Penn State 2011 Applicants Forum

[Kinderby]

Holy cannoli. Congratulations!

[PSULawAdmissionsDean]

Good Day! As the Dean for Admissions at Penn State I am prepared to respond to general questions about the admission cycle at Penn State Dickinson School of Law. If you have questions about your individual circumstance, I am happy to open a dialogue through my direct phone (814) 867-0398 or email at rjs48@psu.edu.

There are 2 open questions I'd like to respond to today.

First, Penn State will offer partial travel reimbursement for admitted students interested in traveling to either University Park or Carlisle campuses, if approved in advance. Our hope is that you'll join us for one of the scheduled open houses in March, but if these times are inconvenient contact me to discuss other appropriate times to visit.

Also we award scholarships based on predetermined criteria designed to maintain consistency. Our highest award for merit scholarships (based on LSAT/GPA) is $60,000 for the three years of law school. We have decided this year to add an additional $5,000 per year for certain special cases one of which is Pennsylvania residency.

Generally, if you are admitted and both of your numberical indicators are above our medians you might expect an award near the $20,000/year. If you have the LSAT but not the GPA, you should expect a lesser award.

In regard to scholarships we want to remain competitive financially with schools we consider to be peer institutions. If you are interested in Penn State Law, but feel our award is not as attractive as another offer you've received, feel free to email me directly. Typically, I will ask you to provide scanned copies of your other offers to determine whether we are in a position to adjust your offer. We are not always in a position to do so.

It is a particularly competitive year for admission to law school. I appreciate your patience with our process and your understanding that we are working hard to make the best decisions for the law school and for you as our applicants and prospective students.

Jay Shively
Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid
Penn State Law

[Justathought]

Good Day! As the Dean for Admissions at Penn State I am prepared to respond to general questions about the admission cycle at Penn State Dickinson School of Law. If you have questions about your individual circumstance, I am happy to open a dialogue through my direct phone (814) 867-0398 or email at rjs48@psu.edu.

There are 2 open questions I'd like to respond to today.

First, Penn State will offer partial travel reimbursement for admitted students interested in traveling to either University Park or Carlisle campuses, if approved in advance. Our hope is that you'll join us for one of the scheduled open houses in March, but if these times are inconvenient contact me to discuss other appropriate times to visit.

Also we award scholarships based on predetermined criteria designed to maintain consistency. Our highest award for merit scholarships (based on LSAT/GPA) is $60,000 for the three years of law school. We have decided this year to add an additional $5,000 per year for certain special cases one of which is Pennsylvania residency.

Generally, if you are admitted and both of your numberical indicators are above our medians you might expect an award near the $20,000/year. If you have the LSAT but not the GPA, you should expect a lesser award.

In regard to scholarships we want to remain competitive financially with schools we consider to be peer institutions. If you are interested in Penn State Law, but feel our award is not as attractive as another offer you've received, feel free to email me directly. Typically, I will ask you to provide scanned copies of your other offers to determine whether we are in a position to adjust your offer. We are not always in a position to do so.

It is a particularly competitive year for admission to law school. I appreciate your patience with our process and your understanding that we are working hard to make the best decisions for the law school and for you as our applicants and prospective students.

Jay Shively
Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid
Penn State Law

Thanks for the information Dean Shively! The administration has done a remarkable job this year with getting the word out about Dickinson School of Law. I've seen your staff at my undergraduate university's law fair, and the online communication has been top notch. I went complete on 1/14/2011 and am keeping my fingers crossed.

[Chouchous]

Thank you Dean Shively,

I very much appreciate you coming on here to answer questions. This brings so much more transparency to the whole process. As a recently admitted student who has not yet received the admission letter in the mail, I am now in a better position to gauge my chances of receiving a scholarship.

How far in advance should I contact the law school to schedule a visit?

[Lady Finch]

Dean Shively,

I know that this particular forum is for prospective students, but I am a current student with a financial aid question. Upon admission to Penn State I received the $20k a year scholarship and I am incredibly grateful for it. Do students who already have the largest available scholarship have any chance of receiving additional merit aid if they do very well their 1L year? Basically, does Penn State give increased merit scholarship aid to 2Ls who performed well during 1L (even if they are already receiving $20k/yr)? If so, how high of a class rank would one need to get additional aid and what amount of aid might be awarded? Any feedback on this topic would be very helpful...thanks!

