Top Law Schools

Hey everyone,

I’m currently in the process of deciding where I want to attend school in the fall and my top three so far are: George Mason, Villanova and Miami. To date, none of these schools have offered me any sort of merit aid (probably due to my lackluster LSAT (155)), yet I’ve been able to secure an acceptance at these schools most likely because of my above 75% GPA (3.77). The only two schools I can imagine offering me any sort of merit aid are Suffolk and Syracuse since I am above their median LSAT and over their 75% GPA, yet I doubt their offers would entice Miami or Villanova to budge. I’m certainly thrilled from the acceptances alone, however paying full tuition is unappealing to say the least (although I’m willing to do so).

For the sake of being prudent I’m wondering if it would be worth an attempt at negotiating merit aid from either Villanova or Miami using my GMU acceptance as leverage. I’ve read Cuch’s thread on “Negotiating Merit Aid” and understand this type of procedure can work under the right circumstances. Thus, since GMU’s rank is higher than that of Villanova and Miami (#40 vs. #77 and #84, respectively) does the TLS community think it would be worthwhile to pursue solicited aid from those two schools? Or is GMU's rank/prestige not high enough for this tactic to work? Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

UPDATE: Just found out today I was awarded $15,000/year from Hofstra with a top 40% stip. Given that new bit of information, does anyone think I would be successful in getting Villanova to match the offer? Both are ranked #84 so I would assume they're peer schools by that definition.

btowncane wrote:Hey everyone,
I’m currently in the process of deciding where I want to attend school in the fall and my top three so far are: George Mason, Villanova and Miami. To date, none of these schools have offered me any sort of merit aid (probably due to my lackluster LSAT (155)), yet I’ve been able to secure an acceptance at these schools most likely because of my above 75% GPA (3.77). The only two schools I can imagine offering me any sort of merit aid are Suffolk and Syracuse since I am above their median LSAT and over their 75% GPA, yet I doubt their offers would entice Miami or Villanova to budge. I’m certainly thrilled from the acceptances alone, however paying full tuition is unappealing to say the least (although I’m willing to do so).
For the sake of being prudent I’m wondering if it would be worth an attempt at negotiating merit aid from either Villanova or Miami using my GMU acceptance as leverage. I’ve read Cuch’s thread on “Negotiating Merit Aid” and understand this type of procedure can work under the right circumstances. Thus, since GMU’s rank is higher than that of Villanova and Miami (#40 vs. #77 and #84, respectively) does the TLS community think it would be worthwhile to pursue solicited aid from those two schools? Or is GMU's rank/prestige not high enough for this tactic to work? Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

My guess is that they probably aren't going to budge... schools will typically be willing to negotiate scholarship money when a peer school or higher ranked school has offered you an equal or greater amount than they have. Merely an acceptance from a higher ranked school that is relatively close in rank isnt going to entice them to negotiate.

Anything outside of T14 is largely regional, and all 3 of these schools (besides maybe Nova) place well in their respective regions. So your real decision lies with where you want to practice/live.

Bump for the update.