When to go LRAP or when to take the money and run Forum

Discuss various money matters here. Loans (federal and private), scholarships, lottery winnings, or other school finance related information and queries.
Post Reply
LaudSAT

New
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2017 12:42 pm

When to go LRAP or when to take the money and run

Post by LaudSAT » Sat Jan 27, 2018 10:11 am

Hey so this is a cross post from ¨Choosing a Law School¨, because I have received very little feed back from the board over there and thought maybe it was because the topic has a little bit more to do with financial aid.

Seeing as this is a cross post i took out a lot of detail. If you are curious about more details about my specific scenario read here:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=285487

Basically, I want to know where you all would draw the line with taking a full scholarship over taking advantage of LRAP at a T10 for someone 100% interested in a PI track.

I see the 3 big downfalls of LRAP being:

1. PSLF getting canceled
2. Not getting LRAP elegible employment
3. Less flexibility in employment opportunities

The biggest concern nowadays with law school in general is obviously employment. This is where I feel the T10 school is the safer choice, even with sticker price, if one is committed to LRAP as it can be seen as a back door scholarship with pretty high security of getting a job. Also, most T10 schools would simply go back to their old LRAPs if PSLF were cancelled and we weren’t somehow grandfathered in to the program, so that also becomes less of a concern.

So the question is at what point would you say these benefits are outweighed by the freedom that comes from full tuition scholarships? Obviously you don’t want to attend a TTT but let’s say something like BU or UW’s Gates Scholarship? Do you take the money and accept the fact your employment opportunities will be less than at a T10 or do you go T10 and just count on LRAP?

Thanks in advanced

CFC1524

Bronze
Posts: 200
Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2014 9:50 am

Re: When to go LRAP or when to take the money and run

Post by CFC1524 » Sat Jan 27, 2018 3:40 pm

LaudSAT wrote: Basically, I want to know where you all would draw the line with taking a full scholarship over taking advantage of LRAP at a T10 for someone 100% interested in a PI track.
Not to fight the question, but this strikes me as a bit of a false choice i.e. why pick between a T14 at sticker and a lower school at a discount when you can pick between HYS at full price and a lower T14 with a significant scholarship. Unless you are GPA-blocked from getting big money from the top schools, there is no reason to force yourself into the (rather difficult) choice you poised above.

Some PI-specific benefits about the T14: significantly higher clerkship numbers (which can be a great bridge into the non-profit world); LRAP programs that cover payments until PSLF kicks in and wipes away any remaining debt; guaranteed funding for unpaid summer internships; unrestricted access to clinical programs (this is a big one - entry-level PI positions require experience, and applicants can go a long way in distinguishing themselves if they have 4 semesters worth of litigation in a relevant clinic); and school-sponsored fellowship programs (which are key, as the applicant pool is much, much smaller than Skadden / EJW).

This varies a bit depending on the school, but I would be more willing to take a full scholarship at a lower ranked school if (1) I had prior work experience in PI; (2) the school was located in the region where I wanted to practice; and (3) the school had at least a few of the factors I listed above.

Do you have offers on the table, or are you just thinking through the issues in preparation for next year's cycle? (Sorry, I didn't read the other thread you linked to).

LaudSAT

New
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2017 12:42 pm

Re: When to go LRAP or when to take the money and run

Post by LaudSAT » Sat Jan 27, 2018 5:03 pm

CFC1524 wrote:
LaudSAT wrote: Basically, I want to know where you all would draw the line with taking a full scholarship over taking advantage of LRAP at a T10 for someone 100% interested in a PI track.
Not to fight the question, but this strikes me as a bit of a false choice i.e. why pick between a T14 at sticker and a lower school at a discount when you can pick between HYS at full price and a lower T14 with a significant scholarship. Unless you are GPA-blocked from getting big money from the top schools, there is no reason to force yourself into the (rather difficult) choice you poised above.

Some PI-specific benefits about the T14: significantly higher clerkship numbers (which can be a great bridge into the non-profit world); LRAP programs that cover payments until PSLF kicks in and wipes away any remaining debt; guaranteed funding for unpaid summer internships; unrestricted access to clinical programs (this is a big one - entry-level PI positions require experience, and applicants can go a long way in distinguishing themselves if they have 4 semesters worth of litigation in a relevant clinic); and school-sponsored fellowship programs (which are key, as the applicant pool is much, much smaller than Skadden / EJW).

This varies a bit depending on the school, but I would be more willing to take a full scholarship at a lower ranked school if (1) I had prior work experience in PI; (2) the school was located in the region where I wanted to practice; and (3) the school had at least a few of the factors I listed above.

Do you have offers on the table, or are you just thinking through the issues in preparation for next year's cycle? (Sorry, I didn't read the other thread you linked to).
Hey thanks for the reply. I do have offers on the table. I am also gpa blocked, I got 99th percentile on LSAT so a retake won’t really do much for me.

My offers are
Penn ( no money; 300k COA)- see other thread for more details on why this is currently my preference, but it’s my home city and has strongest LRAP
Michigan (45k; 220k COA)
GULC (no money; 330k COA)
UT (15k and in state tuition; 150k COA)
GW (105k; 180k COA)
Miami (155k; 75k COA)

I plan on using loans to find entire education.
Also the other thread has a lot more detail on mundo thought process if you feel like checking it out.

Post Reply

Return to “Financial Aid”