I didn't look too much into it. I would only consider moving out of state for full tuition. I am using most of the out of state applications I sent out as negotiation testing grounds. Once I Know what works, I will try my hand with negotiations at schools I am actually interested in.

You are right in that it might be early to begin negotiations. South Carolina also offered me around 35k a year. They offered me the in-state tuition rate plus 8k a year or something like that. I sent them a similar email to the one above and received this response in the first couple weeks of December:

John-

Congratulations! We are happy to take a look and get back with you. Please realize, however, that we are very early in the process here and must consider other very capable applicants who have no award at all so far.

I promise to consider your request and share information with you as soon as possible

Thanks for this feedback.

Best regards,

That being said, from my so far limited experience, I believe each school has very different systems and processes for admitting students and allocating scholarships.

Maybe you are right. I would not encourage anyone to push the negotiations now if they do not feel comfortable. But please do share if you have pushed the negotiations already and have had a positive response.