Students bargain over aid

Financial aid awards are often a crucial factor in an applicant's decision to enroll at a college, but now the tables may be turning as students pit schools against each other to receive more money.

Last week, in a speech at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H., their high school alma mater, Yale senior Phoebe Rounds and recent Yale alumnus Peter Hasegawa suggested that students apply to Princeton in order to gain better financial aid awards at other colleges.

According to the two, the average increase in aid awards that resulted from this approach was between $15,000 and $20,000 for four years.

"I was accepted to Harvard, Yale and Princeton, but Princeton gave me substantially better financial aid," Rounds said in an interview. She informed the Yale financial aid office of the amount of Princeton's award, and Yale subsequently matched the offer.

Hasegawa applied to college in 2000, before the University had announced its no-loan financial aid policy. He didn't apply to Princeton, but if the aid policy had been in place, he said, he would have applied.

"I think that this is a situation where schools are competing for students," Rounds said. Students should take advantage of this by getting the best financial aid possible, he explained, adding that "it incites competition among universities which, as a product, leads to better financial aid for future students."

Both Hasegawa and Rounds maintain that this policy helps Princeton while demonstrating the need for better financial aid to other universities.

"I think it would have the effect of making Princeton more competitive," Hasegawa said. "I think Princeton is going to get a chance to attract a lot of students who want to apply because they're drawn to Princeton's superior aid policy, and I think it's likely that a lot of those students will decide to come to Princeton."

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The two Elis said that if many students begin using this strategy, it will encourage colleges that give out smaller aid packages to widen their sources of funding. "If schools are forced to pay out more for financial aid, they will make fundraising for financial aid a bigger priority," Rounds said.

While the plan may affect college financial aid offices' policies, it is unclear how these strategies currently affect university budgets and other applicants.

University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt '96 declined to comment late Sunday night, saying she did not have enough information on the matter.

Princeton announced its no-loan financial aid policy in 2001, and several other colleges, including Brown and Yale, eventually followed suit, but Princeton's aid awards are often significantly more generous than those of its peer institutions. The University also has the largest per-student endowment of any college, which allows it to draw more funding toward financial aid.

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Some high school students and their parents have mixed feelings on the subject.

A parent of a high school senior from Long Island, who was granted anonymity because she did not want to be seen as criticizing families who employed the strategy, said she thought the practice was unfair to other students but is no doubt practiced often.

"Most families compare [financial aid] packages when making their final decisions," she said. "When families who might not have qualified for any aid elsewhere realize what might be had, [I] am sure there are many who would take advantage of the opportunity."

One student said the strategy might be useful.

"I applied to a lot of schools and think that it will come down to money in a big way," said Victor Krug, a high school senior from Dexter, Mich. "If it so happens that I get a generous offer from one of my schools, I will definitely give [aid leveraging] a try."

As far as college budgets are concerned, Hasegawa said he thinks the added tension is necessary. "We want financial aid to be a higher fundraising priority for the wealthiest colleges and universities in America," he said. "We think competitive pressure will be what it takes [to enact change]."