What are the Best Schools to Hunt for Scholarships At with a 3.8 172? Forum

[edcat]

Hi, I am a prospective KJD with a 3.8 and a 172 LSAT. I am retaking the LSAT in September and the GPA could fluctuate a hair this year, but need to finalize my list of schools to apply to this cycle soon. Barring acceptance to Harvard, Yale, or Stanford I am hoping to end up with a full tuition scholarship at as good of a school as I can.

I am trying to narrow down and finalize the list of schools I will apply to in order to maximize my position. If you have any reasons I should remove or add any I would appreciate feedback. I tried to provide my current rational.
A=Apply, R=Reject them before they can reject me by not applying, ?=Not Sure

Yale-A Why not, worth the risk on the LRAP if I get a higher LSAT on my retake or my bold 250 pays off.

Stanford-R Not Currently Applying. My GPA is too low and my work experience too negligible. My odds might be better at Yale.

Harvard-A See Yale, but with a slightly better shot.

Chicago-A Applying for the outside shot at a great scholarship and the reasonable shot at an admission I could use to leverage lower ranked schools.

Columbia-A See Chicago reasons

NYU-A Same logic as Chicago and Columbia, but more scholarships and better odds of admission.

University of Pennsylvania-? Not fully sure. They don't seem to give a lot of bug scholarships and are above my median GPA.

University of Michigan-A Definitely applying. I am a Michiganian. I am mainly retaking the LSAT for T6 admissions as leverage and a better shot at the Darrow.

University of Virginia-? Not Sure. Loosely the same feeling as Penn, though I might like being closer to the Government jobs in DC.

University of California Berkeley-R Low chance at scholarships, high cost of living.

Duke-? Leaning apply. Don't see a ton of evidence on Law School Numbers of scholarships, but there seem to be some and I should be slightly above median GPA and above 75th LSAT. I also need at least some schools to leverage against each other if I strike out at the Top 6, and I liked the area when I visited UNC before undergrad.

Northwestern-A Barring a nearly perfect LSAT on my retake I am applying early decision. I don’t have any WE so I'm not expecting to get the ED acceptance. However, I heard they have offered full tuition scholarships contingent on a deferral in years past.

Cornell-? Leaning apply. Same logic as Duke.

Georgetown-R I see little evidence that I have any chance at a scholarship here. If anyone knows of any that I might get, I would reconsider. I have seen and love the campus and its proximity to DC.

University of Texas Austin-A They seem to give a fair number of large scholarships. And though I don't like the South all that much, I could enjoy nice weather for three years.

Vanderbilt-A Same logic as Texas, but with the additional reasons that I like their programs in Law and Economics, they gave me a fee waiver, and mountains are cool.

UCLA-A They seem to give out more money than UC Berkeley, my sister might be in grad school there, and I should be above median GPA.

WUSTL-A This is the only individual school I really feel I have a moderately high chance of winding up at.

USC-R Same logic as Berkey, but less ranking temptation.

Boston U-? Leaning reject. There just don't seem to be that many full tuition scholarships especially compared to WUSTL. It's in a great city though.

University of Iowa-A decent chance at scholarships, get to dabble in Presidential primary politics, low base cost, and low cost of living.

Notre Dame-R Just doesn't have the same scholarship potential as far as I can tell.

Emory-R Remember what I said about the South with Texas. The last time I was in Georgia, I was sick with the flu and saw 4 straight public restrooms with KKK propaganda. I'm glad there are people going to law school in the south, but I'd rather confront injustice and racism where it is just a little more manageable.

University of Minnesota-A I am somewhat interested in health law, they seem to give a reasonable number of full tuition scholarships, and there is a chance my sister will end up here too.

I haven't carefully considered all of the schools ranked much lower than Minnesota. This is at least in part because the thought of being at a school close in the rankings to Ohio State makes me shudder. I saw it waiting during my law school search and decided that the caliber of law schools must drop off dramatically between those I am considering and that retched place. If anyone more tolerant of buckeyes than I has found good opportunities for full scholarships hidden among these schools then I would appreciate your advice?

As it stands-
Apply: Yale, Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Michigan, Northwestern, Texas, Vanderbilt, UCLA, WUSTL, Iowa, Minnesota

Waffling: Penn, Virginia, Duke, Cornell, Boston U

Not Apply:Stanford, Berkeley, Georgetown, USC, Notre Dame, Emory, and every other law school in the country.

Thanks for the help. I hope this can serve as a little bit of a guide for both me and my fellow scholarship hunters.

The below is for anyone questioning my motives.

Rationale for Applying as a KJD: I think the actions of Harvard and Northwestern demonstrate the LSAT is about to get less important. I'm taking advantage of my score while I can.

