Can you negotiate college tuition?

[pixiedustaholic]

By all means, contact the school and try to negotiate a better financial aid package. My DD's 1st choice school actually told us during a visit to be sure we gave them a chance to at least match any other offers DD received. I was really surprised they offered this info. It's worth a shot!

 

[mom2rtk]

You can always ask. And they can always say no. (Now that we've established we're talking about negotiating the aid package and not the tuition itself).

A variety of factors will come into play, not the least of which is how much they want her there. My son had a school that kept sweetening the pot, up to the point where he would have had cash back each semester he was there. Unfortunately they didn't have the degree he wanted, so he had to pass. He did try to see if the other school could do the same thing, but it was a public school and didn't have any latitude at all.

 

[cluvsdisney]

Has your daughter talked to her guidance councilor about scholarships and grants available from other places? I vaguely recall that my friend's daughter had a huge guide of organizations that offer them but she had to put in some serious time to apply to as many as she could. I don't know how much she received overall but every bit helps.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Thanks everyone! I spoke with the college's admissions counselor as well as the financial aid counselor. Both of them were very nice, but they were not willing to budge on the offer. They told me to apply for scholarships from various websites. They did, however, give me the option to change from early decision to regular decision. We may end up going that route and checking out other more affordable colleges in the area. My daughter is visiting a college about 3 hours from home this weekend, so we'll see how she likes that one. She really wanted to be in Florida though. This college has a great reputation, and I'd hate for her to pass on the chance.

 

[NewRVLady]

If she is still looking and you can not afford it-I would definitely change

Can I ask what is so special about this UNI ?
Except for a few very specialized degrees/ or those that get high income immediately ,-I cant see taking on lots of debt if her degree can be had somewhere that gives you more $$

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

She just wants the out of state experience....on/near a beach. It is a top rated college in a safe area. My other daughter is at Arizona State because she also wanted to be someplace warm and to spread her wings and fly so to speak. I know it is a ridiculous reason to attend a college, but both my girls have absolutely no idea what they want to do when they grow up. They just want to have a life enriching experience in a place that is new to them. We have always lived in a small suburban town. I don't blame them for wanting to see the world.

 

[mom2rtk]

She just wants the out of state experience....on/near a beach. It is a top rated college in a safe area. My other daughter is at Arizona State because she also wanted to be someplace warm and to spread her wings and fly so to speak. I know it is a ridiculous reason to attend a college, but both my girls have absolutely no idea what they want to do when they grow up. They just want to have a life enriching experience in a place that is new to them. We have always lived in a small suburban town. I don't blame them for wanting to see the world.

I think it's great when kids have an enriching college experience. But it sounds like cost is an issue. I would never be supportive of taking on college debt to get there. I'd rather they graduate with as little debt as possible then see the world with all the money they'll be making on the job that school experience provides.

 

[bcla]

If she is still looking and you can not afford it-I would definitely change

Can I ask what is so special about this UNI ?
Except for a few very specialized degrees/ or those that get high income immediately ,-I cant see taking on lots of debt if her degree can be had somewhere that gives you more $$

Well - isn't that sort of the way that for-profit universities seems to operate. Get students to take on massive student loans for positions that more than likely won't put the graduate (if they graduate) into a position to pay off the loans.

 

[wilkeliza]

She just wants the out of state experience....on/near a beach. It is a top rated college in a safe area. My other daughter is at Arizona State because she also wanted to be someplace warm and to spread her wings and fly so to speak. I know it is a ridiculous reason to attend a college, but both my girls have absolutely no idea what they want to do when they grow up. They just want to have a life enriching experience in a place that is new to them. We have always lived in a small suburban town. I don't blame them for wanting to see the world.

Red flags for sure on this. If beach, warm weather, and a safe school is what she wants she surely can find something more affordable. A "great" college does nothing for you if you have no clue what you want to do as a school can be a great college but if you decide you want to do something they lack then you are wasting money there. Also the fact the beach was #1 means how much class is she going to skip in order to go use the beach?

 

[NewRVLady]

Wow- I can't imagine going in debt for college when you have no idea what to major in....just that you want to be near a beach

 

[okeydokey]

Well - isn't that sort of the way that for-profit universities seems to operate. Get students to take on massive student loans for positions that more than likely won't put the graduate (if they graduate) into a position to pay off the loans.

I'm not sure the OP said this was a for-profit University, unless I missed it.

