What if someone Withdraws from a school that gave a scholarship?

[little_giant]

If someone was accepted to school A that gave her a $100K scholarship and she decides to attend another school, does that school's scholarship money now go to an already accepted student? Or would it go to someone on the waitlist (aka an applicant who was just accepted bc the previous student withdrew)?

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[jhmmd]

Uh, that wouldn't be a good move. LOL

 

[deleted972488]

It's likely school-dependent, but some schools offer scholarships accounting for the fact that some % of people will turn them down and therefore do not re-allocate the funds.

 

[deleted988749]

people will likely look at this thread and scoff thinking it's a dumb question, but it is actually really interesting. If it does go to those off the waitlist, perhaps schools forgot about the people they already accepted. So to get more aid, it would be smartest to appeal right after decision day.

 

[lanzhou_lamian]

It's probably school dependent, but one school I was negotiating aid with said they do both. They may offer scholarships to those off the waitlist, but also will re-evaluate aid packages of current admits depending on what money becomes available.

 

[rosegoldkitten]

For me this cycle, I was accepted in January without a scholarship to a school. I didn't get a scholarship there until very close to the end of April so my assumption is that someone turned them down and funds were reallocated to me? But who knows.

 

[little_giant]

For me this cycle, I was accepted in January without a scholarship to a school. I didn't get a scholarship there until very close to the end of April so my assumption is that someone turned them down and funds were reallocated to me? But who knows.

Did you request more aid from the school? Or did you randomly open your package and find a pleasant surprise?

 

[little_giant]

Uh, that wouldn't be a good move. LOL

Could be a good move if the school she decided to attend gave her more money

 

[jhmmd]

Could be a good move if the school she decided to attend gave her more money

This isn't what scholarships are intended for--pitting schools against each other. If you become a doctor, you'll be able to pay off your loans. Period.

 

[rosegoldkitten]

^^ Tell that to NYU

Did you request more aid from the school? Or did you randomly open your package and find a pleasant surprise?

Nope! I didn't request any. I assumed I wouldn't get any. I got a random phone call with a pleasant surprise. It ended up being more money than my other offers so I took it and CTE!

 

[little_giant]

This isn't what scholarships are intended for--pitting schools against each other. If you become a doctor, you'll be able to pay off your loans. Period.

No one in that hypothetical scenario was pitting school A vs B. She just chose to attend the school that gave her more financial aid so she wouldnt have as much of a financial burden

 

[deleted688779]

This isn't what scholarships are intended for--pitting schools against each other. If you become a doctor, you'll be able to pay off your loans. Period.

I would argue the ability to negotiate is part of what little power applicants/students have in this...very nice process.

Applicants should use whatever cards they have. Period.

Even if we put aside notions of social justice, economic equality, “applicant rights”, etc, medical schools (and their supporters on this forum) often cite principles of economics to justify pitting applicants against each other and the power disparity between the school and the applicant. In a similar manner, this is simply applicants using the those same concepts against medical schools. I mean...we’re already gonna be treated as cogs in a wheel in the near future, at the very very least we can try to lower our debt lol

 

[KnightDoc]

This isn't what scholarships are intended for--pitting schools against each other. If you become a doctor, you'll be able to pay off your loans. Period.

Really? What are they intended for? To reward academic achievement? Honestly, that's really more from organizations that don't tie an award to spending it at a particular institution, like United Way or National Merit. Merit scholarships from schools are another term for tuition discount, and are used solely to attract students with particular attributes (GPA, MCAT, geography, tuition discounts elsewhere, other desirable distinguishing characteristics, etc. ) away from peer institutions. Med school is no different from UG in this regard.

They are totally to pit schools against each other!!!! VERY few schools (HMS comes to mind) refuse to play, and those doing so are strong enough to not need it (like HMS), lack the funds, or are just okay losing attractive candidates to other schools, which happens every year. Very few people are wealthy enough to not have finances play a significant role in their decision. Schools are very well aware of this, and use money to pit themselves against other schools to be competitive for the applicants they want.

Even esteemed institutions like Penn and UCLA engage in the practice. If they didn't, NYU would be enrolling its pick of top students in the country that weren't eligible for significant need-based aid elsewhere, to an even greater extent that it is currently.

And yes, pretty much any doctor can pay off student loans. Period. But that's not the point. All things equal, I'd rather not have a $200-500,000 debt to service after med school if someone is willing to allow me to receive the education without it.

 

[StudentDoGter]

[

^^ Tell that to NYU



Nope! I didn't request any. I assumed I wouldn't get any. I got a random phone call with a pleasant surprise. It ended up being more money than my other offers so I took it and CTE!

+1

 

[proudofmykids]

I would argue the ability to negotiate is part of what little power applicants/students have in this...very nice process.

Applicants should use whatever cards they have. Period.

Even if we put aside notions of social justice, economic equality, “applicant rights”, etc, medical schools (and their supporters on this forum) often cite principles of economics to justify pitting applicants against each other and the power disparity between the school and the applicant. In a similar manner, this is simply applicants using the those same concepts against medical schools. I mean...we’re already gonna be treated as cogs in a wheel in the near future, at the very very least we can try to lower our debt lol

Really? What are they intended for? To reward academic achievement? Honestly, that's really more from organizations that don't tie an award to spending it at a particular institution, like United Way or National Merit. Merit scholarships from schools are another term for tuition discount, and are used solely to attract students with particular attributes (GPA, MCAT, geography, tuition discounts elsewhere, other desirable distinguishing characteristics, etc. ) away from peer institutions. Med school is no different from UG in this regard.

They are totally to pit schools against each other!!!! VERY few schools (HMS comes to mind) refuse to play, and those doing so are strong enough to not need it (like HMS), lack the funds, or are just okay losing attractive candidates to other schools, which happens every year. Very few people are wealthy enough to not have finances play a significant role in their decision. Schools are very well aware of this, and use money to pit themselves against other schools to be competitive for the applicants they want.

Even esteemed institutions like Penn and UCLA engage in the practice. If they didn't, NYU would be enrolling its pick of top students in the country that weren't eligible for significant need-based aid elsewhere, to an even greater extent that it is currently.

And yes, pretty much any doctor can pay off student loans. Period. But that's not the point. All things equal, I'd rather not have a $200-500,000 debt to service after med school if someone is willing to allow me to receive the education without it.

I have seen significant success negotiating with competitive schools, both before and after PTE April 30 deadline.

Some schools actually refer to these ‘awarding of funds’ as Recruiting Scholarships, other call them Tuition Scholarship, and some Merit Scholarship.
Very obvious tool to help them land and Shape the class they desire. At more competitive schools, it seems to me like they actively try to maintain and influence the shape of the desired class (SES, stats, geo, URM etc).

Best of luck in everyone’s negotiations. And if you get off a WL with your number one choice, still have the confidence to negotiate, the offer won’t be withdrawn, you have nothing to lose, and it won’t be held against you (as long as you are polite and factual).

 

[LizzyM]

The scholarship money is all play money until the student actually matriculates. The school can offer far more money than they have on hand for scholarships so the fact that the offer was turned down doesn't mean that they actually have cash for someone else.