Master's Scholarship Reconsideration Letter

Master's Scholarship Reconsideration Letter

A master's scholarship reconsideration letter works only when the program says it reviews requests and you send a new fact: a competing written offer, new grades, a promotion or new outside funding. Of three master's programs we checked, one reviews requests, one says its decision is final, and one hears appeals only about procedure.

A reconsideration letter fails when it restates the application. The committee already read your grades and your statement. A letter that only argues you deserve more gives it nothing new to act on. This page shows what three programs publish, a test for whether to write at all, and a constructed letter built on a competing offer.

Every program page quoted below was checked on October 31, 2026. Two of the three are for a past or current cycle, as noted, so look up your own program's page for your entry year.

Does your program review scholarship requests?

Find your program's policy before you draft. These three show the three positions a master's program can take:

Harris: new information, once

Harris's post of February 7, 2026 says: "Please provide new academic, professional, or scholarship information (not included on your original Harris application)". Its examples are "new transcripts from most recent term with grades that increase your GPA", "an updated resume with a promotion since you submitted your application" and "a competing scholarship offer from a comparable school and program". It also lists "New third party funding information".

Two limits matter. It says: "We have a small amount of scholarship funds available and will be able to adjust a limited number of scholarships." And: "We encourage you to only submit this request once". Its 2026 windows were February 27 to March 5 for MSCEP admits, and March 16 to March 23 for MA, MPP, MACRM and MSCAPP admits. Those dates have passed; the next cycle's window is not posted yet.

Bath: the decision is final

Bath's 2027/28 terms for its taught master's merit scholarships say: "There is no right of appeal and the University’s decision is final in relation to your eligibility for a scholarship." You may complain only "if you believe that you have not been considered for a scholarship because of a procedural error". Selection "will be based on the information provided in your application to study at Bath", and "You do not need to submit a separate scholarship application form".

So at Bath, a merit appeal letter has no route. The application itself was the scholarship case.

Glasgow EDUMAH: procedure, with a 14-day clock

The Glasgow programme's FAQ says: "Unsuccessful applicants can appeal within 2 weeks (14 days) from the date you receive the Committee’s decision. You may appeal only if there was a defect or unfairness in the procedure followed by the Committee." The email needs the subject line "EDUMAH Scholarship Appeal." A letter that argues you were the stronger candidate is not an appeal on those terms.

Should you write at all? A four-question test

Answer these in order. Write only if you reach step 4.

1. Does the program publish a review or appeal route? If its terms say the decision is final, as Bath's do, do not send a merit letter. Write only if you have evidence of a procedural error.
2. Is the route about merit or about procedure? If it is procedure only, as at Glasgow EDUMAH, your letter must name the step that went wrong. Grades and achievements are irrelevant there.
3. Do you have a new fact? A competing written offer, a new transcript, a promotion or new outside funding counts. Your existing grades, your existing statement and a stronger adjective do not.
4. Is the window open? Harris opens a fixed window per program. Glasgow gives 14 days. Missing the window ends the question.

Our view: the competing offer is the strongest new fact, because it is the one Harris names that you can document in a single page. Send it with the full award letter, not a screenshot of the number.

The countercase: if your only new fact is financial need, a merit committee may not be the right reader. Harris lists third-party funding as new information, but does not list need. For a fee problem after you enroll, a financial hardship letter to the university goes to a different office with different rules.

What is unknown: none of the three programs publishes how many requests succeed or by how much awards change. Harris says only "a limited number".

Evidence that moves a decision

Rank what you have before you write:

Do not inflate a competing offer. Name the program, state the amount and attach the letter. If the other program is not comparable, the offer is weaker evidence, and the committee can tell.

If the award does not change, a research assistantship is the other route to check; see how to email a professor for an RA after admission.