[PSULawAdmissionsDean]

Thank you Dean Shively,

I very much appreciate you coming on here to answer questions. This brings so much more transparency to the whole process. As a recently admitted student who has not yet received the admission letter in the mail, I am now in a better position to gauge my chances of receiving a scholarship.

How far in advance should I contact the law school to schedule a visit?

For a class visit and tour we only need a couple of days notice. A visitation schedule can be accessed here. (http://law.psu.edu/prospective_students ... n_schedule) Even if you are just "in the neighborhood" and want to drop by we can usually arrange an informal tour and some time with an admissions officer and/or a current student. We want you to visit campus. As I mentioned in my earlier post I'll need to approve in advance any travel you'd like us to subsidize and we'll only offer that perk to admitted students.

[PSULawAdmissionsDean]

Dean Shively,

I know that this particular forum is for prospective students, but I am a current student with a financial aid question. Upon admission to Penn State I received the $20k a year scholarship and I am incredibly grateful for it. Do students who already have the largest available scholarship have any chance of receiving additional merit aid if they do very well their 1L year? Basically, does Penn State give increased merit scholarship aid to 2Ls who performed well during 1L (even if they are already receiving $20k/yr)? If so, how high of a class rank would one need to get additional aid and what amount of aid might be awarded? Any feedback on this topic would be very helpful...thanks!

There are some endowed scholarships for which current students may be considered outside of the standard scholarship budget. In the past we haven't increased Dean or Merit Scholarships for students already at the highest level.

Feel free to contact me directly or come by my office if you'd like more information. Susan Bogart, the Director of Financial Aid, can also provide some information in this regard.

[NCtoDC]

Dean Shively,

Thank you for taking time to answer our questions. Due to family constraints, switching campuses after 1L is not an option for me. Are all classes available at either campus? More specifically, I am interested in the environmental law and land use classes.

[Dippy]

Dean Shively,

I've found myself in an interesting situation with regards to PSU. It's a top choice of both myself and my twin brother, and we would like to go to the same school. However, I got admitted and he got waitlisted due to (I assume) a several point difference in LSAT score. I hadn't really considered this possibility and it brings me to the following question: when do admissions begin to move students from the waitlist? I'm trying to figure out if it's worth sending in my deposit and then hoping he gets in or if I could possibly wait to see if he is moved earlier (if at all) than we might expect.

I'm sorry if this is a silly question but I haven't been able to find any sort of information that helps with this unique situation.

Thanks in advance.

[PSULawAdmissionsDean]

Dean Shively,

Thank you for taking time to answer our questions. Due to family constraints, switching campuses after 1L is not an option for me. Are all classes available at either campus? More specifically, I am interested in the environmental law and land use classes.

Both campuses offer the same rigorous and excellent legal education in world class facilities with top notch faculty. Many classes are offered at both campuses either in person or through our state of the art teleconferencing technology. However, I'd recommend researching which professors teach the specific classes you're interested in and attending that campus. While both campuses offer all the necessary coursework to complete your JD, there may be a broader selection of courses in person and joint degree offerings at the University Park campus. I'd recommmend talking to current students that may share your area of interest and discussing their experience. It may be that you'd be perfectly content curriculum-wise at either campus. Feel free to contact me directly and I'll try to locate a current student who may be able to give you a firsthand perspective.

[PSULawAdmissionsDean]

Dean Shively,

I've found myself in an interesting situation with regards to PSU. It's a top choice of both myself and my twin brother, and we would like to go to the same school. However, I got admitted and he got waitlisted due to (I assume) a several point difference in LSAT score. I hadn't really considered this possibility and it brings me to the following question: when do admissions begin to move students from the waitlist? I'm trying to figure out if it's worth sending in my deposit and then hoping he gets in or if I could possibly wait to see if he is moved earlier (if at all) than we might expect.

I'm sorry if this is a silly question but I haven't been able to find any sort of information that helps with this unique situation.

Thanks in advance.

Congraulations on your admission!

Typically, we revisit the waitlist in mid-March once we have a clear sense of what the incoming class may look like. I am also willing to have an open dialogue with your brother regarding the status of his application. There probably won't be any movement before then, but if your brother wants to be at Penn State Law, he should submit a LOCI directly to me and I'll take another look at his file. At the very least I can give him some idea of his chances of eventually making it into the class. Unfortunately our applicant pool is so competitive that a "several point difference in LSAT score" will often make all the difference.

