Has anyone succesfully negotiated their private school tuition?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP I have posted before. We have 4 in private and get a discount. Basically we are good for 160k+ a year for a decade. School knocks off about 20k a year. Just talk to them.

Is it a desirable private with a wait list? I would be surprised if a Big 3 would do that, since they don't even have enough spaces for siblings some of the time.

[Anonymous]

We also have four.

If you fill out the financial aid paperwork, at the end it will likely ask you what you would feel comfortable paying. If you feel strongly about this, I would fill it out. We never did because you have to reveal everything about your finances, and since we had a full-time nanny and a part-time housekeeper, I suspected that the school would have expected us to fire them before they gave us aid. We also had substantial savings I wasn't willing to use for school.

In the end, we quit private school. We didn't make quite enough to live the way we wanted to live and pay for it out of pocket, and I didn't feel like it was worth sacrificing for, especially with college at the end of the road.

If a 10-15% discount would have made me feel good about it, though, I would have filled out the paperwork, nanny and all, so that I could make my request.

Despite what everyone is saying here, not only are you a high-pay family with 4 kids, you are a known quantity as a parent. If you are not a PITA, pay your tuition on time, participate in campus life, donate some, etc., etc., they may make the calculation that some small token of a discount is worth what your kids will give back in alumni donations.

The worst that happens is they say no, and you've told them all about your finances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have 4 kids at a 30k a year private school and while we can technically afford it we do not qualify for financial aid and find it fiscally irresponsible. Has anyone had luck going to the school and negotiating a better rate outside of financial aid?

Seriously?

[Anonymous]

4 students from a known family is worth more than trying to fill those spots individually even amid strong demand. I personally think schools are going to be in for a very rude awakening if they don't redesign their tuition models. Maybe not in the next few years, but definitely in the next 5 to 10.

[Anonymous]

I'd be so angry if I knew my financial contributions, touted as being raised for diversity (financially,racially, ethcnically) were used to subsidize the life choices of a current family who could otherwise afford it but think it's a stretch of who can afford for some but maybe not all of their children. Don't have four children if you won't be able to treat them all equally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I have posted before. We have 4 in private and get a discount. Basically we are good for 160k+ a year for a decade. School knocks off about 20k a year. Just talk to them.

Is it a desirable private with a wait list? I would be surprised if a Big 3 would do that, since they don't even have enough spaces for siblings some of the time.

No school that’s in high demand will negotiate its tuition for a rich parent just because they have a lot of kids. There has to be an element of need. Now if it’s a school that has a hard time filling seats, then sure...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:4 students from a known family is worth more than trying to fill those spots individually even amid strong demand. I personally think schools are going to be in for a very rude awakening if they don't redesign their tuition models. Maybe not in the next few years, but definitely in the next 5 to 10.

There are plenty of families with enough money to pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I have posted before. We have 4 in private and get a discount. Basically we are good for 160k+ a year for a decade. School knocks off about 20k a year. Just talk to them.

Is it a desirable private with a wait list? I would be surprised if a Big 3 would do that, since they don't even have enough spaces for siblings some of the time.

Yes and we have had this relationship for years. As others have said we are a sure thing with kids in the school for decades. I will say that their tuition has gone up but our discount hasn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I have posted before. We have 4 in private and get a discount. Basically we are good for 160k+ a year for a decade. School knocks off about 20k a year. Just talk to them.

Is it a desirable private with a wait list? I would be surprised if a Big 3 would do that, since they don't even have enough spaces for siblings some of the time.

Yes and we have had this relationship for years. As others have said we are a sure thing with kids in the school for decades. I will say that their tuition has gone up but our discount hasn’t.

Everyone has a different definition of what constitutes a "desirable private." But I'm willing to bet that you're not talking about a Big 3 school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you should talk to the school. What do you have to lose? I would think the school would want to work with you rather than face the possibility of losing four spaces.

That depends. At many DC area schools, they have a long line of kids waiting to take those four spaces.

OP to answer your question, I have a friend who successfully did this but she lives in a smaller city that is oversaturated with private schools, and thus it is a buyers market. Not so here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4 students from a known family is worth more than trying to fill those spots individually even amid strong demand. I personally think schools are going to be in for a very rude awakening if they don't redesign their tuition models. Maybe not in the next few years, but definitely in the next 5 to 10.

There are plenty of families with enough money to pay.

+ 1 Including families with 4 kids. We are one of them. OP is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I have posted before. We have 4 in private and get a discount. Basically we are good for 160k+ a year for a decade. School knocks off about 20k a year. Just talk to them.

Is it a desirable private with a wait list? I would be surprised if a Big 3 would do that, since they don't even have enough spaces for siblings some of the time.

Yes and we have had this relationship for years. As others have said we are a sure thing with kids in the school for decades. I will say that their tuition has gone up but our discount hasn’t.

Everyone has a different definition of what constitutes a "desirable private." But I'm willing to bet that you're not talking about a Big 3 school.

If it makes you feel better you can think what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I have posted before. We have 4 in private and get a discount. Basically we are good for 160k+ a year for a decade. School knocks off about 20k a year. Just talk to them.

Is it a desirable private with a wait list? I would be surprised if a Big 3 would do that, since they don't even have enough spaces for siblings some of the time.

Yes and we have had this relationship for years. As others have said we are a sure thing with kids in the school for decades. I will say that their tuition has gone up but our discount hasn’t.

Everyone has a different definition of what constitutes a "desirable private." But I'm willing to bet that you're not talking about a Big 3 school.

If it makes you feel better you can think what you want.

Sure ok. But without the name of your school and your own name, you could just be blowing smoke. And if you are telling the truth, congrats on negotiating the bulk discount on your kids' education, even though you can afford it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4 students from a known family is worth more than trying to fill those spots individually even amid strong demand. I personally think schools are going to be in for a very rude awakening if they don't redesign their tuition models. Maybe not in the next few years, but definitely in the next 5 to 10.

There are plenty of families with enough money to pay.

Of course. And plenty of those families get turned down. Money isn't everything. Having good quality students and a dedicated family is worth more. The schools aren't that craven yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4 students from a known family is worth more than trying to fill those spots individually even amid strong demand. I personally think schools are going to be in for a very rude awakening if they don't redesign their tuition models. Maybe not in the next few years, but definitely in the next 5 to 10.

There are plenty of families with enough money to pay.

Of course. And plenty of those families get turned down. Money isn't everything. Having good quality students and a dedicated family is worth more. The schools aren't that craven yet.

Why on earth would they give a discount to a multi-child family who can afford to pay and doesn't want to? There are plenty of kids waiting for their spots. Don't overthink your value to them.