Penn Levy Scholarship Forum

[skynet]

oh also - what sorts of cross-disciplinary things would you guys be thinking about doing?

sustainable cities/cleantech

[GeePee]

I just sent my essay! I received the invite about a week ago and my deadline for submission was tomorrow. I was told there would be about a week turnaround... I can't wait.

[booby87]

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[Core]

Is it crazy to email Penn to ask for an invitation to apply for one of their scholarships (not necessarily Levy)?

Anyone care to address this?

[sundevil77]

Is it crazy to email Penn to ask for an invitation to apply for one of their scholarships (not necessarily Levy)?

Anyone care to address this?

I'm going to do exactly that this week. I didn't write a Why Penn? so I think I'll send them a bit about that and then ask to be considered for a scholarship. I'm actually visiting the school in a couple of weeks and I'm debating whether I should ask to be considered before or after. Hmmmm. I don't know.

[booby87]

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[cflames7]

I'm also part of this group! Congrats to all the other scholarship winners!

I can't lie though, I am torn. I have a $75K offer from Chicago and this scholarship from Penn ($110-120K). I don't know what the right decision is.

I was also told by NYU I am a Law, Economics, and Politics Scholars Program finalist. Scholarship amounts of up to full tuition for this award too.

I really don't know what to decide with Penn vs Chicago, but I think a full scholarship from NYU would tip the balance a bit.

Thoughts?

[MeasuredOptimism]

Joining the club. Congrats all around.

Will be trying to leverage this with NYU and Berkeley. Still waiting for decisions from HYSC, so may include it in an LOCI.

I will probably attend the Penn Preview Day in April.

Basically no idea whether I will take it or not.

[jasonportwood]

+1 to the Levy today, congrats to the others. my first guaranteed scholarship from a T14!

this question has probably come up in other threads, but since it's specific to this scholarship:... are those of you seeking to leverage this with other schools going to do so immediately or wait for a more full picture of other scholarships received?

i'm wondering particularly how to handle a top school on the east coast, located on the northern part of an island between broadway and amsterdam (couch cough), since as of now i know nothing about aid from them. supposedly their aid decisions will start to come out in late march/early april; should i tell them before their initial decision, or do i wait to use as an appeal?

[GeePee]

I would wait until you at least get an offer from Columbia. However, it seems like they don't usually outdo the Butler with just Dean's scholarships, so I'd expect at most 70k, if that, from CLS.

[duodora]

oh also - what sorts of cross-disciplinary things would you guys be thinking about doing?

Environmental stuff generally

Also lol at the typo, I apparently will fail at being a lawyer, I just clicked on the attachment long enough to see that it was a "sign here" form and didn't look at the small print.

GeePee--congrats on the invite and good luck!

[brennanlives]

cool! the program in france with université paris 1 sounds amazing, but is an extra year, and my interests lie more in human rights/development than "global business law."

when are you all thinking about going?! i wasn't even planning on visiting before, but now i definitely think i should. there isn't a designated weekend for prospective levy scholars, is there?

[jasonportwood]

I would wait until you at least get an offer from Columbia. However, it seems like they don't usually outdo the Butler with just Dean's scholarships, so I'd expect at most 70k, if that, from CLS.

Thanks, GeePee, this is helpful.

[skynet]

OK so one other thing: even with the Levy, I would probably still need an LRAP to help with COL loans I will get no matter what. Who's got a sense of how good/bad Penn's LRAP is?

[swimbrad]

+1 too on getting the Levy, definitely makes the decision harder... now booking a flight to Philly, whereas before I wasn't going to visit...

this is gonna be one helluva decision

[skynet]

OK, so now that I've gotten my need-based aid package from HLS, I am leaning strongly towards HLS over Penn. My aid package includes some pretty big grants (yay poverty working in my favor this time!), which take away a lot of the appeal of the Levy.

I've also learned that there is much more sympathy for the types of long-term projects I have in mind at H than at Penn. Looks like Penn is pretty much out for me. Can anyone think of any reason Penn should still be in the game for me?

[sundevil77]

OK, so now that I've gotten my need-based aid package from HLS, I am leaning strongly towards HLS over Penn. My aid package includes some pretty big grants (yay poverty working in my favor this time!), which take away a lot of the appeal of the Levy.

I've also learned that there is much more sympathy for the types of long-term projects I have in mind at H than at Penn. Looks like Penn is pretty much out for me. Can anyone think of any reason Penn should still be in the game for me?

Nope. Have fun at Harvard. Tell Penn they can give that extra Levy to sundevil77

[skynet]

OK, so now that I've gotten my need-based aid package from HLS, I am leaning strongly towards HLS over Penn. My aid package includes some pretty big grants (yay poverty working in my favor this time!), which take away a lot of the appeal of the Levy.

I've also learned that there is much more sympathy for the types of long-term projects I have in mind at H than at Penn. Looks like Penn is pretty much out for me. Can anyone think of any reason Penn should still be in the game for me?

Nope. Have fun at Harvard. Tell Penn they can give that extra Levy to sundevil77

Done. Good luck, sundevil and everyone else!

