Practice: final base cap and written close
The employer says base is final, offers a larger signing payment and asks for verbal acceptance today. You still lack the repayment conditions and final revised document.
Prepare your response
The employer says base is final, offers a larger signing payment and asks for verbal acceptance today. You still lack the repayment conditions and final revised document.
Original teaching material. All numerical examples are hypothetical, not live market benchmarks. Adapt scripts to your actual situation; no messages are sent from this course.
Scenario constraints
- You are interested but have not accepted.
- Signing cash is one-time and may be conditional.
- An extension may be refused; the current package must still be evaluated.
Self-review rubric
Draft your answer in the practice editor below before revealing the guidance. This is a self-guided exercise; no automatic scoring is implied.
- Clarity: Distinguishes interest, review and acceptance.
- Terms: Requests payment and repayment details.
- Timing: Asks for a concrete response date.
- Closure: Makes an explicit accept/decline decision on actual terms.
Reveal a worked response approach
Acknowledge the constraint, ask for repayment/payment timing and a reconciled written package, then request a specific review period. Be precise that you are reviewing, not accepting unconditionally.
After clarification, choose deliberately. A larger first-year figure does not resolve a recurring gap automatically; a future review is not an approved raise.
Sources and scope
Harvard MCS: Evaluating and negotiating offers ↗ · Reference checked 2026-10-18
Career-services reference for offer evaluation, preparation and negotiation conversations; original lesson scripts and examples are authored for this course.
This course teaches preparation and communication. It provides no live pay ranges, employer guarantees, tax calculations or personalized legal/investment advice. Governing documents and local rules determine actual award and employment terms.
The employer says base is final, offers a larger signing payment and asks for verbal acceptance today. You still lack the repayment conditions and final revised document.
Your negotiation draft
Separate offer facts from assumptions, state a truthful prioritized ask, and define your next step. Save your draft before comparing it with the worked guidance.
Self-review checklist
Self-guided practice. Automated AI feedback and code execution are not connected.