Scholarship Leverage

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[Goro]

@gonnif

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Hello, so I got accepted into a few medical schools, and tuition cost is a big factor for me. That being said, how do I go about asking for scholarships? I am not in any financial need, but for a few of the schools I got accepted to my academic record is pretty high and I fit their mission very well. In this email, will it bring any leverage if I said that one of the medical schools I got accepted to is local to me (giving them the impression that I am implying that this medical school is cheaper as I wouldn't have to pay rent)? And when is the best time to send this email?

I'm sure there are several ways to go about this, but I would personally send an email talking about how you're excited to begin the medical school career, but want to do your homework on the financial aspect of matriculation so you are fully prepared. Then ask what sort of scholarships are available and how you can become eligible or apply for them. It's a fair question given the price of medical education these days.

Just one thought,

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[KnightDoc]

Hello, so I got accepted into a few medical schools, and tuition cost is a big factor for me. That being said, how do I go about asking for scholarships? I am not in any financial need, but for a few of the schools I got accepted to my academic record is pretty high and I fit their mission very well. In this email, will it bring any leverage if I said that one of the medical schools I got accepted to is local to me (giving them the impression that I am implying that this medical school is cheaper as I wouldn't have to pay rent)? And when is the best time to send this email?

Congratulations on 3 As!! I know a lot of people here would absolutely kill for that, with zero scholarship dollars. With respect to asking for money, you need to realize that, without financial need, nobody really cares that you would like money. In order to be successful, you need leverage, and, to have leverage, you need them to want you (as opposed to someone else willing to pay full price) so much so as to be willing to discount tuition in order to have you attend instead of one of the literally hundreds of candidates eagerly waiting for you to turn down your A so they can grab that seat.

If your stats are high relative to the class and you are otherwise a good fit, you very well might find them offering you money without your having to ask. If that doesn't happen, and if someone else (at a place you are willing to attend) doesn't make you an offer that you can ask them to consider matching, you could very well find yourself turning them off just by asking. Just saying that a local school will have a lower COA due to lower living expenses will probably not get you anywhere. Schools are aware of that, and if they don't want you enough to offer you money before you point that out, what leverage do you have to make the request?

At the end of the day, remember that schools are businesses too, and they need tuition dollars to fund operations. People receive merit scholarships because, for one reason or another, schools really want them. If you don't fall into that category before you ask, how does the mere act of asking change that? Some schools will make an offer to avoid losing you to a rival, but many others will simply wish you luck and pull a grateful candidate willing to pay off the WL.

Personally, I wouldn't consider asking for money unless I had a scholarship offer from someplace else that I was willing to accept if my request was denied.

 

[Detailsmatter]

Wait till you have a scholarship offer from another school and use that as leverage for your #1 choice. That’s what I did and it worked great

 

[strappysandals]

,

 

[KnightDoc]

Thank you for your response, but are you implying that by asking for a lower tuition and "turning schools off", they could rescind my acceptance? I wouldn't be telling them that I would pick another school over theirs if they didn't offer me a scholarship; instead, I would let them know I got into a local school and that I would like to attend their school instead, and ask for lower tuition at that point. In either case, unless I said something offensive, I don't think schools but rescind my acceptance, rather, they would most likely say they will not be able to offer any financial aid.

Not at all -- they won't rescind your acceptance, but you don't want to be in a position where you ask for something, are told "no," and attend anyway.

Without leverage, while of course it doesn't hurt to ask, you won't get the result you want. If you aren't telling them you will pick the less expensive option if they don't come up with some money, then you are simply begging.

They know you want money -- we all do! They didn't give you any because they didn't think they had to, or have no interest in having you attend if it means collecting less tuition dollars than they could get from someone else. It is possible that having another scholarship from a similarly situated school could give you leverage, since you would then be saying you'd rather go to their school, but money is an issue and you'd like some help. It also tells them that a peer school is valuing you more than they are, and you are respectfully asking them to reconsider.

On the other hand, merely stating the obvious (public schools cost less than private schools, living at home costs less than living on campus, etc.) doesn't give you any leverage, and doesn't add any new information, other than that you have a lower cost option. If this is a public vs private situation, you have no leverage because private schools understand public school tuition is lower (IS), and private schools, by their very nature, do not compete with public schools on price. Similarly, top tier don't compete with mid tier, and mid tier don't compete with lower tier. Ironically, while the top schools tend to be more generous with merit scholarships than lower tier schools, they usually don't match offers from lower tier schools.

In the absence of demonstrated financial need, schools just don't discount their tuition in order to subsidize your increased living expenses caused by you not living at home, living in a more expensive location as compared to an alternative, or attending a private or OOS public school instead of an IS public school.

tl;dr - if you don't have financial need, merely having a lower cost option that doesn't involve merit scholarships is not going to motivate a school to give you a scholarship it wasn't going to give you anyway.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Thank you for your response, but are you implying that by asking for a lower tuition and "turning schools off", they could rescind my acceptance? I wouldn't be telling them that I would pick another school over theirs if they didn't offer me a scholarship; instead, I would let them know I got into a local school and that I would like to attend their school instead, and ask for lower tuition at that point. In either case, unless I said something offensive, I don't think schools but rescind my acceptance, rather, they would most likely say they will not be able to offer any financial aid.

Nahh, there is zero harm in tactfully exploring these issues. As far as how to delineate need vs merit scholarships, I would just come out and ask it. Ask about the availability of need and merit scholarships and what resources would be helpful in order to apply for them.

Adcoms and Financial Aid people understand that med school is extravagantly expensive. Just be nice and they will help you as much as they can.

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[openstage]

When do accepted students typically here about financial aid & scholarships? Is there a certain rule of thumb or rough deadline?

 

[Detailsmatter]

When do accepted students typically here about financial aid & scholarships? Is there a certain rule of thumb or rough deadline?

every school is different. some wait until February, some do it soon after an acceptance, and some wait until march ish