U Iowa 2010 App Cycle Forum

[JOThompson]

Hey guys,
So about the scholarship thing, don't take too seriously what comes out of the fin aid. lady's mouth (chick who answers phone). She told me I wasn't nominated for a scholarship like 4 months ago, so I called Mr. Byrd to try and wiggle into some scholly money. He was like "What are you talking about, yeah you've been nominated for a scholarship, you should know by March 15th," and I looked like an dumbass thanks to Iowa's fin aid. office. I just think they have communication issues btw admissions and fin aid. I'd trust Mr. Byrd in this situation.

Also worth noting that the funds from declined full rides can be redistributed to other applicants. At least that's what I was able to infer from the letter. I know of at least three people who have rejected those offers, so I hope that frees up money for other Iowa hopefuls.

[webbylu87]

Called and asked.

Collins Byrd had anticipated that enough full-rides were going to be turned down for some of those full-rides to be allocated to other applicants. If enough full-rides were to be turned down, they were going to be reallocated to individuals who had been nominated for full-rides but not received one. There would/will be no partial scholarships awarded this year. However, Financial Aid has said that no, not enough will be turned down for reallocation to occur. The Admissions Office just told me to go more with what Financial Aid (as opposed to what Collins Byrd had previously) said as they have a more accurate picture of the financials.

Make sense?

Long story short: If you don't currently have a scholarship, you won't be getting one partial or otherwise. Confirmed by both Financial Aid and Admissions.

[sconnielaw13]

Called and asked.

Collins Byrd had anticipated that enough full-rides were going to be turned down for some of those full-rides to be allocated to other applicants. If enough full-rides were to be turned down, they were going to be reallocated to individuals who had been nominated for full-rides but not received one. There would/will be no partial scholarships awarded this year. However, Financial Aid has said that no, not enough will be turned down for reallocation to occur. The Admissions Office just told me to go more with what Financial Aid (as opposed to what Collins Byrd had previously) said as they have a more accurate picture of the financials.

Make sense?

Long story short: If you don't currently have a scholarship, you won't be getting one partial or otherwise. Confirmed by both Financial Aid and Admissions.

Wow that really blows, 37k is quite expensive! At least there is the RA option for the 2nd and 3rd year.

[webbylu87]

Called and asked.

Collins Byrd had anticipated that enough full-rides were going to be turned down for some of those full-rides to be allocated to other applicants. If enough full-rides were to be turned down, they were going to be reallocated to individuals who had been nominated for full-rides but not received one. There would/will be no partial scholarships awarded this year. However, Financial Aid has said that no, not enough will be turned down for reallocation to occur. The Admissions Office just told me to go more with what Financial Aid (as opposed to what Collins Byrd had previously) said as they have a more accurate picture of the financials.

Make sense?

Long story short: If you don't currently have a scholarship, you won't be getting one partial or otherwise. Confirmed by both Financial Aid and Admissions.

Wow that really blows, 37k is quite expensive! At least there is the RA option for the 2nd and 3rd year.

Definitely. The RA option is actually pretty great. I wish more schools talked about/had that option.

[robin600]

Called and asked.

Collins Byrd had anticipated that enough full-rides were going to be turned down for some of those full-rides to be allocated to other applicants. If enough full-rides were to be turned down, they were going to be reallocated to individuals who had been nominated for full-rides but not received one. There would/will be no partial scholarships awarded this year. However, Financial Aid has said that no, not enough will be turned down for reallocation to occur. The Admissions Office just told me to go more with what Financial Aid (as opposed to what Collins Byrd had previously) said as they have a more accurate picture of the financials.

Make sense?

Long story short: If you don't currently have a scholarship, you won't be getting one partial or otherwise. Confirmed by both Financial Aid and Admissions.

WOW -10 Iowa, major foul

With this information in hand (and my gut) I'm officially going to OSU. I want to work PI, and 100k in debt ain't gonna cut it.

[webbylu87]

Called and asked.

Collins Byrd had anticipated that enough full-rides were going to be turned down for some of those full-rides to be allocated to other applicants. If enough full-rides were to be turned down, they were going to be reallocated to individuals who had been nominated for full-rides but not received one. There would/will be no partial scholarships awarded this year. However, Financial Aid has said that no, not enough will be turned down for reallocation to occur. The Admissions Office just told me to go more with what Financial Aid (as opposed to what Collins Byrd had previously) said as they have a more accurate picture of the financials.

Make sense?

Long story short: If you don't currently have a scholarship, you won't be getting one partial or otherwise. Confirmed by both Financial Aid and Admissions.

WOW -10 Iowa, major foul

With this information in hand (and my gut) I'm officially going to OSU. I want to work PI, and 100k in debt ain't gonna cut it.

I hear you. But please call Admissions and confirm! (Although this is exactly what they told me, I swear.) I don't want to responsible for one of the biggest decisions of someone's life!

