As offers begin rolling in, it’s time to start playing the game.
Negotiating your seat in b-school is not what it used to be. In the old days, there was little to no negotiation, but in the fast-paced, digital world, both schools and applicants are more savvy.
Playing the game does not mean doing anything unethical.
When negotiating with your target schools, you need to remember one thing above all else: integrity. The fastest way to not only blow your offer, but to potentially blow your chances of going back to any b-school at all is to begin fibbing. Never, ever lie about an offer from another school. Admissions officers all know each other and will definitely find out if your stated offer is legitimate, so don’t even think about fudging the numbers.
Once you have an offer in hand, you can potentially use it to sweeten the offer at another school.
These days, it doesn’t really even matter if you negotiate via email, on the phone, or in person. Simply notify your target school that you have an offer in hand, tell them what it is, and tell them you would prefer to go to their program if they can meet or beat the offer. The key thing to remember here is to know up front where you would prefer to go. Playing schools off each other can backfire, so it’s not really a back-and-forth kind of negotiation opportunity. Decide where you would like to be and then ask that school very straightforwardly if there is any room for a more favorable offer.
Schools have limited pools of fellowship funds, but you never know until you ask.
Most people don’t realize that scholarship and fellowship money is generally coming from fixed endowment funds or expendable funds provided by philanthropic donations. The government (either federal or state) do not generally provide anything but loan opportunities or low-income, financial aid. Merit-based scholarships and fellowships are all flowing from generous donors who are either affiliated with the school or just decided to support it. This means that fellowship and scholarship funds are not unlimited. Still, they will allocate these funds according to where they feel they can make the biggest impact on the incoming class. Perhaps this is with you?
Avoid at all costs going back on your word.
If you tell a school you will go there if they hit a certain number, make sure you actually do so. Changing your mind after you have entered into a verbal commitment will be viewed very poorly and there have been cases where burned admissions offices have been known to notify competing schools of your tactics. Still, the mere mention of another school’s offer can sometimes result in extra support being offered, so never be bashful about playing the game.
For information on how we can guide your business school application process, email us at mba@amerasiaconsulting.com or go to http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/contact