 

[bcla]

I'm not sure the OP said this was a for-profit University, unless I missed it.

Mine was a comment in general about student debt. I know of many for-profit colleges that have no qualms about students getting in debt regardless of their ability to graduate or the likelihood of making enough to pay off that debt.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

It is a private non profit.

I really wish my girls had some direction with their goals, but I am at least glad they want to pursue a higher education.

 

[wilkeliza]

It is a private non profit.

I really wish my girls had some direction with their goals, but I am at least glad they want to pursue a higher education.

Honestly I would switch to the RD they offered and look elsewhere. I've only been out of college 3 years and I'm so glad I didn't rack up debt until I knee the degree was in the field I wanted. I found a small private liberal arts college that gave me a full ride (academic based) and explored there. Then when I knew what I wanted to do I transfered to a school with a much better program and got my debt there. My degree doesn't do much but recently started looking at a 2nd degree or masters that paired with my first degree will open doors.

 

[NewRVLady]

It is a private non profit.

I really wish my girls had some direction with their goals, but I am at least glad they want to pursue a higher education.

There is testing you can do....I even bought Career Testing Books that steer you into fields , because of your interest or strong points (math, science, English...etc) look into jobs beyond the typical teacher-nurse-secretary!

My niece is a Chemical Engineer and worked for Merck Pharm for 4 years after college-just got an offer to work for a company to do Field Problem solving as a free lance Engineer-and she's only 26!

My DIL ha s a dual degree in Journalism & Psychology and a Master's in Applied Social Research-there are lots of jobs doing consumer research out there! After 10 years with her "starter job" , she starts a new job next week with an online research company that wants to do "blind testing" in NYC (something she is a expert at doing) AND is giving her Flex days to be with toddler more.

 

[leebee]

So why exactly does your daughter HAVE to go to this school? There are many schools near beaches. The bottom line here is that she is willing to take on huge debt to go to college to get a degree in an unknown area because she wants to be near a beach and "spread her wings?" My DD went to college 5 minutes down the road from home and totally spread her wings. For the first two years I don't think we saw her more than once a month, IF that often. Drop to regular decision, apply to other schools, but do it QUICKLY. The cut-off date for merit money at many schools is mid-December, if it hasn't already passed.

 

[Poohforyou]

Mine was a comment in general about student debt. I know of many for-profit colleges that have no qualms about students getting in debt regardless of their ability to graduate or the likelihood of making enough to pay off that debt.

For profit colleges is a subject for another discussion. I do agree that the value of an education is an important consideration. The example I give my daughter is I'm not paying for Harvard so she can teach nursery school. Luckily neither Harvard or being a nursery school teacher interest her.

 

[PlutoPony]

OP, the school threw you a bone by giving the option to switch to RD.
TAKE IT!!!!!
There is absolutely NO downside to change to RD and it takes the pressure off having to go to this school if she changes her mind. This assumes they stand by their acceptance of her - or are they saying if she goes to RD they will have to accept her with the RD pool? If so, how are her grades + scores for this school?
Do realize that she needs to get apps in really soon if she wants to be considered for some scholarship $, as I recall quite a few schools had Dec 1 deadlines for school apps if you want to be considered for merit $.

Also, my son changed his mind a couple times on which school he wanted to attend - and he knew what he wanted to major in. Spring of senior year a lot of kids we were going back and forth trying to decide on schools. And then financial aid offers came out in Feb/March and caused a lot more changes. We did "due diligence" on schools in his junior year and early senior year. In the end he chose a school he didn't even VISIT until March of his senior year (fortunately he had applied to it on time, mainly to show that he could get there). He's quite happy at the school he chose and in the end he's where he was supposed to be. So be prepared that she may change her mind multiple times and keep her options open. Get out of the ED, apply other places, and see how the cards fall.

Good luck!

 

[okeydokey]

It is a private non profit.

I really wish my girls had some direction with their goals, but I am at least glad they want to pursue a higher education.

If you are looking for a public University at the beach, the University of West Florida is in Pensacola. If you are out of state the tuition can be pricey but at least it is not a predatory College.

 

[NewRVLady]

If you are looking for a public University at the beach, the University of West Florida is in Pensacola. If you are out of state the tuition can be pricey but at least it is not a predatory College.

I agree!!
MY BIL teaches at UNF in Jacksonville-about a 20min drive to beach-cool school