Early decision?

[kaveman]

I have just over a 3.6 gpa and 172 LSAT. Based on this, law school predictor has me as a "consider" at places like Penn, Duke, and Michigan. When I enter an early decision option for these schools, my prediction changes to "admit." I'm not stupid enough to think it's a crystal ball into the future, but obviously ED has some advantage. My concern, however, is that if I ED to Michigan, for example, they will have no motive to give me any scholarship $$, since I'm already on the hook. People w my numbers on LSN seem to have a good shot at $$ from Michigan, so is this a well founded fear? Does ED actually reduce my chances at money? Thanks in advance.

[4910]

michigan is one of the rare schools that actually gives you scholarships even though you are EDing.

[JoeFish]

But, in general, yes, it probably does reduce your chances at money. Think of it as trading the money for a greater chance to attend the school. I never considered EDing (probably would have gotten me into UVA) because I absolutely strictly capped the debt I was willing to take on at $100,000, and going to a T14 rather than a T25 was, based on my current situation, not worth it to me. Obviously, every one would like to minimize their debt, but if you know you're willing to attend school X with no money, then definitely ED there if it'll get you from "maybe, we'll let you know in March once our class numbers start to take shape" to "certain admit early on in the process".