Before Accepting Your College Admission, Ask For More Money

Don't click that "I ACCEPT my offer of admission" option UNTIL you have evaluated ALL of your acceptance offers. Sure, you know this is THE ONE! All those other acceptance letters will become kindling at your graduation party bonfire. I get it. But, let's not be foolish with our money when recession talks are looming. If you're fine with paying what you'll pay, then stop reading. But, what if I told you another couple grand off the price PER YEAR might be yours just for the asking, wouldn't you do it?

To understand why this works, you must first understand how important yield is to a college. If you're unfamiliar with the term, read this before moving on! Okay, now that we know how important it is to a college that you accept their offer of admission, let's use that knowledge to our advantage - one that keeps money in your pocket. First, look at all your offers of acceptance AND their scholarship offers. I do not mean their financial aid offers, but rather SCHOLARSHIP offers. Is one college offering you more scholarship money than the one you intend to attend? Then, let's get busy.

You must ask yourself the following questions (some might require a Google search to find answers, but it's out there):

1. Is another college where I've been accepted offering me a better scholarship than my intended school? (This has nothing to do with total cost.) If yes, proceed to 2.

2. Are the schools comparable in US News and World Report College ranking and prestige? If yes, proceed to 3.

3. Is my intended college's yield lower than 50%? If yes, proceed to 4.

4. Does my intended college offer merit scholarships in the first place? If yes, proceed to 5.

5. Do I have 5 minutes to send an email that could result in thousands of dollars? If yes, then let's go! There's no time to waste.

The first step is to download your scholarship offers from any other schools that are comparable to your intended school who offered you more scholarship money. You'll be attaching these documents to your email. Next, find the emails to YOUR college representative in your area, the Director of Enrollment (or the person indicated at the bottom of your acceptance letter), and the general undergraduate admissions department. Your email heading will look something like this:

To: localrep@mytopcollege.edu, enrollmentdirector@mytopcollege.edu

Cc: admissions@mytopcollege.edu

Subject: MY NAME (ID NUMBER ON MY ACCEPTANCE LETTER OR FOUND IN PORTAL)

The body of the email is short and sweet. Write about how you truly want to attend My Top College, but as you weigh your options, you've noticed that scholarships from comparable colleges are offering more money. Thank them for what they've already given you in scholarship, and then simply ask if a bit more could be done to narrow the gap. Mention you've attached those letters as reference. End with hoping you'll hear from them soon and thank them for considering the inquiry. This isn't the time to tell them any updates; you've already been accepted. However, if an update is so HUGE that it merits recognition for more money, then by all means include it as justification (but it has to be HUGE), otherwise, not necessary.

That's it! If you don't hear back from them in a few days, give them a call to follow up and ask if they received your email and the status of your request. The college WILL NOT take anything away from you for asking. Let me say this again: the college will NOT take anything away from you that they've already offered you just for asking!

To be fair, you have to give the college time to respond. I would allow the college at least 5 business days to respond to your email. In today's terms, that means you MUST email them tomorrow, as National Decision Day, May 1, is a week from TODAY!

As a side note, if you're still on the fence about deciding where to go to college in the fall, this method of inquiry also works for EXTENDING the decision deadline beyond May 1.

I think it's worth 5 minutes of your time for the possibility to yield thousands of dollars over 4 years of attendance. If they come back with "that's all we can offer" then fine. Thank them for their consideration, submit your enrollment deposit as planned, and move on. At least you don't have to wonder "what if I never asked?"

If you decide not to heed this advice, well, then more power to you Mr. or Ms. Moneybags!