NU v GULC v Apply next year (Financial Aid) Forum

[rec345]

So I'm a fairly serious splitter (3.4 GPA, 173 LSAT) from an Ivy League UG. I've been out of school for a few years and have pretty unique work experience. So far my cycle looks like this:

Accepted: Northwestern, GULC
Waitlisted: Columbia, NYU, UVA, Penn, Michigan, Duke
Rejected: Chicago, Boalt
No Response: Cornell

My question is this: Neither NU or GULC has given me a penny of financial aid. The prospect of walking into a lower T14 with 200K+ future debt hanging from my neck is pretty terrifying. At the moment I have a pretty decent job, and theoretically wouldn't mind putting off law school for a year if it would mean saving money down the line either via financial aid or the safety net of a significantly higher ranked school. Should I just pick GULC or NU and work my ass off? Would it be realistic for me to expect a significantly better outcome if I wait a year (more work experience, potentially higher LSAT, maybe ED)? I feel like I've underperformed this cycle, but I'm not positive. Finally, would it be possible to play NU and GULC off each other (as peer schools) to get at least a scrap of aid?

Thanks for any and all advice!

[jrthor10]

I know a few ppl who played these two against each other and GULC gave them a bit (5-10 a year).