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I know schools vary in what they deem "acceptable" excuses for deferring. I just found out that my job has been extended and I can stay as long as I want. I'm a legal assistant so I don't want to be here forever but I would like to possibly stay another year and save some more money.

Would I just have to reapply in this case? This fall would be my third time applying to law school since 2009 but only my second time applying to the T-14 (minus Georgetown).

I'm also concerned about applications going back up, but I doubt that will happen.

If you defer you cannot reapply. Also, you lose any potential scholarships and will have no leverage next year. I would wait to see what kind of merit aid Penn is offering you, and weight that against the money you anticipate saving over the next year.

ChampagnePapi wrote:If you defer you cannot reapply. Also, you lose any potential scholarships and will have no leverage next year. I would wait to see what kind of merit aid Penn is offering you, and weight that against the money you anticipate saving over the next year.

I know I couldn't reapply if they allowed me to defer--I meant "would they not allow me to defer?"

I assume I won't get any merit-based aid because I am a splitter.

I would plan on attending unless you're granted a deferral. With Penn, I'd be concerned about signaling that you're a possible threat to their yield maintenance efforts. There is no guarantee that they would admit you again, regardless of what happens with app numbers.

How many years of WE do you have? If you're a recent grad, emphasize that you want more work experience for the benefits this will provide in the legal hiring process. And, whatever your age, stress that you want to save money to reduce future debt. This seems reasonable to me, but someone else will have to offer info as to how liberal Penn is in granting deferrals.

Ti Malice wrote:I would plan on attending unless you're granted a deferral. With Penn, I'd be concerned with signaling that you're a possible threat to their yield maintenance efforts. There is no guarantee that they would admit you again, regardless of what happens with app numbers.

How many years of WE do you have? If you're a recent grad, emphasize that you want more work experience for the benefits this will provide in legal hiring. And, whatever your age, stress that you want to save money to reduce future debt. This seems reasonable to me, but someone else will have to offer info as to how liberal Penn in granting deferrals.

I've been out of school for 3.5 years so I would argue the "wanting to save money" angle. Also my coworker (one of three full time employees in my department, including the GC) will be out later this year for several months so I could bring that up. Penn's FAQ section re: deferrals seems pretty liberal.

This is assuming Penn is still my top choice when this cycle shakes out. As if I didn't already have enough to think about.

I'm just one person, but I re-applied and got all the same acceptances I did the previous cycle. Schools will still need your numbers next year. I'm not sure how they will feel about a third go-around though. I feel like it will make you look sketchy and indecisive.

You're considering sitting out and re-applying? You ED'd to Chicago and already went through two application cycles...I don't think that would look very good?

I feel like they ultimately won't care. Its about numbers, after all.

I guess I would be nervous if it was my third time applying to CN/MVP/C (making up acronyms ftw), but I should hope law schools realize I'm not taking this decision lightly?

Poof