Columbia Law Need-Based Aid Guaranteed? Forum

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TigersAreCool

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Columbia Law Need-Based Aid Guaranteed?

Post by TigersAreCool » Sun Aug 08, 2021 1:21 am

Hey guys,

Columbia is my top choice and I was thinking about applying ED. I come from a pretty low-income family and I would probably receive the maximum amount of need-based aid under normal circumstances - I was just wondering if this would be guaranteed even if I ED.

My GPA is around 3.8 and my LSAT is 173 - I don't really want to attend any other T14's and if I do receive the maximum amount of need-based, around 100k, that would probably be my best realistic offer. It would also be nice to just be done with admissions early and from what I've seen from the data ED'ing at Columbia does give a slight edge. Does anyone know how Columbia's need-based aid works?

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cavalier1138

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Re: Columbia Law Need-Based Aid Guaranteed?

Post by cavalier1138 » Sun Aug 08, 2021 7:22 am

To answer your primary question, I believe need-based aid is calculated the same way regardless of how you're admitted.

To answer all the red flags your post raised:

1. Don't assume you qualify for need-based aid. Almost no one does.

2. Don't get hyper-focused on a single top school. There is absolutely no reason you should be this sold on Columbia (or anywhere).

3. Don't apply ED without a guaranteed scholarship. You may not qualify for need-based aid, but you're definitely getting some merit-based aid throughout the T-14. And it would be a really, really, really dumb idea to attend Columbia at $X over, for example, Duke at $X-100k.

BrainsyK

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Re: Columbia Law Need-Based Aid Guaranteed?

Post by BrainsyK » Sun Aug 08, 2021 1:44 pm

Yes, it is guaranteed if you qualify. No, you will likely not qualify. Even if you do, you're not likely to get $100k. The most I've ever seen is $60k. I got $40k and my parents showed maybe $13k-20k USD in income combined. IME, people have a pretty terrible sense of what is "low-income." I've had people look me dead in the eye and tell me that their family is LMC because their parents only made $250k. My guess is that the aid probably cuts off at somewhere around ~$60k in income, but that's just a guess.

TigersAreCool

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Re: Columbia Law Need-Based Aid Guaranteed?

Post by TigersAreCool » Mon Aug 09, 2021 2:23 am

My parents and I are below the poverty line. I'm not sure how their need-based aid works, but looking at LSD most people who describe their aid as "need-based" are getting around 90-120k. Obviously being in poverty is not something to brag about, but if Columbia's need-based is calculated like Harvard's(50k - (100k - Income)) I would probably get the max amount. I'm not sure exactly how it is calculated so that's why I came on here to ask.

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cavalier1138

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Re: Columbia Law Need-Based Aid Guaranteed?

Post by cavalier1138 » Mon Aug 09, 2021 5:02 am

TigersAreCool wrote:
Mon Aug 09, 2021 2:23 am
if Columbia's need-based is calculated like Harvard's
It isn't. Harvard, Yale, and Stanford only give need-based scholarships. Outside of HYS, merit-based is the norm, and as mentioned, very few people get any need-based aid.

This isn't meant to dissuade you from applying and seeking need-based aid, but you shouldn't be trying for ED anywhere. You're looking at good merit aid in the T13, and you'll be throwing away six-figure scholarships by arbitrarily locking yourself in at one school.

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nealric

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Re: Columbia Law Need-Based Aid Guaranteed?

Post by nealric » Mon Aug 09, 2021 9:51 am

TigersAreCool wrote:
Mon Aug 09, 2021 2:23 am
My parents and I are below the poverty line. I'm not sure how their need-based aid works, but looking at LSD most people who describe their aid as "need-based" are getting around 90-120k. Obviously being in poverty is not something to brag about, but if Columbia's need-based is calculated like Harvard's(50k - (100k - Income)) I would probably get the max amount. I'm not sure exactly how it is calculated so that's why I came on here to ask.
I think you may be confusing Harvard's undergrad aid with their law school aid. Very different systems.

At the end of the day, all you can do is apply to a wide variety of schools and compare what they offer. There's just no way to know in advance. Even if you are dead set on Columbia, it makes sense to apply widely and try to leverage other school's offers.

nixy

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Re: Columbia Law Need-Based Aid Guaranteed?

Post by nixy » Mon Aug 09, 2021 10:09 am

I think you're right about a lot of Harvard aid packages ranging from $90-120k for law school - there's a cap on how much aid you can get, so everyone takes out some loans, it's just more or less depending on need. As people have pointed out, HYS offer only need-based aid, no merit scholarships. Most other law schools only offer merit scholarships. You will be able to take out loans to pay for school (assuming you don't have disastrous credit), but very few schools give out need-based free money. Whenever this comes up I see some Georgetown students say that GT does, and I certainly can't say no other T14 school ever does. Others have suggested that some schools consider need in awarding merit aid. But the utter ease of getting federal loans to pay for school means that most law schools have little incentive to offer need-based aid (as opposed to merit aid, which is used to recruit desirable applicants). I'm not sure there's any federal need-based aid left for graduate degrees at this point - as nealric said, it's quite different from undergrad funding.

jackshunger

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Re: Columbia Law Need-Based Aid Guaranteed?

Post by jackshunger » Sun Aug 29, 2021 11:03 am

TigersAreCool wrote:
Sun Aug 08, 2021 1:21 am
Hey guys,

Columbia is my top choice and I was thinking about applying ED. I come from a pretty low-income family and I would probably receive the maximum amount of need-based aid under normal circumstances - I was just wondering if this would be guaranteed even if I ED.

My GPA is around 3.8 and my LSAT is 173 - I don't really want to attend any other T14's and if I do receive the maximum amount of need-based, around 100k, that would probably be my best realistic offer. It would also be nice to just be done with admissions early and from what I've seen from the data ED'ing at Columbia does give a slight edge. Does anyone know how Columbia's need-based aid works?
I’m not entirely sure how Columbia’s need based aid works either, but I got significantly more money (about $100K) than some of the previous posters with a net income of about $35K before law school, with no familial support.

I still wouldn’t apply ED though, you’ve got a great chance at merit based aid somewhere else. Your stats also put you in range for Butler Scholarship if you apply regularly.

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