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steadily declined</a> over the last seven years, so colleges need students now more than ever. This puts students in a good position to negotiate college tuition.</p>
<p>Here are seven tips on how to negotiate lower college tuition:</p>
<h3>Wait to Pay Your Deposit</h3>
<p>Start negotiations before you pay your deposit. A school has little reason to work with you if you’re already financially committed to attending. Wait to pay the deposit until after you negotiate a better deal. </p>
<h3>Start Your College Applications Early</h3>
<p>Negotiating college financial aid packages takes time because a lot needs to happen before you’re even ready to negotiate. You first need to apply to colleges and scholarships, get accepted by colleges, <a href=https://plexuss.com/n/"https://plexuss.com/news/article/filing-the-fafsa-everything-you-need-to-know">file the FAFSA</a>, and review your financial aid awards. Then, you only have the time between when you receive the award letters and when the deposit is due—typically May 1—to negotiate. </p>
<p>The early you get in your applications and file your FAFSA, the more time you leave for negotiation.</p>
<h3>File a Financial Aid Appeal Letter</h3>
<p>A financial aid appeal letter is different than negotiating college tuition as not everyone is eligible to appeal their financial aid award. To appeal your financial aid award, you need a compelling reason—typically something that the school doesn’t already know about. Here are some common reasons for appealing your financial aid package: </p>
<ul>
<li>Burdensome medical or dental expenses</li>
<li>Death of a parent</li>
<li>A parent losing their job</li>
<li>Parents getting divorced</li>
<li>Natural disaster that resulted in losses for your family</li>
<li>You have a sibling with special needs</li>
<li>You care for a child with special needs</li>
</ul>
<p>For dependent students, your financial aid package is heavily dependent on your family’s finances. For that reason, parents should write the financial aid appeal letter. Parents need to supply appropriate documentation and a concise explanation—bullet pointing your main points is recommended. Before taking any action, contact the school’s financial aid office to inquire about their specific guidelines.</p>
<p><img src=https://plexuss.com/n/"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/asset.plexuss.com/news/images/college-tuition-discounts.jpg" alt="College Tuition Discounts" width="400" height="250" /></p>
<h3>Ask about a College Tuition Discount for Siblings</h3>
<p>Are you going to the same college as your sibling? Do you have two kids at the same school? Bring that to the attention of the financial aid office. Some colleges offer automatic discounts to families with more than one student enrolled. For example, <a href=https://plexuss.com/n/"https://plexuss.com/college/johnson-wales-university-charlotte">Johnson and Wales University</a> offers $2,000 off yearly tuition costs for each simultaneously enrolled sibling. Other college tuition discounts for siblings range from 10% to 50% off for each student.</p>
<p>You might not find this information on the college’s website, so it’s best to reach out to the school directly. </p>
<h3>Use Other Financial Aid Packages as Leverage</h3>
<p>Did a comparable school offer you more need-based or merit-based financial aid money? You can use that to your advantage when you negotiate with your first-choice college. This approach tends to work best when leveraging a private college financial aid award against another private college financial-aid award. Private colleges tend to have larger endowments, which makes successfully negotiating college scholarships and tuition discounts easier.</p>
<p>During your phone or in-person meeting with the financial aid office, open up about the scholarship, grant, or loan money you were offered at another school. Make it clear that their college is your first choice but that you simply cannot afford it. Ask what they can do for you to make going to their college more affordable. It’s likely that you’ll have money added to your need-based or merit-based scholarship.</p>
<p>Financial aid negotiation is a big reason why <a href=https://plexuss.com/n/"https://plexuss.com/news/article/how-many-colleges-should-i-apply-to">applying to several colleges</a> is a good idea. If you only get into one school because you didn’t apply to enough schools, you won’t have anything to use as leverage.</p>
<h3>Run the Numbers</h3>
<p>You need to know what you’re asking for. Odds are, the financial aid office isn’t going to give you enough aid to cover the entire cost of attendance. Go into your meeting with a number in mind. Saying “we’ll take whatever you’ll give us” isn’t enough. The person you meet with may need permission from their boss before offering a discount. If they can give their boss hard numbers like “this family needs $4,500 more in aid to be able to send their student here,” it’s a lot more convincing.</p>
<h3>Set up a Meeting with the College’s Financial Aid Office</h3>
<p>Regardless of your reasons for negotiating college tuition, its best to present your case in person. Email, phone, and video calls can work, but a face-to-face meeting is ideal. It’s important to set up the meeting in advance and not to storm into the office unannounced. Many schools even have time set aside during accepted student preview days where parents can speak with a financial aid counselor.</p>
<p>Parents should take the lead with this meeting. Bring along a copy of the student’s current financial aid award package as well as any supporting documents. This might include new SAT scores, an updated GPA, proof of job loss, and/or financial aid award letters from other colleges.</p>
<p>Negotiating college financial aid packages doesn’t have to be intimidating. Just go into it with confidence. You have nothing to lose and possible college tuition discounts to gain.</p>
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