Reasons for Extreme Scholarship Seeking Desire: I am planning on pursuing public interest or possibly government law, but not Big Law. I only trust the government so far on the LRAP's. I want to go into Law to do tangible good in the world. If in 5 or ten years I find that it is not satisfying, I would rather not be trapped. While a stipend would obviously be great, thanks to a full tuition undergraduate scholarship I still have access to about $50000 in a mix of savings which are a combination of my earnings and money that my parents earmarked for my education so combined with frugal living I should be able to make it out of Law School close to debt free if I secure a full tuition scholarship. I note all this because I possess the classic motivations of person who would ordinarily be told not to go to Law School, but find the law fascinating and believe that with my LSAT score I should be able to go to Law School in a way that prevents it from being a trap. Additionally, you may have noticed that I am not wed to any particular location and would consider schools with good enough opportunities even in locations which I despise.

[Calbears123]

Or you could just apply to all those schools and use their scholarships to leverage more money from other schools.

[MKC]

Or you could just apply to all those schools and use their scholarships to leverage more money from other schools.

TITCR

Applying is phase one. Get all your offers together for phase two: negotiations.

Blanketing the T13 should be sufficient with those numbers. I'd be shocked if you can't get a full ride at at least a few T13s with that.

[Chaimthegreat]

Apply to all the schools you said you're waffling on. Penn, Duke, Cornell, and Virginia in particular will give you options and leverage.

Also, being originally from Ohio: O-H-I-O! Don't apply to ichigain

I'm kidding definitely apply to ichigain for reasons stated above.

[edcat]

If you think it will help, I guess I will apply to the other schools in the top 14. It seems unlikely to me that applying to the schools where I am below median GPA will get me significant enough scholarships to materially increase my chances of getting full tuition from their competitors.

That said, however much I doubt it will help, the application is a relatively small price to pay and smaller still if I can rack up more fee waivers. I am definitely keeping a couple non-top 14/13/whatever cutoff schools on the list though as much as I hope my LSAT gets me a full tuition scholarship inside the top 13.

Any thoughts on EDing Northwestern? I really don't think they will bite without work experience, but figured it demonstrates interest pretty clearly for any of those full tuition contingent on deferral scholarships during the regular cycle.

[smile0751]

If you think it will help, I guess I will apply to the other schools in the top 14. It seems unlikely to me that applying to the schools where I am below median GPA will get me significant enough scholarships to materially increase my chances of getting full tuition from their competitors.

That said, however much I doubt it will help, the application is a relatively small price to pay and smaller still if I can rack up more fee waivers. I am definitely keeping a couple non-top 14/13/whatever cutoff schools on the list though as much as I hope my LSAT gets me a full tuition scholarship inside the top 13.

Any thoughts on EDing Northwestern? I really don't think they will bite without work experience, but figured it demonstrates interest pretty clearly for any of those full tuition contingent on deferral scholarships during the regular cycle.

I could be wrong, but isn't ED Northwestern only like an 80% scholarship?

The right answer here is to apply to all the T-14s plus some lower ones. 20 applications is probably excessive, but I did it and don't regret anything. You never know what may happen and the more cards you have at the end... the better. That being said, any more than 20 is definitely excessive, and I fully realize even 20 is excessive to many.

You also seem to be underestimating location especially when it comes to the schoools lower than T-14. Think more about where you want to work and what story you can craft about why that location makes sense to you.

[hmm360]

Blanket the T13, I applied with your gpa and a lower lsat as a K-JD, ended up getting huge scholarships to higher-ranked T13s that weren't on my radar and I used those to up my scholarship at the T13 I wanted to attend. The extra few hundred dollars was worth the 70k+ benefit I ended up getting

[Nebby]

Hi, I am a prospective KJD with a 3.8 and a 172 LSAT. I am retaking the LSAT in September and the GPA could fluctuate a hair this year, but need to finalize my list of schools to apply to this cycle soon. Barring acceptance to Harvard, Yale, or Stanford I am hoping to end up with a full tuition scholarship at as good of a school as I can.

I am trying to narrow down and finalize the list of schools I will apply to in order to maximize my position. If you have any reasons I should remove or add any I would appreciate feedback. I tried to provide my current rational.
A=Apply, R=Reject them before they can reject me by not applying, ?=Not Sure

Yale-A Why not, worth the risk on the LRAP if I get a higher LSAT on my retake or my bold 250 pays off.

Stanford-R Not Currently Applying. My GPA is too low and my work experience too negligible. My odds might be better at Yale.

Harvard-A See Yale, but with a slightly better shot.

Chicago-A Applying for the outside shot at a great scholarship and the reasonable shot at an admission I could use to leverage lower ranked schools.