[charlesjd]

Does anyone think it's possible that Iowa actually increases its ranking? It's been dropping for the past couple years...

Well, I definitely think they are trying too boost their LSAT median, given the fact they are handing out a lot of full rides to high LSAT scorers. It has always been a mystery to me why Iowa is so high ranked, given its relatively lower LSAT median for a T30 school. I suspect it has a lot to do with their library, and possibly their legal writing program/clinics (although I admit I have no idea what actually goes into consideration for law school rankings, aside from LSAT/GPA medians).

When I met with them they said the goal is 1 LSAT point per year.

[Slimpee]

With this information in hand (and my gut) I'm officially going to OSU. I want to work PI, and 100k in debt ain't gonna cut it.

Didn't you sign a lease in Iowa City?

Also, remember that if you get the RA position and thus in-state, tuition is cut in half. If you can't get in-state at OSU it may be a wash...

[robin600]

Called and asked.

Collins Byrd had anticipated that enough full-rides were going to be turned down for some of those full-rides to be allocated to other applicants. If enough full-rides were to be turned down, they were going to be reallocated to individuals who had been nominated for full-rides but not received one. There would/will be no partial scholarships awarded this year. However, Financial Aid has said that no, not enough will be turned down for reallocation to occur. The Admissions Office just told me to go more with what Financial Aid (as opposed to what Collins Byrd had previously) said as they have a more accurate picture of the financials.

Make sense?

Long story short: If you don't currently have a scholarship, you won't be getting one partial or otherwise. Confirmed by both Financial Aid and Admissions.

WOW -10 Iowa, major foul

With this information in hand (and my gut) I'm officially going to OSU. I want to work PI, and 100k in debt ain't gonna cut it.

I hear you. But please call Admissions and confirm! (Although this is exactly what they told me, I swear.) I don't want to responsible for one of the biggest decisions of someone's life!

Way ahead of you, called as soon as you posted, and confirmed, nominated for full tuition but didn't receive. I asked will anymore scholarships be awarded? she said no, it's going to be loans for you. Alright, don't sugar-coat it! Oh wells

[webbylu87]

That's rough. At least you were nominated? Not that that fact makes this situation any better.

[traehekat]

Alright, don't sugar-coat it! Oh wells

Haha, I also received a very un-sugar-coated answer when I emailed them about scholarship nomination.

[ylee0331]

so no one seems to know the answer for my q?
do we need to click the "accept" button for the "accept the admission" that is visible on ISIS?
I did pay the 1st deposit today but am confused about this button!

ps. am I seeing people walking away from iowa law? 'cuz I need cool people for my class!

[Jerome]

Alright, don't sugar-coat it! Oh wells

Haha, I also received a very un-sugar-coated answer when I emailed them about scholarship nomination.

Same.

It read:
"Dear Asshole:

Please stop asking for money. We hate you. You might receive loans, if you're lucky."

[traehekat]

so no one seems to know the answer for my q?
do we need to click the "accept" button for the "accept the admission" that is visible on ISIS?
I did pay the 1st deposit today but am confused about this button!!

Call or email them!

[lawschooliseasy]

Called and asked.


Long story short: If you don't currently have a scholarship, you won't be getting one partial or otherwise. Confirmed by both Financial Aid and Admissions.

This is not necessarily true. I just spoke with the admissions office and received some information to the contrary.

[webbylu87]

Called and asked.


Long story short: If you don't currently have a scholarship, you won't be getting one partial or otherwise. Confirmed by both Financial Aid and Admissions.

This is not necessarily true. I just spoke with the admissions office and received some information to the contrary.

Dear god. This is frustrating.

[traehekat]

Called and asked.


Long story short: If you don't currently have a scholarship, you won't be getting one partial or otherwise. Confirmed by both Financial Aid and Admissions.

This is not necessarily true. I just spoke with the admissions office and received some information to the contrary.

Dear god. This is frustrating.

If there weren't hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line, this would almost be comical.

[Jerome]

Called and asked.


Long story short: If you don't currently have a scholarship, you won't be getting one partial or otherwise. Confirmed by both Financial Aid and Admissions.

This is not necessarily true. I just spoke with the admissions office and received some information to the contrary.

Dear god. This is frustrating.

If there weren't hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line, this would almost be comical.

I've just embraced it as hysterical. At the end of the day we can worry, fret, whine, complain, etc. but it wont change our bottom line.

[MoS]

Does anyone think it's possible that Iowa actually increases its ranking? It's been dropping for the past couple years...

Well, I definitely think they are trying too boost their LSAT median, given the fact they are handing out a lot of full rides to high LSAT scorers. It has always been a mystery to me why Iowa is so high ranked, given its relatively lower LSAT median for a T30 school. I suspect it has a lot to do with their library, and possibly their legal writing program/clinics (although I admit I have no idea what actually goes into consideration for lawl skool rankings, aside from LSAT/GPA medians).

