoping I'm wrong tho.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I wanna follow this up with my own question: let's say you have a merit-based scholarship at one school, and the school you want to go to only offers need-based institutional aid. Are you able to leverage in that situation? Asking for a friend lol.

In my head, if both cases are need-based it makes total sense, but using merit-based scholarship money to try and get more need-based aid doesn't seem like it would work. I'm hoping I'm wrong tho.

As I understand it, need is calculated from your FAFSA and cost of attendance. Merit is something different related to mission fit. I don't know if you can negotiate that trade-off either.

 

[LizzyM]

I wanna follow this up with my own question: let's say you have a merit-based scholarship at one school, and the school you want to go to only offers need-based institutional aid. Are you able to leverage in that situation? Asking for a friend lol.

In my head, if both cases are need-based it makes total sense, but using merit-based scholarship money to try and get more need-based aid doesn't seem like it would work. I'm hoping I'm wrong tho.

Let's look at this from the school's perspective. They raise funds for scholarships and their pitch to donors can be one of two things (or both):
1) we want to attract the best and the brightest to our school, please help us attract them by donating to our merit scholarship fund
2) we want to help students who have had tough breaks in life and need your help in making the dream of medical school a reality.

Now, if a school has raised money to help low income/first generation college students and they are offering that scholarship money to admitted students, what might they think (or even say) when you say, "Top school offered me a $30,000 merit scholarship. I know you give only need based aid and my family income is pretty high. Can you help me out anyway?"

 

[GoSpursGo]

I wanna follow this up with my own question: let's say you have a merit-based scholarship at one school, and the school you want to go to only offers need-based institutional aid. Are you able to leverage in that situation? Asking for a friend lol.

In my head, if both cases are need-based it makes total sense, but using merit-based scholarship money to try and get more need-based aid doesn't seem like it would work. I'm hoping I'm wrong tho.

As @LizzyM said, it's unlikely to work out in your favor. However, you also have nothing to lose by asking, so you may as well try if you actually would attend this need-based school over the merit-based school.

If you're pretty confident about the need based then don't waste everyone's time