Columbia-A See Chicago reasons

NYU-A Same logic as Chicago and Columbia, but more scholarships and better odds of admission.

University of Pennsylvania-? Not fully sure. They don't seem to give a lot of bug scholarships and are above my median GPA.

University of Michigan-A Definitely applying. I am a Michiganian. I am mainly retaking the LSAT for T6 admissions as leverage and a better shot at the Darrow.

University of Virginia-? Not Sure. Loosely the same feeling as Penn, though I might like being closer to the Government jobs in DC.

University of California Berkeley-R Low chance at scholarships, high cost of living.

Duke-? Leaning apply. Don't see a ton of evidence on Law School Numbers of scholarships, but there seem to be some and I should be slightly above median GPA and above 75th LSAT. I also need at least some schools to leverage against each other if I strike out at the Top 6, and I liked the area when I visited UNC before undergrad.

Northwestern-A Barring a nearly perfect LSAT on my retake I am applying early decision. I don’t have any WE so I'm not expecting to get the ED acceptance. However, I heard they have offered full tuition scholarships contingent on a deferral in years past.

Cornell-? Leaning apply. Same logic as Duke.

Georgetown-R I see little evidence that I have any chance at a scholarship here. If anyone knows of any that I might get, I would reconsider. I have seen and love the campus and its proximity to DC.

University of Texas Austin-A They seem to give a fair number of large scholarships. And though I don't like the South all that much, I could enjoy nice weather for three years.

Vanderbilt-A Same logic as Texas, but with the additional reasons that I like their programs in Law and Economics, they gave me a fee waiver, and mountains are cool.

UCLA-A They seem to give out more money than UC Berkeley, my sister might be in grad school there, and I should be above median GPA.

WUSTL-A This is the only individual school I really feel I have a moderately high chance of winding up at.

USC-R Same logic as Berkey, but less ranking temptation.

Boston U-? Leaning reject. There just don't seem to be that many full tuition scholarships especially compared to WUSTL. It's in a great city though.

University of Iowa-A decent chance at scholarships, get to dabble in Presidential primary politics, low base cost, and low cost of living.

Notre Dame-R Just doesn't have the same scholarship potential as far as I can tell.

Emory-R Remember what I said about the South with Texas. The last time I was in Georgia, I was sick with the flu and saw 4 straight public restrooms with KKK propaganda. I'm glad there are people going to law school in the south, but I'd rather confront injustice and racism where it is just a little more manageable.

University of Minnesota-A I am somewhat interested in health law, they seem to give a reasonable number of full tuition scholarships, and there is a chance my sister will end up here too.

I haven't carefully considered all of the schools ranked much lower than Minnesota. This is at least in part because the thought of being at a school close in the rankings to Ohio State makes me shudder. I saw it waiting during my law school search and decided that the caliber of law schools must drop off dramatically between those I am considering and that retched place. If anyone more tolerant of buckeyes than I has found good opportunities for full scholarships hidden among these schools then I would appreciate your advice?

As it stands-
Apply: Yale, Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Michigan, Northwestern, Texas, Vanderbilt, UCLA, WUSTL, Iowa, Minnesota

Waffling: Penn, Virginia, Duke, Cornell, Boston U

Not Apply:Stanford, Berkeley, Georgetown, USC, Notre Dame, Emory, and every other law school in the country.

Thanks for the help. I hope this can serve as a little bit of a guide for both me and my fellow scholarship hunters.

The below is for anyone questioning my motives.

Rationale for Applying as a KJD: I think the actions of Harvard and Northwestern demonstrate the LSAT is about to get less important. I'm taking advantage of my score while I can.

Reasons for Extreme Scholarship Seeking Desire: I am planning on pursuing public interest or possibly government law, but not Big Law. I only trust the government so far on the LRAP's. I want to go into Law to do tangible good in the world. If in 5 or ten years I find that it is not satisfying, I would rather not be trapped. While a stipend would obviously be great, thanks to a full tuition undergraduate scholarship I still have access to about $50000 in a mix of savings which are a combination of my earnings and money that my parents earmarked for my education so combined with frugal living I should be able to make it out of Law School close to debt free if I secure a full tuition scholarship. I note all this because I possess the classic motivations of person who would ordinarily be told not to go to Law School, but find the law fascinating and believe that with my LSAT score I should be able to go to Law School in a way that prevents it from being a trap. Additionally, you may have noticed that I am not wed to any particular location and would consider schools with good enough opportunities even in locations which I despise.

What type of public interest?

[InterLaw]

Well you should definitely end up in T13, but just as a suggestion, given your profile, I'd apply to BU as a safe option.
5.3% gets full tuition (definitely top 5 for this feature) and 30.7 half to full.
They are PI oriented which seems to match your goals. Just keep this in mind...