Dean Byrd indicated that he has been successful raising medians (and boosting rankings) in the past at previous schools. My guess is that he'll do a good job of stabilizing Iowa...

I think they increased two spots last year, but really that is meaningless the way the rankings work.

However, the reason that Iowa is consistently ranked in the T30 is its reputation. Reputation from peers and practitioners are the two biggest components of the rankings and Iowa is almost always in the top 20 in those rankings.

Also Byrd has been at Iowa for 5+ years and in his time the rank is lower overall, not in a significant way, but still lower. The new Dean that is coming in from Kansas does, however, have a record of increasing rankings.

The problem is that the higher you get, the hard it is to increase rankings over a short period of time (i.e. higher lsat and ugpa medians). The only good news is that since Iowa is starting lower in those areas, it can receive a bigger boost from raising those since the formula uses the percentiles associated with the score, not the score. Meaning if a 164 is 90th percentile and 165 is 92rd percentile, raising a median from 164 to 165 gets 2 points. Since the LSAT is based off a curve, the closer a schools median is to the actual LSAT median (154 ish) the more a one point jump will mean. A jump from 154 to 155 can mean a 4 point jump, but a 170 to a 171 is only worth 0.5 points in the formula. So if Iowa raises its median LSAT one point and so do the schools around it in ranking, Iowa will benifit more because it has a starting LSAT median closer to the LSAT median. That is probably why Indiana boosted its ranking so much over the last year. They threw scholarship money at high LSAT scorers and have raised their median. I think that is what Iowa is doing this year with their scholarships.

[lawschooliseasy]

Does anyone think it's possible that Iowa actually increases its ranking? It's been dropping for the past couple years...

Well, I definitely think they are trying too boost their LSAT median, given the fact they are handing out a lot of full rides to high LSAT scorers. It has always been a mystery to me why Iowa is so high ranked, given its relatively lower LSAT median for a T30 school. I suspect it has a lot to do with their library, and possibly their legal writing program/clinics (although I admit I have no idea what actually goes into consideration for lawl skool rankings, aside from LSAT/GPA medians).

Dean Byrd indicated that he has been successful raising medians (and boosting rankings) in the past at previous schools. My guess is that he'll do a good job of stabilizing Iowa...

I think they increased two spots last year, but really that is meaningless the way the rankings work.

However, the reason that Iowa is consistently ranked in the T30 is its reputation. Reputation from peers and practitioners are the two biggest components of the rankings and Iowa is almost always in the top 20 in those rankings.

Also Byrd has been at Iowa for 5+ years and in his time the rank is lower overall, not in a significant way, but still lower. The new Dean that is coming in from Kansas does, however, have a record of increasing rankings.

The problem is that the higher you get, the hard it is to increase rankings over a short period of time (i.e. higher lsat and ugpa medians). The only good news is that since Iowa is starting lower in those areas, it can receive a bigger boost from raising those since the formula uses the percentiles associated with the score, not the score. Meaning if a 164 is 90th percentile and 165 is 92rd percentile, raising a median from 164 to 165 gets 2 points. Since the LSAT is based off a curve, the closer a schools median is to the actual LSAT median (154 ish) the more a one point jump will mean. A jump from 154 to 155 can mean a 4 point jump, but a 170 to a 171 is only worth 0.5 points in the formula. So if Iowa raises its median LSAT one point and so do the schools around it in ranking, Iowa will benifit more because it has a starting LSAT median closer to the LSAT median. That is probably why Indiana boosted its ranking so much over the last year. They threw scholarship money at high LSAT scorers and have raised their median. I think that is what Iowa is doing this year with their scholarships.

Indiana jumped because they got a huge one-time donation to their endowment.

[JOThompson]

I sent my seat deposit in this morning. Working on the IVF, MPN, Entrance Counseling, etc. now.

[jaskat]

Entrance Counseling? You mean for the loans?

[Jerome]

Entrance Counseling? You mean for the loans?

Little known fact about Iowa: you must complete three sessions with a psychoanalyst in order to be enrolled. If you have any oedipal issues, you're out.


Nah, I sent in the deposit and am working on the data as we speak.

[Slimpee]

I sent my seat deposit in this morning. Working on the IVF, MPN, Entrance Counseling, etc. now.

Congrats on making a decision!

[JOThompson]

I sent my seat deposit in this morning. Working on the IVF, MPN, Entrance Counseling, etc. now.

Congrats on making a decision!

Thanks, it's been a grueling cycle. I'm happy to finally be done with it.

Jaskat: Entrance Counseling is required for financial aid. I'm surprised at the volume of paperwork associated with loans, but then again, I've never had to take out student loans before this.