U of Chicago giving 60 full tuition scholarships! Forum

[mfeller2]

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/news/rubensteingift090810

Former alum donated $10 million for merit scholarships. U of Chi just went up in my book!

[Dany]

This sucks.

Now people will be doing the Hamilton v. HYS debate, but now it'll be Chicago's Rubenstein v. HLS, and since I have no chance at getting one of these, it's just upping my competition.

(Thanks for posting the story, though; I guess it is good for the school.)

[The Real Jack McCoy]

Wow! The Rubinstein v. Hamilton debate should now commence.

[doyleoil]

This is incredibly good news for the school (and long overdue). Dean Schill deserves a raise - .

[hemm]

I can dream....

[jimmyd11011]

wow so over 10% of the class could be on full rides...

[St.Remy]

Considering that last year UChi only gave 5 full scholarships (according to the ABA law school guide) this is going to greatly increase the total amount of scholarship money that they give out.

My rankings prediction is that with NYU's large LSAT gains they'll take spot #5 this year, but next year when Chicago starts spending this $$$ they will regain their top 5 position.

[0L Hoping for 1]

They are only giving 20 per year, its 60 total

[d34d9823]

Ooh shiny

[rundoxierun]

wow. Uchicago actually gives out money now?!

[JollyGreenGiant]

*grumbles*

[rynabrius]

Considering that last year UChi only gave 5 full scholarships (according to the ABA law school guide) this is going to greatly increase the total amount of scholarship money that they give out.

My rankings prediction is that with NYU's large LSAT gains they'll take spot #5 this year, but next year when Chicago starts spending this $$$ they will regain their top 5 position.

I was thinking the same thing. It's apparently much easier to gain ranking with $$ than with LSAT scores, at least at the high end, due to the per capita expenditure measure. And since Chicago is small....

[spondee]

This sounds great. But I'm confused: it's only going to last 3 years for 60 students total? How many scholarships per year could $10 million endow permanently?

[JollyGreenGiant]

*grumbles*

On second thought, this is great for Chicago. It brings in much more "qualified" applicants, yet keeps them out of my class! Excellent.

[vanwinkle]

This is an expendable fund, meaning that they're going to spend the money until it runs out (apparently in three years), and then the scholarship will go away. Kind of unusual for a named scholarship, or at least different from something lasting like the Hamilton.

[im_blue]

This sounds great. But I'm confused: it's only going to last 3 years for 60 students total? How many scholarships per year could $10 million endow permanently?

Chicago's tuition is currently $45k, so if we ignore inflation and tuition increases and assume only incoming students get scholarships, that's 222 student-years.
1st year: 20
2nd year: 40
3rd year: 60
4th year: 60
5th year: 60
Total: 240

On the other hand, had they treated it as an endowment with 5% annual returns instead, that would be $500k per year ~= 10 full scholarships per year instead of 60.

[rayiner]

This sounds great. But I'm confused: it's only going to last 3 years for 60 students total? How many scholarships per year could $10 million endow permanently?

Chicago's tuition is currently $45k, so if we ignore inflation and tuition increases and assume only incoming students get scholarships, that's 222 student-years.
1st year: 20
2nd year: 40
3rd year: 60
4th year: 60
5th year: 60
Total: 240

On the other hand, had they treated it as an endowment with 5% annual returns instead, that would be $500k per year ~= 10 full scholarships per year instead of 60.

Or you could just say that each full scholarship costs $150k (over 3 years) and divide $10m / $150k = ~60.

[im_blue]

This sounds great. But I'm confused: it's only going to last 3 years for 60 students total? How many scholarships per year could $10 million endow permanently?

Chicago's tuition is currently $45k, so if we ignore inflation and tuition increases and assume only incoming students get scholarships, that's 222 student-years.
1st year: 20
2nd year: 40
3rd year: 60
4th year: 60
5th year: 60
Total: 240

On the other hand, had they treated it as an endowment with 5% annual returns instead, that would be $500k per year ~= 10 full scholarships per year instead of 60.

Or you could just say that each full scholarship costs $150k (over 3 years) and divide $10m / $150k = ~60.

True. I wonder why Rubenstein chose to front-load the money rather than spread it out over fewer permanent scholarships (other than his stated purpose of attracting similar donations). Ranking purposes, perhaps?

[rayiner]

This sounds great. But I'm confused: it's only going to last 3 years for 60 students total? How many scholarships per year could $10 million endow permanently?

Chicago's tuition is currently $45k, so if we ignore inflation and tuition increases and assume only incoming students get scholarships, that's 222 student-years.
1st year: 20
2nd year: 40
3rd year: 60
4th year: 60
5th year: 60
Total: 240

On the other hand, had they treated it as an endowment with 5% annual returns instead, that would be $500k per year ~= 10 full scholarships per year instead of 60.

Or you could just say that each full scholarship costs $150k (over 3 years) and divide $10m / $150k = ~60.

True. I wonder why Rubenstein chose to front-load the money rather than spread it out over fewer permanent scholarships (other than his stated purpose of attracting similar donations). Ranking purposes, perhaps?

Almost certainly. Giving another 10% of the class full rides could definitely help U Chi match NYU's new medians...

[ConMan345]

More relevant question: how does one become a former alum?

[vickers711]

This is incredibly good news for the school (and long overdue). Dean Schill deserves a raise - .

Other than the possibility of upping the rankings through attracting more qualified applicants, how does this affect students now?

[dbrddr]

David Rubenstein is the same man who bought a 13th-century copy of the Magna Carta and loaned it permanently to the National Archives, in case anyone wanted to know

[jaymoney]

He front-loaded it because he's hoping there'll be an immediate impact and that it will encourage others to donate as well.

He's said that if it seems to be successful he may donate more.

[s0ph1e2007]

... yay chicago for getting lots of money


@#$% I'm not getting in anymore lol

[kazu]

He front-loaded it because he's hoping there'll be an immediate impact and that it will encourage others to donate as well.

He's said that if it seems to be successful he may donate more.

Thanks for explaining!