Is it common that I failed to argue for more merit aid?

[Ideyst]

Hello guys, appologize if this is a silly question. 

I'm an international student in an M.A. program in the US, with a merit aid of about $10,000 per year. This is a small number compared to the costs of tuition and housing. So I searched if there's any possibility to reduce this burden and discovered that applicants can argue for more merit aid with the admission office. I started to do research, read passages and posts where people share how they negotiate with schools successfully. The more I've read, the stronger sense I've got that it's easy and common to get more aid. However, after sending the negotiation email, my request was rejected straightforward. 

It'll be a lie if saying that I'm not down, but I'm down mostly due to the suspicion in my heart that "is it because I'm not good enough?" I know it may be a wrong impression that the successful negotiation for more aid is very common, but I still want to hear your thoughts about it. Is it common, or normal, that I failed to argue for more merit aid? 

Plus, other ways of getting financial aids I know are applying for need-based, extra fundings, being TA. If there's any other ways, please don't be hesitate to let me know! Also, I still wonder that is there any drawbacks of applying for a need-based scholarship? In my country, applying for a need-based financial aid is, well, a bit not good to be presented on a stage, so students often avoid applying except for the real poor ones. But I feel like the culture is a bit different here in the US?

Thank you for the replies, and many best wishes to all of your graduate lives!😘

[Boolakanaka]

29 minutes ago, Ideyst said:

Hello guys, appologize if this is a silly question. 

I'm an international student in an M.A. program in the US, with a merit aid of about $10,000 per year. This is a small number compared to the costs of tuition and housing. So I searched if there's any possibility to reduce this burden and discovered that applicants can argue for more merit aid with the admission office. I started to do research, read passages and posts where people share how they negotiate with schools successfully. The more I've read, the stronger sense I've got that it's easy and common to get more aid. However, after sending the negotiation email, my request was rejected straightforward. 

It'll be a lie if saying that I'm not down, but I'm down mostly due to the suspicion in my heart that "is it because I'm not good enough?" I know it may be a wrong impression that the successful negotiation for more aid is very common, but I still want to hear your thoughts about it. Is it common, or normal, that I failed to argue for more merit aid? 

Plus, other ways of getting financial aids I know are applying for need-based, extra fundings, being TA. If there's any other ways, please don't be hesitate to let me know! Also, I still wonder that is there any drawbacks of applying for a need-based scholarship? In my country, applying for a need-based financial aid is, well, a bit not good to be presented on a stage, so students often avoid applying except for the real poor ones. But I feel like the culture is a bit different here in the US?

Thank you for the replies, and many best wishes to all of your graduate lives!😘

I would keep in mind that the majority of aid is set aside for US citizens and then, PhD students.