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So I am trying to get some feedback about what LSAT score I should start considering ED at for UT. I have a 3.6 GPA from a local UT satellite school, tons of solid softs, and military deployments. I can go to UT free of charge because of veteran status, but i want schollys to feed my family with. Im hoping to get at least mid 170s so I dont have to consider ED, but what score should I start considering it? Let me know if yall need more info.

I'd say if you're just a tad south of 168, the ED could make sense. 168 or higher, I don't see the point, unless it comes with some sweet stipend I've never heard of.

This graph can give you an idea of what RD people are dealing with at UT.

The only stipend i know of is the 10k/yr. They made the ED binding at UT now right?

I may be wrong but I don't think you get to pocket whatever money isn't applied to school

So i guess i misunderstand what "stipend" means. From my military experience, that means what you live or conduct business with not necessarily allocated to a certain cost. But i am very new and could be very wrong.

scottidsntknow wrote:I may be wrong but I don't think you get to pocket whatever money isn't applied to school

This is what I meant about the stipend, OP. If it's scholarship money, you don't get a check, they just apply up to that amount to what you owe them. A stipend is money you get to keep.

ILoveYou wrote:

scottidsntknow wrote:I may be wrong but I don't think you get to pocket whatever money isn't applied to school

This is what I meant about the stipend, OP. If it's scholarship money, you don't get a check, they just apply up to that amount to what you owe them. A stipend is money you get to keep.

Yeah email/call and ask to clarify given your military funding. Even though it says stipend, I'm reading it as though it's just a scholarship fwiw.

https://www.utexas.edu/law/admissions/application/

This is where they discuss it for anyone not familiar with UT ED. I am going to call them tomorrow and get clarification. Thank you for bringing that point up. I didn't even consider that i might not get to pocket it.

I have read elsewhere that they sometimes are willing to negotiate a scholarship for a (reduced amount) to be usable for CoL etc.

Auxilio wrote:I have read elsewhere that they sometimes are willing to negotiate a scholarship for a (reduced amount) to be usable for CoL etc.

I'm fairly sure they're not allowed to do that, at least not on yellow ribbon/GI bill etc.

Clearly wrote:

Auxilio wrote:I have read elsewhere that they sometimes are willing to negotiate a scholarship for a (reduced amount) to be usable for CoL etc.

I'm fairly sure they're not allowed to do that, at least not on yellow ribbon/GI bill etc.

False. UT will reclass a scholarship to be used for CoL if you're already 100% covered via GI Bill.

Follow up: just spoke to UT and they said the 10k for ED wpuld convert to usable scholarship for living expenses.

bberry32 wrote:Follow up: just spoke to UT and they said the 10k for ED wpuld convert to usable scholarship for living expenses.

That's what you were hoping for, right? It's a stipend for living expenses that you get even if you use the GI Bill? You're calling it a scholarship here so I'm still confused.

Yeah, I think OP is mixing up stipend and scholarship, but it sounds like good news, so congrats!

Either way, stipend or scholarship, UT will convert it so you can use it.

On the site UT calls it a stipend, but on the phone they call it a scholarship. I dont really know what the difference is. Im still hoping my LSAT is high enough to avoid ED but its good news regardless.

bberry32 wrote:On the site UT calls it a stipend, but on the phone they call it a scholarship. I dont really know what the difference is. Im still hoping my LSAT is high enough to avoid ED but its good news regardless.

So...you talked to them and you still don't know if you can keep it or not?

They said I would keep it. I just want my LSAT to be competitive enough that i dont need ED. I thought i mentioned that above. Sorry for any confusion.

I don't know about UT specifically, but generally speaking...

Money is money. It doesn't really matter if a school calls it a scholarship, stipend, tuition waiver, etc. It's all just money that is applied to your account balance. If you get more than you owe in tuition and fees then you keep the extra. If you don't, then you don't. Money is fungible so in a way it's just semantics as to whether you spend a specific dollar for "tuition" or "rent".

As far as the military thing goes, it all depends on which program you're using. My understanding of, for example, Hazelwood is that they only cover your outstanding tuition and fees and that they "pay last", meaning scholarships should go first and then they pay what's left. In that scenario, scholarships don't really benefit the student since it comes out a wash. (For Hazelwood it doesn't even save the state money either since Texas doesn't actually reimburse the tuition to the university. Unlike the GI Bill where the Feds send the school a check, Texas universities just have to eat the costs of the waiver.) On the other hand, there are some Federal benefits that pay all tuition PLUS a housing stipend (that might be paid directly to the student, not through the school, but I'm much fuzzier on this stuff). Things like FLEP and Vocational Rehab benefits are in this category, if I'm not mistaken.

It's possible UT does some behind the scenes stuff to get the student the extra cash, e.g. waiting to apply the scholarship until after benefits are applied. But like I said, I have no idea how other schools work this.

Dean Perez
Texas Tech Law