Top Law Schools

i'm a int'l student. so no fee waiver from LSAC. i am not eligible for federal aid and my number won't get me any scholarship from any school i want to attend. so i have decided to pay sticker and i will apply to as many schools as possible (most schools in t10-t30)

i wonder if i ask schools for fee waiver, will that hurt my chance of ADMISSION?

mz253 wrote:if i ask schools for fee waiver, will that hurt my chance of ADMISSION?

i seriously doubt it

i'm concerned whether the admissions office will give a second thought of my ability to pay for law school. if they think i cannot pay the application fee, so i'm not rich, so i cannot afford it and thus won't enroll anyways, they prob will reject me to increase yield rate?

mz253 wrote:i'm concerned whether the admissions office will give a second thought of my ability to pay for law school. if they think i cannot pay the application fee, so i'm not rich, so i cannot afford it and thus won't enroll anyways, they prob will reject me to increase yield rate?

Nope. That's what loans are for.

i just said i'm not eligible for LOANS.

Give them your numbers and ask for a merit-based fee waiver. Don't mention anything about application costs being a burden, since they know that you'll have to pay sticker to attend anyway. I wouldn't count on much though, since you say your numbers are not competitive for scholarships at those schools.

mz253 wrote:i just said i'm not eligible for LOANS.

READING COMP fail on my part. That sucks, but I seriously doubt any of this will have a bearing on admissions.

Hey - I'm international - I got a waiver from BU on request.

I honestly think they are completely unconcerned at this stage as to whether or not you will be able to pay the fees.

Definitely worth an email

Sorry to hijack the thread, but could someone give a quick template of what you wrote in your request email? I want to come off as polite.

Also would I be likely to get fee waivers with stats:
179/3.43/Computer Science/Harvard

I mentioned my personal/family situation, and complained about international currency charges etc.

Sounds a bit whiny, but it worked. It was formal and polite - asked for "consideration". I also made it school specific, and stated what I was interested in at the school/why I was applying.

my formula for the email:

introduction
xxx school is one of my top schools because of x,y,z.
unfortunately the cost of applying to law school is becoming a financial burden. please let me know if i am eligible for a fee waiver.


5/6 so far from it.