You've received financial aid packages from the graduate schools you're considering—and they might not be what you expected. Your aid awards might include grants, fellowships and assistantships, work-study opportunities, and even scholarships, but still could require you to load up on student loans.
If you feel the aid packages at your top choice schools pose too heavy a financial burden for you to carry, consider a step many students may overlook: negotiating.
"I think the problem is with most applicants, they feel so fortunate to get into these schools—and they should—[but] they feel like ... 'If I start negotiating, they'll think I'm ungrateful, and they'll pull my offer,'" explains Afam Onyema, a graduate of Stanford Law School and chief operating officer of the nonprofit GEANCO Foundation.
But, particularly at schools with low acceptance rates, "You're desired; you're wanted; and applicants just don't realize that or don't give it the weight that they should. They go in thinking that this is set by some law that can't be moved up or down."
By taking a different approach, both Onyema and his sister, Ebele, were able to secure more money from Stanford Law School and the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, respectively. Though additional funding is never a guarantee, following these steps might help you, too, in your quest to find more money for graduate school.
1. Take the initiative: Though it might feel uncomfortable to broach the topic of more aid, beginning a dialogue may ultimately make your top choice school more affordable.
When sociology master's student Bob Goodman received a full ride to one institution, he "mentioned" it to officials at his dream school, New Mexico State University, he says. Though Goodman's not sure if it made a difference in the funding package he was later offered at NMSU, he says he'd still recommend other students take a similar approach.
"I've noticed a lot of students are not proactive, but that's one thing I've tried to do," Goodman says. If a school isn't being forthright, "you have to kind of demand it or seek it out yourself."
2. Ask nicely: The way you frame your appeal for more financial aid from your graduate school is crucial, Stanford Law grad Onyema says. Structure the conversation as "I want this to work; how can we make this work?" he recommends, rather than "What can you do for me?"
Let your dream school know it's your top choice without taking a hard line, Onyema recommends. He leveraged larger offers from other schools to get his top choice, Stanford Law, to raise his award from $1,000 a semester to $10,000.
3. Be honest: When reaching out to a school about other offers, don't exaggerate or fabricate your packages, since your top choice might ask for proof.
An honest conversation might even lead to more financial aid than you set out to attain. When one current College of William and Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law student, who asked not to be named, reneged on her plan to attend a master's degree program at the Pennsylvania State University—University Park, she sent the program director an E-mail explaining her decision. The director responded with an offer to cut her tuition in half.
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