Top Law Schools

Hi everyone!
Longtime lurker, but could definitely use some help at this point.

I'm not at all a fan of the scholarship negotiation process (which, in fact, kinda screws over other people who are waiting to hear back from schools and creates a lot of unrest and uncertainty), and was wondering if you think sending the following email could net me a positive outcome at the school I am most interested in attending. Perhaps I'm a moron and this is waaaayyyyy too unorthodox, so if anyone is more familiar with law schools' perspectives, please share your insight. (note: I am purposely changing the name of the school and cost of tuition. I was initially offered roughly 75k total, am 6 points above the school's median LSAT, and was educated abroad so my GPA is of little to no consequence [at least from my understanding]. Strong softs.)


"Dear so-and-so,
Firstly, thank you so much for providing me with this offer. I am genuinely interested in attending Princeton Law this fall, and very much hope to be able to do so.
With that said, I have done some research and, at the current tuition cost (which is likely to increase from what I’ve gathered), each year of attendance will cost approximately $95,000 – a total of $285,000 for three years at Princeton. Even with $25,000 in scholarship per year, I would be taking out $210,000 in student loans, which is far more debt than I am prepared to carry.
It is my understanding that, at this point in the enrollment process, students often ‘negotiate’ with law schools to receive greater offers of financial aid. To that end, students may falsely claim to be interested in one school over another solely to increase their chances of receiving higher funding, and law schools, in turn, must try to anticipate applicants’ intentions, waitlisting other perspective candidates and delaying the enrollment process further.
I am not certain it is in my best interest – or Princeton's – to engage in such an uncertain and time consuming process. For that reason, I would like to make a proposal:
If Princeton Law would be willing to increase their offer to $142,500 ($47,500 per year – precisely half of the total cost of attendance), I will withdraw all other applications and confirm my enrollment immediately. I know this is a bold proposition to make, but I believe this may benefit not only myself, but perhaps Princeton as well, and certainly all applicants placed on the waitlist at schools to which I have already been accepted.
I do hope that this email was not too unorthodox, and please understand that it is not coming from a place of entitlement or hubris – it is simply the most honest and straightforward approach I could think of that might be of benefit to all parties.
Thanks again so much, and I hope to be part of Princeton Law's class of 2023"

No. None of this.

You don't have to like the game, but some pretentious letter about how you're bucking the system isn't going to help. Consider this practice for when you need to follow ridiculously arbitrary court rules in practice or for when you need to negotiate with opposing counsel in a way that you don't enjoy.

cavalier1138 wrote:No. None of this.

You don't have to like the game, but some pretentious letter about how you're bucking the system isn't going to help. Consider this practice for when you need to follow ridiculously arbitrary court rules in practice or for when you need to negotiate with opposing counsel in a way that you don't enjoy.

First, thanks for the advice. I'll scrap this.

Second, I've seen a lot of your replies on TLS and I notice two things:
1) Your advice is excellent 100% percent of the time.
2) Your advice is stated far more harshly than necessary 95% of the time.

I'm guessing you already know that, and suspecting that this reply will earn me a scathing retort, but but I felt the need to say it cuz, well, the harshness just ain't necessary.

Have a great week

While I was not accepted nor offered a scholarship at Princeton Law, I did successfully negotiate some scholarship increases (although most of my outreach was unsuccessful). I said something similar to what you're proposing to say, but a little bit more concise [also, I did not suggest, and absolutely would not advise suggesting, that most people who attempt scholarship negotiation are lying and trying to cheat the schools out of money wtf]. I wish I had been even more concise.

I would make the email as professional and curt as possible, with standard pleasantries at the beginning and end. Mention your offer, say that you have more attractive offers elsewhere but are more interested in Princeton Law than the other schools, and MAYBE make a counteroffer (although I would not advise this in all cases; only if it's actually your top choice and you would take the offer if they accepted). Reaffirm your gratitude for the scholarship you received and offer to give them more information if they need it. Then sign off. The more you put into this, the less you get out of it.