The reconsideration letter

Constructed example: a letter citing a competing award

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's letter. Context (invented): Mei Lin Zhou, an applicant from Malaysia, admitted to an MPP at a US school whose page says it reviews new scholarship information. Her award is $10,000 a year. A comparable MPP has since offered her $20,000 a year. The schools are not named because rules differ. The letter is 157 words.

Subject: Scholarship review request, Mei Lin Zhou, MPP, Fall 2027 entry

Dear Scholarship Committee,

Thank you for admitting me to the MPP and for the $10,000 annual scholarship. I am writing with one piece of new information that was not in my application.

On [date], [comparable school] offered me admission to its MPP with a scholarship of $20,000 a year for two years. The full award letter is attached.

Your program remains my first choice, because the [named course or policy lab] fits the transport-policy work I described in my statement. I am asking whether the committee can review my award in light of this offer. I am not asking you to match it.

I understand this is a single request, so I have included everything I have. My deposit deadline at the other school is [date]. If you need any other document, I can send it within two days.

Sincerely, Mei Lin Zhou Applicant ID: [number]

Why it works: the new fact is in the second paragraph, with proof attached. It names one reason for choosing this program that refers back to her statement, so the request reads as a fit question, not a bidding war. It asks for a review rather than a match, sends everything in one request as Harris asks, and gives the committee the other deadline it has to beat.

What not to send

• The application again. If the committee read it once, a summary of it is not new information.
• A demand to match. None of the three pages promises to match an offer. Ask for a review.
• A merit appeal where the terms say final. At Bath it has no route, and at Glasgow only procedure counts.
• Several requests. Harris asks for one. Send it complete.
• A threat to decline. If you would decline, decide that on your own deadline; the letter should not depend on it.

Questions about master's scholarship reconsideration

Can you ask a master's program to reconsider a scholarship?

Only where the program publishes a route. Harris reviews new information and asks you to send one request. Bath's 2027/28 merit scholarship terms say the decision is final. Glasgow's EDUMAH programme hears appeals only about procedure, within 14 days.

Is a competing offer enough?

At Harris it is the example the school itself gives: "a competing scholarship offer from a comparable school and program". It is evidence for a review, not a guarantee of a change. Harris says it can adjust "a limited number of scholarships."

Does my scholarship carry over if I defer?

Not at Bath: its terms say "Scholarships cannot be deferred and are for the 2027/28 academic entry year only." Ask your own program before you defer. If a visa delay is the reason, see deferring grad admission for a visa delay.

What about PhD, MBA or law funding?

Those are different documents with different rules. See negotiating PhD funding, the MBA scholarship negotiation letter and the law school scholarship reconsideration letter. For an undergraduate family's need-based appeal, see the financial aid appeal letter for international students. For Australian PhD scholarships, see UNSW's published reconsideration triggers and why the supervisor, not the central office, is the person to ask.

Get a free review of your statement of purpose

At Bath, selection uses "the information provided in your application to study", so the statement is part of the scholarship case before any letter is written. Get a free Quick Review of your statement of purpose for your next application against GradPilot's general MS statement of purpose rubric, the closest rubric for this decision. It reads whether your goals are specific, whether your program fit goes beyond reputation, and whether each experience shows what you learned. Applying to a UK taught master's? Use the UK master's personal statement rubric. Or start a master's SOP review and choose the general MS statement of purpose rubric. More guides for admitted students are in the graduate school essay hub.

Sources

Retrieved October 31, 2026, except where noted.

• University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, Scholarship Reconsideration (posted February 7, 2026; 2026 windows): new information types, one request, limited funds, review windows.
• University of Bath, Terms and Conditions for Taught Postgraduate Master's Bath Merit Scholarships 2027/28 (2027/28 entry): no separate application, selection from the study application, no appeal, procedural complaints, no deferral.
• University of Glasgow, Education in Museums & Heritage (Erasmus Mundus Joint Master) FAQ (2026 scholarship timeline): 14-day appeal window, procedural grounds only, subject line.