[gilagarta]

I'm joining the Levy club! I'm very conflicted - I had pretty much decided on Harvard at this point, with some of me still wanting to go to NYU (though they didn't give me an RTK interview, so leaning towards no). I'm also still waiting to hear from Yale.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what this means for someone who plans to go into public interest like me? On the one hand, the money upfront would be great, but on the other, Harvard's LIPP is amazing and I want to go into high-prestige national PI work, so I think the Harvard name might do a lot for me. Thoughts? Also, it's been asked before, but does anyone know how Penn's LRAP is for COL expenses?

[bluelovebug]

With the deadline to accept the Levy rapidly approaching I thought I would see if anyone had already made their decision? Anyone turning down HYS to accept the Levy? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts/reasons. The half of me that is debt averse is locked in a battle with the half of me that is a prestige whore and I have no idea how I am going to reach a final decision.

[thistimereborn]

HI All,

I'm a current levy scholar and just wanted to say that I've never regretted taking the Levy over higher ranked schools. In fact, I was so sold on Penn after coming to the Admitted Students' Weekend that I accepted on the spot without even waiting to hear specifics from the higher ranked schools. Granted, I didn't expect to get anywhere near as much money from the higher ranked schools, but I knew that Penn would serve me well in the job market (or as well as any law school realistically could, given the market) for big law.

The perks they tell you about are real. You get to go to the fancy Benefactor's Dinner, have dinner with the Dean of Students at his house, which the Dean of the law school also attends, meet Mr. Levy (who is an incredible man), and put it on your resume. Also, they assign alumni mentors to you based on your field of interest, and mine turned out to be great and very established/willing to help. Also, being able to go to New York or DC with ease is a major plus if you want to work in NY or DC

However, no one really knows who the levy scholars are at school and no one really talks about it. This has a lot to do with Penn's collegial and non-hierarchical structure and culture, the fact that the levy scholars I know are humble people who don't go around boasting, etc. So if you're expecting to be seen as "special" you'd be disappointed - it's not that kind of thing.

I'm not sure how much of a boost having the Levy Scholarship on your resume gives you when looking for jobs, but it definitely can't hurt.

Also, Penn has a small class size, which really does make a difference in my mind when applying for jobs, since law firms always look for a diverse summer associate group from various schools.

If you have any questions about the Levy Program I'd be happy to answer them.

I guess the final thing is that you should probably pick the school you'd most comfortable at (assuming money is not the main factor for you). Penn has a particular style and culture (truly is collegial) and if that's a match for your personality, I'd say there's no where better to go, especially with the Levy.

Regarding Penn vs. Chicago, I didn't even consider Chicago, though I was accepted there, because of its reputation for its atmosphere and culture. Not sure if you're concerned about what actual life at the law school will be, but I guarantee you Penn is a perfect match for those of you who value enjoying your law school experience, having friends, and hanging out.

Oh, last thing - If you want to be a SCOTUS judge or law professor, forget everything I've said and go to Yale or Harvard.

[gilagarta]

I'm curious...did OP (and anyone else here facing this decision) decide to go with HLS or Levy?

I decided on HLS.

[alex06]

Hi all,
I just joined the Levy club too. Was VERY surprised because I had been given another named scholarship and was leaning towards Penn (while still holding onto a couple other schools, but not with realistic expectations to attend them). I guess other people withdrew recently and they had some extra Levy money, but it's awesome for me!!! I had some definite reasons for wanting to go to Penn (a double degree program).

thistimereborn -- could you talk a little bit more about the mentoring program? Are you assigned an alumni or do you get to choose? It seems like in an institution with a class size as small as Penn's that getting to know the Dean could be accomplished outside of a special program.

In any case, I am STOKED because it makes public service work right out of law school look all the more possible for me. Am really hoping that I can go straight in without having to sell my soul for a couple years to pay back debts. Nonetheless, with the double degree program and the remaining 30,000 of tuition + cost of living, my debts still look like they will be around 90,000.

I second gilagarta's question....who else is in for the Levy??? How many of us are there who will be attending?

[janer]

Hi all,
I just joined the Levy club too. Was VERY surprised because I had been given another named scholarship and was leaning towards Penn (while still holding onto a couple other schools, but not with realistic expectations to attend them). I guess other people withdrew recently and they had some extra Levy money, but it's awesome for me!!! I had some definite reasons for wanting to go to Penn (a double degree program).

thistimereborn -- could you talk a little bit more about the mentoring program? Are you assigned an alumni or do you get to choose? It seems like in an institution with a class size as small as Penn's that getting to know the Dean could be accomplished outside of a special program.

In any case, I am STOKED because it makes public service work right out of law school look all the more possible for me. Am really hoping that I can go straight in without having to sell my soul for a couple years to pay back debts. Nonetheless, with the double degree program and the remaining 30,000 of tuition + cost of living, my debts still look like they will be around 90,000.

I second gilagarta's question....who else is in for the Levy??? How many of us are there who will be attending?

Congrats! I ended up turning down the Levy since I want to practice in Chicago post graduation and received a full scholarship to Northwestern. I really enjoyed Penn when I visited so it was hard to turn down. Have a great time there!