[Dippy]

Dean Shively,

I've found myself in an interesting situation with regards to PSU. It's a top choice of both myself and my twin brother, and we would like to go to the same school. However, I got admitted and he got waitlisted due to (I assume) a several point difference in LSAT score. I hadn't really considered this possibility and it brings me to the following question: when do admissions begin to move students from the waitlist? I'm trying to figure out if it's worth sending in my deposit and then hoping he gets in or if I could possibly wait to see if he is moved earlier (if at all) than we might expect.

I'm sorry if this is a silly question but I haven't been able to find any sort of information that helps with this unique situation.

Thanks in advance.

Congraulations on your admission!

Typically, we revisit the waitlist in mid-March once we have a clear sense of what the incoming class may look like. I am also willing to have an open dialogue with your brother regarding the status of his application. There probably won't be any movement before then, but if your brother wants to be at Penn State Law, he should submit a LOCI directly to me and I'll take another look at his file. At the very least I can give him some idea of his chances of eventually making it into the class. Unfortunately our applicant pool is so competitive that a "several point difference in LSAT score" will often make all the difference.

That would be fantastic! I understand the highly competitive nature of applications and I realize I might have been a little naive and idealistic in not considering this possibility. I appreciate your accessibility and I will let my brother know that he can send his LOCI directly to you. Hope this all works out eventually and he and I will be there in the fall.

[Kinderby]

Dean Shively,

Thank you so much for posting here. It is so great to hear from someone in admissions and know more about what to expect and when during this stressful process! We really appreciate it.

[Albatross]

In review at of 1/21. Best of luck to those in the same boat and congrats to those accepted.

[plt06]

Went ahead and sent in the withdraw form today. Best of luck to those of you who have PSU as their top choice!

[cartercl]

I was waitlisted about a week ago at Penn State. Is it worth it to write an LOCI stating that I would be willing to attend either campus if admitted? (Originally applied for admission at the University Park campus.)

[FeelTheHeat]

Went ahead and sent in the withdraw form today. Best of luck to those of you who have PSU as their top choice!

I did as well. I hope the scholarship money goes towards helping someone choose PSU. Good school, just too damn cold. (And FSU was quite generous lol)

[PSULawAdmissionsDean]

I was waitlisted about a week ago at Penn State. Is it worth it to write an LOCI stating that I would be willing to attend either campus if admitted? (Originally applied for admission at the University Park campus.)

I am happy to receive LOCI from truly interested students. It often prompts me to take another look at a person's file. Campus selection rarely has any impact on offers, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to know that you are willing to go to either campus.

The only time it might work to your advantage to have a campus preference is very late in the cycle when housing is scarce in UP. Even in theses situations it wouldn't impact whether we'll make an offer but your flexibility might make it feasible for you to accept a late offer.

RJS

[Peace of Mind]

.

[TJISMYHERO]

Has anyone who had their packet sent out on 1/20 received it yet? I have not.

[rockyIV]

I had mine mailed the same day and havent got it, it took over a week for something from Boston to get to me, live in the South.

[UtahPhi]

Dean Shively,

I have been accepted but not yet received my admissions packet. In terms of reimbursement for travel expenses I was wondering what your policies were regarding that. I live in Utah so my travel costs would be somewhat larger than those on the east coast. Additionally, I was wondering how far in advance I would need to submit travel plans in order for them to be approved. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[boilerup89]

Dean Shively,

I have been accepted but not yet received my admissions packet. In terms of reimbursement for travel expenses I was wondering what your policies were regarding that. I live in Utah so my travel costs would be somewhat larger than those on the east coast. Additionally, I was wondering how far in advance I would need to submit travel plans in order for them to be approved. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

+1 I'm planning the same thing albeit from Indiana as opposed to Utah

[NCtoDC]

Has anyone who had their packet sent out on 1/20 received it yet? I have not.

I haven't received mine yet either. I didn't know it would take over a week for something to get from PA to NC.

[deliriousxix]

Has anyone who had their packet sent out on 1/20 received it yet? I have not.

+1 neither have I! I've been checking the mail like crazy haha . I DO live in Texas though..