Schools That Have Sent out Fee Waivers Forum

landshoes · Post by **landshoes** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 2:13 pm

There are a lot of different individual strategies.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... egotiating

It's not actually that complicated, though.

--Get offers from multiple schools
--Seem credibly interested* in attending any of these schools that you want to use for negotiations
--Tell each school in turn that you're interested, but the other school made you a better deal**
--When/if they get back to you with more money, go back to the other school and do the same thing
--Do this until everyone stops giving you more money or you can no longer claim to be credibly interested in another school
--Profit

*how you make yourself seem credible depends heavily on your given situation, and you should be creative, using your personal situation to come up with a credible narrative about why you're interested in both schools at the same time. Obviously, money is a credible factor, but don't rule out things like family support, connections to a certain legal market, or differences in school support post-graduation (i.e. LRAP). It helps if you're genuinely interested in both schools and their offers are similar enough to make your indecision make sense, because then you don't have to make shit up. You might have to deposit to make yourself seem genuinely interested in a given school.

**a better deal doesn't always mean more money. School rank / employment outcomes / prestige matter. A half-ride at Columbia is a better "deal" than a half-ride at Georgetown. The boundaries for this are sort of mushy, but it's pretty much always worth a try.

landshoes · Post by **landshoes** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 2:15 pm

Also, I think this is obvious, but be polite to everyone you speak to at all times. Be pleasant and thankful. DON'T ACT ENTITLED OR ARROGANT. Behave like you're the recipient of thousands and thousands of dollars from these people, which in many ways you are.

Be personable, likable, and an excellent writer: someone who they can easily picture writing successful cover letters and doing well at OCI.

Hope that helps.

ManoftheHour · Post by **ManoftheHour** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 2:25 pm

Agreed with the last post. I can't understate how important it is to show genuine interest in the schools you are negotiating between. Afer I double first deposited, I made sure both schools knew that I was going to pick one or the other but still had a hard time deciding. So it came down to money to make it an easier decision.

basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 2:43 pm

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hbartlett · Post by **hbartlett** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 3:16 pm

I just realized today that I wasn't signed up for CRS (I'm not sure why, but I thought it was set up automatically when I made my LSAC account for the June LSAT.) Does anyone have any idea how long it might take for to start getting fee waiver emails after just signing up now? Thanks in advance for the help!

urbanist11 · Post by **urbanist11** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 3:56 pm

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brendo17 · Post by **brendo17** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 4:31 pm

Also got one from Wash U on July 10th.

basti · Post by **basti** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 6:01 pm

Same. I have a question. I am applying this cycle, but was getting fee waivers last cycle. However, some fee waivers came in the later months. Should I petition schools for them around September (mentioning that I got a fee waiver last year) of them? This is all conjectural of course, because I don't know if and when I'll receive fee waivers this year.

HalfStudent · Post by **HalfStudent** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 6:10 pm

USC got rid of app fees last cycle, don't know if it will continue this cycle.

jumbo2016 · Post by **jumbo2016** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 3:25 pm

Got one from Maryland on Monday 7/13

whacka · Post by **whacka** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 4:45 pm

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shump92 · Post by **shump92** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 4:50 pm

whacka wrote:Can I (should I) email schools and ask for fee waivers right now, or should I wait and see if they send me something? OP said Penn sent out waivers, but I'm at or above both of their 75%iles and didn't get anything - should I shoot them an email now, or wait until I'm closer to September?

I said Penn State FYI. And all of the other notable ones I have gotten were noted by other posters.

whacka · Post by **whacka** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 4:51 pm

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basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 6:53 pm

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Generally · Post by **Generally** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:16 pm

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whacka · Post by **whacka** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:50 pm

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basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 8:11 pm

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salander · Post by **salander** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 1:43 pm

Received a fee waiver from Cornell today (July 17), the first one from a T14 since I signed up for the CRS on June 30.

tflan19 · Post by **tflan19** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 2:01 pm

When does it become appropriate to contact schools that have sent out waivers already re: requesting a waiver? Best to wait until August or September?

urbanist11 · Post by **urbanist11** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 2:10 pm

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shump92 · Post by **shump92** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:05 pm

whacka wrote:Can I (should I) email schools and ask for fee waivers right now, or should I wait and see if they send me something? OP said Penn sent out waivers, but I'm at or above both of their 75%iles and didn't get anything - should I shoot them an email now, or wait until I'm closer to September?

I started looking up the actual information for this on schools. Here is a link to Penn's FAQs:
https://www.law.upenn.edu/admissions/jd ... hp#waivers

Basically, you can only wait until September or see if you meet their criteria for need-based waivers. But you can do outreach to some schools. I had success doing that today so look up their websites and see if they honor requests for the fee waivers.