Do schools match merit scholarships?

[Chinorean]

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So I was offered a scholarship to go to a good medical school, but I think that it may not be the medical school for me. Should I tell the other schools that I was offered this scholarship to see if they will match it, or is that considered bad taste? Has anyone else done this?

 

[astrife]

I would consider it smart... although I'd still be kinda scared to do it...

It's done with undergraduate schools alot

 

[riceman04]

So I was offered a scholarship to go to a good medical school, but I think that it may not be the medical school for me. Should I tell the other schools that I was offered this scholarship to see if they will match it, or is that considered bad taste? Has anyone else done this?

Yes I say go for it. I know many people who "claim to have done it" and said that that tactic really worked out for them. All they can do either way is tell you no...but if you dont ask you'll never know.

good luck

 

[njbmd]

Hi there,
If you do not think that you will do well at your scholarship school, it is going to be difficult to keep your scholarship. I had a full-ride tuition scholarship that was offered to me by my #2 school. The scholarship moved my #2 to my #1 very quickly but I knew that I wanted to be there. Had one of the schools that I did not want to attend, offered me a full-ride scholarship, I don't know what I would have done. Figure out why you do not want to be at the school that offered you the scholarship and figure out if your reasons outweigh being nearly debt-free when you are done with four years.

I graduated from medical school owing about $40K which was much better than owing $250K and now my decision proved to be a correct one as I am going through residency and looking at negotiating my first job outside of residency. It wasn't my medical school that mattered so much as my performance there. In the end, I did well and I don't owe that much.

njbmd

 

[bigdan]

I would encourage you to try to get something from your number one school, *tactfully* using the scholarship-in-hand as leverage.

One might be able to state your interest in school number 1 but say that it will be hard to turn down the great offer from school 2, and see if there is any money that might be available to you.

It DEFINITELY works.

Good luck in whatever you choose, and congrats on the scholarship.

dc

 

[Centinel]

So I was offered a scholarship to go to a good medical school, but I think that it may not be the medical school for me. Should I tell the other schools that I was offered this scholarship to see if they will match it, or is that considered bad taste? Has anyone else done this?

Unless your #1 school is an Ivy, you'll be fine. However, the Ivies do not give merit aid; they give the Golden Handshake. Maybe they will find a way to decrease your 'estimated family contribution', of course.

 

[tigress]

I tried this, sort of. It was a combination of things, but I did try to get a school to give me money because of a few factors, including that I have a scholarship possibility somewhere else. It may have worked, but this school doesn't give ANY merit scholarships! So then I looked into it, and a I was quite surprised by how many schools do not offer any merit aid at all. As a matter of fact, of the 4 schools I sent my FAFSA to, I know that 2 of them do not have any merit scholarships, 1 of them I think doesn't, and the other does.

Anyway, it can't hurt to try (tactfully), but just know that if they say no it may very well be because they simply don't have merit aid to begin with.