Best Law Schools for Financial Aid Forum

[xxkaleidoscopic]

Of course we're all looking at what the best law schools are in terms of prestige and education, but which law schools are known for giving the best aid?

I'll be applying as an independent with no savings, no assets, nothing. I'll be going straight out of undergrad, and I MIGHT have a low-quality used car and less than a thousand dollars in savings by then. Where am I most likely to get good aid? What schools guarantee housing?

[IAFG]

no school cares that you're poor. it's all merit aid.

[howlery]

no school cares that you're poor. it's all merit aid.

Don't Harvard, Yale, and Stanford exclusively award need-based aid? Though most other schools won't care, I guess.

Look on LSN for HYS. Sometimes people post $80-100k+ from HYS that had to be 100% need-based.

[Curious1]

no school cares that you're poor. it's all merit aid.

Don't Harvard, Yale, and Stanford exclusively award need-based aid? Though most other schools won't care, I guess.

Look on LSN for HYS. Sometimes people post $80-100k+ from HYS that had to be 100% need-based.

+1

BTW, the answer to these "Best Law School for..." threads is ALWAYS YHS.

[top30man]

no school cares that you're poor. it's all merit aid.

Don't Harvard, Yale, and Stanford exclusively award need-based aid? Though most other schools won't care, I guess.

Look on LSN for HYS. Sometimes people post $80-100k+ from HYS that had to be 100% need-based.

+1

BTW, the answer to these "Best Law School for..." threads is ALWAYS YHS.

But....but...American is ranked sixth for international law.

[03121202698008]

Need based aid includes your parents income. (No matter how old you are.) Almost all students are insolvent when they begin school and all would be independent under FAFSA because it's a grad program. Essentially, your parents need to be on welfare or close to it. All of the factors OP lists are irrelevant for need-based aid.

As for merit aid, that depends on your numbers.

[kwais]

no school cares that you're poor. it's all merit aid.

no. definitely got need based from schools throughout the t20

[IAFG]

no school cares that you're poor. it's all merit aid.

no. definitely got need based from schools throughout the t20

when your numbers would not have indicated it anyway?

[kwais]

no school cares that you're poor. it's all merit aid.

no. definitely got need based from schools throughout the t20

when your numbers would not have indicated it anyway?

as in separate from the merit aid consideration, based on being a poor

[IAFG]

as in separate from the merit aid consideration, based on being a poor

...but was is consistent with your numbers? based on your LSN it looks about right, was there add'l money on top of that?

[howlery]

Need based aid includes your parents income. (No matter how old you are.) Almost all students are insolvent when they begin school and all would be independent under FAFSA because it's a grad program. Essentially, your parents need to be on welfare or close to it. All of the factors OP lists are irrelevant for need-based aid.

As for merit aid, that depends on your numbers.

What if one of your parents does not/has not filed taxes in years? What if they are divorced?

I went to a cheap UG to avoid this problem, but law school is obviously way more expensive. Columbia requires both parents' info to administer any aid if I remember right.

[Tim0thy222]

Yeah, I have seen several posters on here say that they've received financial aid separate from merit aid at schools outside HYS. Isn't that why schools have you fill out Need Access?

If anyone has any experience with this, I'd appreciate hearing about it. My parents are both at income levels that qualify for food stamps, welfare, free lunches at school, all that stuff, so I think if need-based aid is available I'd be in the running for it.

[03121202698008]

I think what IAFG is getting at, is they give need based and merit aid but in actuality it is what you would have gotten in merit aid anyhow. They just split it up for appearances.

[IAFG]

I think what IAFG is getting at, is they give need based and merit aid but in actuality it is what you would have gotten in merit aid anyhow. They just split it up for appearances.

Though previous posters were right to correct me about HYS, which do often give out need aid. Also, I believe NYU's AnBryce scholly is partially need based. That said, people who generally have gotten lots of help in undergrad are often quite disappointed and even upset with their need-based packages.

Law school aid related to "need" tends to emerge on the back end: schools expect you to take out the loans, and if you can't afford your loans due to taking a PI track, LRAP programs will help you out... and if you can afford to pay them back by ending up in private practice, you have to.

[emkay625]

Do they need your parent's info even if you are married and older?

That just seems silly.

[AlexanderSupertramp]

Do they need your parent's info even if you are married and older?

That just seems silly.

Sometimes. I know I was 30, married, and had three kids and for some of the need based aid they asked my parents' income but didn't need proof. It was just a blank to fill out. The merit based aid I got was not contingent on that though.

[johansantana21]

The school where your LSAT&GPA are above median LSAT&GPA.

[NoleinNY]

no school cares that you're poor. it's all merit aid.

Eh, Fordham offered me need based (being poor) aid. Of course, it was only like 5-10k a year (which is why I didn't take it.)

[03121202698008]

Do they need your parent's info even if you are married and older?

That just seems silly.

Yep. I was in the military for 10 years and had to provide it. And I wasn't even applying for need-based aid.

[cinephile]

BU offers need based aid, but it's hard to know if your scholarship is based on need, merit, or a combo.

[penn0Ler]

I've talked to quite a few folks at Penn who got pretty substantial need-based aid.

[IAFG]

I've talked to quite a few folks at Penn who got pretty substantial need-based aid.

Again, and this is just based on people I know so I am open to being wrong, but, schools do have a history of labeling something "need based" that really, by the numbers, could be merit aid, and giving nothing to people with worse numbers and similar family backgrounds.

[EdgarWinter]

.

[vanwinkle]

Need based aid includes your parents income. (No matter how old you are.)

This isn't quite true. There are cutoff ages, but they're always rather high. At HLS the cutoff age is 29; if you're 28 or younger you must provide parental data. For most law students this won't make a difference, at least for 1L, but for older applicants you might not have to.

[03121202698008]

I have 2 potentially silly questions that I'd prefer not to make a whole thread about:

1--If I am 21+ but not yet 25 then my parent's income is still going to be taken into consideration even though it doesn't have to be put on the FAFSA right?

2--If that's the case and I check "no" on the "are you applying for financial aid?" questions that Penn, Columbia, and Chicago have on their apps, will this at all disadvantage me in the race for merit scholarships? I don't want to accidentally send a signal to the adcoms that says "I'm rich and don't care about paying sticker" because that's definitely not how I feel. On the other hand I don't want to go through the business of applying if I certainly won't get anything.

Thanks for all your help!

Many schools either require you to complete the parent's section on the FAFSA regardless or use a separate application for need-based aid. Your finances don't at all play into merit aid.