Negotiating with Colleges to get the Best Financial Aid Offfer

College is very expensive in the United States. 

   While a lot of schools offer needs based financial aid which means schools provide you more grants and loans based on your income.  The less you earn the more aid you get.  If you make a lot of money the less assistance you get.  Sounds fair?  If your like many Americans who have survived the downturn in the economy your savings have evaporated.  The college may provide you more assistance if your earning less the amount of money your expected to contribute may no longer be possible.  And doesn't it feel like the more aid is available the more expensive schools become?  Many countries value education so highly that their governments contribute enough to make education either free or very affordable.  Parents do not have to sacrifice their children's education because they can't afford it.  Access to a college education is based on your academic ability.

   Colleges are in competition for students.  Colleges are investing millions to build better and better dorms, school buildings and recreational space to attract students.  Of course that has a cost.  Schools take out loans to build these facilities and pay those loans by raising tuition.  Since there is no law to stop schools from raising their tuitions, most schools raise tuition in the hope that financial aid will help students get into schools with these fancy new buildings. 

   How does the average parent pay for college living at a time where getting a job is more and more dependent on a college education and is getting more and more impossible to pay for it?  While we all wish for free or low cost college education, until that day comes in the United States you can either 1) study in Europe and avoid these outrageous tuitions or 2) negotiate between schools to get the best financial aid packages. 


Go to College in Europe

   Students with good grades can pick from a large choice of schools as good as U.S. schools at half the price or even cheaper than schools here in the United States.  The cost of education is so much less that after considering the cost of flying and housing in Europe, studying abroad is still a lot cheaper.  Studying in Europe has the added benefit of giving your child a broader education.  In the United States a lot of classes are geared toward living and working in the United States.  But the reality is that the world is more global.  We no longer manufacture products only in the U.S., we shop globally, we depend on foreign oil, our U.S. companies need customers from around the world to survive.  In order for your son or daughter to be better prepared for this new reality, an education that provides them a good understanding about the world around us is an important advantage. 

   Quality of life and safety.  Research conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that in 2012, the U.S. had a homicide rate of 4.8 per 100,000 people compared to only 0.3 per 100,000 in Iceland, 0.7 per 100,000 in Sweden, 0.8 per 100,000 in Denmark and Spain, 0.9 per 100,000 in Italy, Austria and the Netherlands, 1.0 per 100,000 in France, and 1.2 per 100,000 in Portugal and the Republic of Ireland. Russia, however, had a homicide rate of 9.2 per 100,000 that year, but overall, one is more likely to be murdered in the U.S. than in Europe.

    Europeans are safer from a food standpoint.  Many Europeans countries genetically modified foods (GMO). While industry lobbyists pour millions of dollars to fight any legislation to limit GMO use in the U.S. food supply in Europe, GMO restrictions are much more widespread. France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Greece are among the countries that have either total or partial bans on GMOs. And in Italy, 16 of the country’s 20 regions have declared themselves to be GMO-free when it comes to agriculture.

   There are many examples and statics available to show how living and studying in Europe is safe, healthy and affordable.  With Skype and other free communication software your able to visit with your child as often as you would like.  Best of all many schools in Europe provide courses in English.  And when your son or daughter come back with their college degree and start work, they have now global business connections since all of their European classmates are now friends and business connections. 

Negotiating a better financial Aid package

   It might seem like we went off on a tangent by talking about studying abroad.  But the reality is people make better decisions including financial decisions when they know all their options.  When your son or daughter receive their college offer letters and the financial aid package being offered, families need to compare many factors before making their decision on what school to go to.  Here are some factors we consider important before making that final decision:

• College rank (the quality of school compared to other schools or other programs);
• Parent contribution (what you have to pay);
• Student loan;
• How much your child will owe when they graduate compared how much they will potentially earn in their desired career;
• Other expenses (transportation, spending money, etc.);

Compare each school's offer, including schools in Europe (or even Asia like Hong Kong). 

Next step is negotiate

   Remember we talked about schools are in competition for students?  Well if the school offered your child a place then they want him or her.  If more than one school sent your child an offer letter then you have multiple schools that want your child.  If you are open to sending your child to Europe then you have many options.  A customer (and that is what you are, an education customer) with options who can buy something in multiple locations can now shop for the best price.  Make sure your comparing apples to apples.  For example a highly ranked school with a very low ranked school is not a fair comparison.  You don't compare Niemen Marcus with Wall Mart.  So you should compare similar quality schools with each other.  Compare parent contribution of one school with an another.   The same with student contribution.  Then if one school offered more scholarship money than loans you can call or write the other school and tell them you got a better offer from the other school.  Ask them if they can match or beat the other school's offer.  Keep in mind that schools have a waitlist which in theory are other students hoping your daughter or son will drop out so that they can be offered a place.  But the fact remains they offered your child a place so they want your child.  So negotiate!

Decide

   After the university has responded with a counter offer or declined to make an offer it is up to you and your child on what to do.  Do you accept the offer with the financial package?  Or comparing the benefits of overseas study does it make more sense to go to Europe instead of accepting the more local offer?  Ultimately the decision is your family's.  But negotiate your price.  You already have experience doing it if you have ever bought a car, a house or gone shopping for something.  If you know you can get the same quality or better for less, why would you pay more?