Right about now, the high school seniors you know are likely more eager than ever to open their mailboxes.
While those bulky envelopes can bring thrilling news — you, yes you, are headed to college! — they sometimes contain a letdown as well.
Is that all I received in aid? This is going to cost me WHAT?
If you’re planning to go to college in the next few years, keep reading.
Below are five professional tips to shrink your college expenses both before and after you receive acceptance letters.
1. Polish Your Application
Most of these tactics won’t work if your test scores and GPA are low. Like any negotiation, you need leverage — in this case, being a high-achieving applicant.
Craig McMahon understood that long before his daughter submitted her applications.
He not only made sure she attended a school with a strong academic culture, he and his wife also cut out television and social media on weeknights to craft an ideal homework atmosphere.
His daughter finished high school with a 4.25 GPA. When she applied to Arizona State University, she received an invitation to the honors college, reserved for the top 5% of students.
“That’s when the scholarships came to her,” McMahon recalls.She earned a full ride, and McMahon now teachesa courseabout his family’s approach.
(For more on scholarships, read this piece about how one mom helped her son secure $100,000.)
2. Understand the Figures
Did your financial aid package fall short of expectations? Want to negotiate with your school’s financial aid office?
Hans Hanson, founder of College Logic and the author of Dissecting the Big Business of College, has advice that might surprise you.
“Financial aid offices tell me that only one in 100 families knows how [to negotiate],” Hanson says. “It’s not about phoning to gripe over costs; it’s about understanding the numbers and using them.”
The crucial figure to know is the college’s “percentage of need met,” which you can locate with a quick search on College Data.
Why does that matter? When you complete the FAFSA, the government calculates your expected family contribution (EFC). The gap between that figure and the college’s price is your “demonstrated need.” Each college pledges to cover a certain portion of that need.
It’s a bit complex, but Hanson’s example clarifies it.
College XYZ
- Percentage of need met: 75%
- Cost per year: $50,000
- Your EFC (what FAFSA says your family can pay): $30,000
- Your demonstrated need (difference between cost and EFC): $20,000
Since College XYZ reports meeting 75% of demonstrated need, you should anticipate an award of $15,000.
“If your grant is under $15,000,” Hanson says, “you can appeal on the grounds that your award falls short of the college’s published percentage of need met. You appeal to claim your rightful portion.”
Smart, right? So don’t just call the aid office to gripe about sticker price; that’s a common move. Arm yourself with the facts, and you’ll have a much stronger chance of obtaining extra assistance.
3. Negotiate with Admissions
The financial aid office can only adjust need-based aid; it can’t increase merit scholarships. That’s the admissions office’s territory.
After acceptance, Hanson recommends telling admissions what it would take for you to enroll.
“The admissions office has one mission — to turn acceptances into enrollments,” Hanson explains. Its main lever is merit-based aid.
When talking with admissions, the stat to know is the school’s conversion rate, or the percentage of admitted students who actually matriculate. (You can find these on College Data.)
“The lower a college’s conversion rate, the more it must deploy merit awards to entice families to enroll,” Hanson says.
He compares two institutions similar in cost, quality, location and feel: Marist College and Quinnipiac University.
Marist College
- Acceptance rate: 45%
- Conversion rate: 35%
Quinnipiac University
- Acceptance rate: 70%
- Conversion rate: 15%
Because Quinnipiac “needs to award heftier scholarships to hit its target enrollment,” Hanson notes the typical award there is about twice the size of Marist’s.
Of course, the institution won’t volunteer that information.
“If parents aren’t aware of this, they’ll end up paying more to the school’s satisfaction,” Hanson says. “That’s just how it is.”
4. Use Competing Scholarships as Bargaining Chips
Another admissions tactic involves fostering a bit of competition.
Did a rival, comparable college offer a larger scholarship? Present that offer as leverage. Keep in mind this is a formal appeal, and you’ll need to provide documentation of the higher award.
Hanson recalls a client who was awarded $14,000 by their top-choice college but received $25,000 from a similar school.
“After submitting an appeal that included the $25,000 award from the other college, the preferred school bumped their scholarship to $21,000,” he says.
“When the family indicated that a bit more would be required to commit, the admissions office added an extra $1,100.”
Across four years, that extra funding tallied $32,400 — and the student got to attend their first-choice campus.
Also consider reading up on negotiation strategies to strengthen your approach when discussing offers with colleges.
5. Confirm Your Credits Transfer
Once you’re on campus, if you discover some AP or prior college credits weren’t applied, don’t vent on social media — go to your dean’s office.
David Greenberg, president of Parliament Tutors, persuaded his dean that his previous college courses and AP credits should exempt him from certain introductory classes.
Because of that, he graduated a semester early — saving nearly $20,000. He acknowledges this may not work everywhere, but wisely notes: “You’ll get ‘no’ for all the questions you never ask.”
Your Turn: Were you aware you could haggle over college costs? Will you give it a try?
