Apply Private or Public law schools for scholarship leverage Forum

[heyman86us]

Hi,

I have received several fee waivers from private and public law schools in Top 15 ~ 50 ranked law schools.

I am aware of the fact that I might not get admitted to all of those law schools. But, ones that I get admitted or admitted and receive scholarships, I want to use the admittances and scholarship offers for scholarship leverage purposes later in the cycle.

Since I received the fee waivers from these schools, I only need to pay LSAC reports fees.
However, if I decide to apply most of law schools that I received fee waivers, it costs a lot of money.

So, I was wondering whether I should only apply to private law schools, and not apply to any public law school.
I am assuming that I have better chances of getting scholarships from private law schools since they have more funds than public law schools.

What should I do? Apply all the law schools where I received fee waivers, which would cost about $250 ~ $300? Or, should I just apply to private law schools?



Thank you,

[hookem7]

Private schools do have more cash to give out, but keep in mind the cost of attendance. For example, 20K/yr at Private School U seems like a lot until you realize tuition is 50K/yr. Meanwhile, Big State U might only give you 5K/yr but the tuition there is likely lower. Personally, I think you should err on the side of applying to more schools. Most of the applications are exactly the same and the 200-500 dollars you might spend on apps pale in comparison to the potential negotiating power you stand to gain. If you are considering paying thousands and thousands for law school, seems silly to pinch pennies on app fees.