Thrifty Thinking: Negotiating Deals on College

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Howto Negotiate the Best Deal on a College EducationByScott Weingold
It'sa topic that will significantly impact both your child and your bankaccount: how to negotiate the best deal on a college education. Mostparents take this subject lightly, and figure whatever the schoolsend up offering them is the best that they will get. Nothing could befurther from the truth.
Whenyou went to purchase or lease your car, did you accept the firstoffer they made you, or did you look at their price as a “startingpoint” for negotiation? What about when you bought your home? Didyou purchase it at list price, or did you muster up all of yournegotiating skills to try to get the seller to come down in price? Sowhy is college any different?
Eventhe cheapest state schools today will cost you about $13,000 betweentuition, fees, books, room and board, and miscellaneous expenses. Aprivate university can easily cost $34,000-$50,000 a year and up. Nowmultiply those amounts by four. And that doesn’t even includegraduate school!
Acollegeeducationforyourchild(orchildren)isoneofthesinglebiggestinvestmentsyouwillevermakeinyourlifetime.Itmakessensetotreatitlikeanyothermajorpurchase,anddoyourbesttonegotiatethebestpossiblefinancialaidpackage.
Sowheredoyoubegin?Forstarters,yourchildrenshouldbedoingtheirbesttogetgoodgradesinschool.Inaddition,theyshouldbetakingsometypeofreviewcoursetogetagoodscoreontheirSATs/ACTs.
Second,start narrowing down your school choices to colleges and universitieswhere your child lies in the top 25 percent of the applicant pool.This will significantly increase your chances of getting a goodfinancial aid package.
Next,startresearchingschoolsthathavethebestpoliciesongivinggoodfinancialaidpackages.Youwantyourchildtoapplytoschoolsthatwillmeetmostorallofyourfamily’sfinancialneed.Itisalsoimportanttopickschoolsthathaveahistoryofgivingmorefreemoneyandfewerloans.Followthislinktolearnmoreaboutpickingacollegewithagoodfinancialaidpackage.Hint– Pickschoolsthatarewellendowedandhavealotofmoneytogiveouttostudents.Privateschoolstendtohavefarmoremoneyavailablethanstateschoolsdo.Werecommendpickingacoupleofstateschoolsas“safety”schools.Therestshouldbewell-endowedprivateschools.
Fourth,applytoatleastsixtoeightschoolstoinsurethatyourchildgetsagoodofferfromoneortwoofthem.Ifalltheschoolsareofthesameacademiccaliberandsomegiveyouagoodfinancialaidpackage,whileothersgiveyoupoorpackages,itwillallowyoutopitonecollegeagainsttheotherwhennegotiatingforabetterfinancialaidpackage.Schoolsofequalcaliberwilloftentimescompeteforthesamestudentbyofferingaggressivefinancialaidpackages.Besuretotakeadvantageofthis.
Finally, knowyournumbersinadvance.Forexample,doyouknowwhatyour“ExpectedFamilyContribution”is?Itistheminimumamountthatthegovernmentexpectsyoutopaytowardsanyschool.SchoolsdeterminewhattheyaregoingtoofferyoubysubtractingyourExpectedFamilyContributionfromtheir“CostofAttendance.”Thisprovidesthemwithyourfamily’s“FinancialNeed.”
Frequently,schools will offer parents far less than what they were eligible toreceive. Most families don’t dispute this since they have no ideaof what they should have been offered in the first place.Don'tlet this happen to you. Know your numbers in advance. Find out whatyour Expected Family Contribution is. Then, find out the cost ofattendance at each school. Make sure the schools include all costssuch as tuition, fees, books, room and board, living expenses,transportation, and miscellaneous expenses.
Onceyou get these two numbers, calculate your financial need at eachschool, and make sure their financial aid packages meets most or allof your need. If they don’t, call or write the school to discusswhy they “left you short.” Try to create a subtle competitionwith other schools your child applied to.
Rememberto apply to at least six to eight schools. If you follow these steps,you should have no problem getting a great package from at least twoor three of them.
—————————————————————————————————————————————AbouttheAuthor:ScottWeingold,co-founderofCollegePlanningNetworkLLCandpublisherofCollegeMadeSimple.com,isoneofthenation'sleadingauthoritiesoncollegefinancialplanning.Hewasrankedthe#1'CollegeFinancialAidExpertWorthKnowingAbout'inthecountrybyCollegeStats.organdisco-authorofTheRealSecretToPayingForCollege.Asasoughtafterspeaker,ScottcontributeshisexpertisetoCNNMoney,SmartMoney,andReuters,andgivesinsidertipstoparentsdirectlythroughhise-letterCollegeFundingMadeSimple.Formoreinformationandresources,visithttp://www.CollegeMadeSimple.comandhttp://www.CollegePlanningNet.com.ContactScottatinfo@collegeplanningnet.com.