Scholarship for international student ? Forum

[SimL]

Hi everyone ! I'm pretty new to the law school application process so I need some advice, and especially with scholarship.
My LSAT score is 177, which is pretty good but the thing is that I'll be graduating from a non-US university. (Btw my GPA is about 3,7 and I have decent softs)

I really want to be admitted in a T-14 law school & NYU and Columbia are my first choices. I was wondering about scholarships I might except. Is it possible for me to get a 50% or 80% tuition scholarship or even a full ride one ?

[cavalier1138]

A scholarship is definitely possible. A full ride is going to be more likely in the lower T13 than at CCN, but you should still be competitive for decent merit scholarships at those schools.

One catch/clarification: Scholarships are going to be slightly dependent on how your GPA is reported. If it gets converted to the generic international ratings, that might have an effect on your offers.

[SimL]

A scholarship is definitely possible. A full ride is going to be more likely in the lower T13 than at CCN, but you should still be competitive for decent merit scholarships at those schools.

One catch/clarification: Scholarships are going to be slightly dependent on how your GPA is reported. If it gets converted to the generic international ratings, that might have an effect on your offers.

Thanks for your reply. I read on TLS that as long as I'm an international student, my GPA won't be converted to a quantitative GPA. I have to say I'm a little bit afraid about that. Is it possible that LSAC translate my script as "above average" even though I'm literally Top5% (it isn't written on my transcript) and would it be an issue for a possible scholarship ?

My uni gave me the opportunity next year to study in the U.S. (that would be the last year of my 3-year bachelor). Should I accept ? Would it be a good thing to do in every cases or does it depend on the uni that are proposed ?

[cavalier1138]

I'm not sure how your particular GPA will be treated; you might want to ask prior applicants from the same country how their grades were converted.

With regards to spending a year studying in the US: do it if it interests you. It won't move the needle on admissions.

[PrayFor170]

I don't know if NYU or Columbia ever gives 50% or 80% scholarship unless you receive the Hamilton Fellowship in Columbia or Furman Academic Scholars in NYU (there may be more, can't remember right now). Such full-rides are usually given to a selected group of people with certain traits. You can do some research and see if you possess any trait that they are looking for.

Otherwise, you'll have to count on merit-based scholarship. With your stats you can definitely negotiate a decent package, but be prepared to pay a ton of $$$ regardless.

Whether the LSAC rates your GPA as S or AA depends on the specific university that you attend. For example, in my university, anyone below 90/100 will be AA, but in another university, everyone higher than 85/100 will be S. If you know any alum who have gone through the LSAC evaluation, they may know something about it.

You can also count on loans. You aren't qualified for federal loans, but if you can get a co-signer most private loans will be accessible, some with decent interest. You can check out if your home country offers any scholarships to law students or postgraduate students, although such scholarship may require you to return to your country upon graduation. Each law school may or may not offer scholarship that targets students of your nationality. If none of these applies, there are companies that offer private loans to international students without co-signer or credit history - e.g., M Power Finance, Prodigy Finance. However, these companies only fund selected programs and have high interest rate.