Columbia and NYU scholarships - applicant question Forum

[Russellwestbrookzero]

All,

I am interested in taking the LSAT in either September or December for fall 2017 law school admission. I have a 3.45 UGPA and a year of financial services work experience (top 5 Ivy undergrad) and am currently scoring around 169-171 on my practice LSATs (started prepping in June). I am primarily interested in Columbia and NYU, but would not attend unless I receive a decent amount of scholarship money. I know that with my low GPA, the only chance I have at admission (and any potential scholarship) is to score at least 174. Here are a few of my thoughts:

-Taking the September test will be more difficult because work will ramp up over the next month and it will be difficult to maintain a consistent practice regimen over the next few weeks
-I am leaning towards the December test because a few extra months will provide me with the additional repetition I need to reach my target score comfortably

My main concern with taking the December test is since scores do not come out until the first week of January will this put me at a strong disadvantage for scholarships, especially if I do not apply until a couple of weeks after the LSAT? I understand that with the drop in applications taking the December test may not hurt admissions chances significantly as long as I score well, but I am more pessimistic regarding scholarships. An additional question - how are Columbia and NYU with regards to giving our merit scholarships for splitters? Will my low-ish GPA preclude me from scholarships especially if I apply later, even if my LSAT is above the 75th percentile for each respective school?

[benwyatt]

Can you define what you mean by "decent amount of scholarship money"? That's going to be different for everyone, not to mention that scholarship amounts are way harder to predict than admissions.

Taking in September is better because it gives you the opportunity to take again in December if needed and, if not, lets you get in an earlier application. You will be hurt both in terms of admissions and in terms of scholarships by waiting to apply in January because a lot of the class will have been filled and a lot of money will have been allocated already. Don't let the fact that CLS doesn't release decisions until later fool you, your chances are still hurt by a late application.

Also, while applications and applicants are not at their pre-slump levels, they are on the rise http://www.lsac.org/lsacresources/data/ ... ear-volume

[Russellwestbrookzero]

Thanks - I am leaning towards December because it will give me a better shot at an LSAT in the >174 range and with my current practice scores I am not confident I can get there consistently by September. Significant scholarship money for me would be around 50k - almost enough to pay for a years tuition.

Anyone familiar with NYU and Columbia merit scholarship offerings for splitters?

[Russellwestbrookzero]

bump

[randomanswers]

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[kingpin101]

Can only speak on my own situation, but I got in to both for this cycle. I applied in January with 3.8/173 and did not receive any merit based (though it may because I was considered for Need-Based). I think for close to a full ride for Columbia (Hamilton I believe), you'd need like 3.8-3.9/176 or where they think you'll go to Y/S/H. NYU is probably less than that, but you'd probably need 174+ with your lower GPA. Probably not helpful to you, but I got 30k a year from both schools since I'm dirt poor.

Check out this link: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p?t=144338 Mind you, I'm also giving you these insane numbers because you wanted 50k a year.

This is not necessarily correct. At least for Columbia, need based and merit aid is pooled together, so you have no idea whether you got any merit aid or not. My family is very wealthy but I too got "need based" aid.

[randomanswers]

.

[cavalier1138]

Can only speak on my own situation, but I got in to both for this cycle. I applied in January with 3.8/173 and did not receive any merit based (though it may because I was considered for Need-Based). I think for close to a full ride for Columbia (Hamilton I believe), you'd need like 3.8-3.9/176 or where they think you'll go to Y/S/H. NYU is probably less than that, but you'd probably need 174+ with your lower GPA. Probably not helpful to you, but I got 30k a year from both schools since I'm dirt poor.

Check out this link: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p?t=144338 Mind you, I'm also giving you these insane numbers because you wanted 50k a year.

This is not necessarily correct. At least for Columbia, need based and merit aid is pooled together, so you have no idea whether you got any merit aid or not. My family is very wealthy but I too got "need based" aid.

This is true for NYU as well. In general, I don't think either of these schools give solely need-based aid if you don't qualify for scholarships on a merit basis. I know my scholarship letter didn't specify whether my aid was based on need or merit, simply that I was being offered money.

[Russellwestbrookzero]

thank you all for replies. Given where I am scoring in practice, I feel confident I can raise to 175 by December. How would my scholarship opportunities look like at either school with a 3.45 GPA and 175 LSAT?

[benwyatt]

thank you all for replies. Given where I am scoring in practice, I feel confident I can raise to 175 by December. How would my scholarship opportunities look like at either school with a 3.45 GPA and 175 LSAT?

Scholarships are so hard to predict. Look at mylsn and just regular lsn for people with similar numbers.

[sluggla]

I feel as though there is a decent case for postponing a year. I'm not sure I see the harm in postponing your LSAT until December, retaking in June if necessary, and getting your app in day 1.

That strategy would ensure that you have plenty of LSAT study time, are in a good position for scholarship money (and subsequent negotiation), can strengthen your app with another year of WE, and could mitigate some financial burden going into law school by saving some salary upfront.

Either way - Good Luck!

[Clemenceau]

thank you all for replies. Given where I am scoring in practice, I feel confident I can raise to 175 by December. How would my scholarship opportunities look like at either school with a 3.45 GPA and 175 LSAT?

Scholarships are so hard to predict. Look at mylsn and just regular lsn for people with similar numbers.

+1

Cls and nyu seem particularly volatile with scholarship money. 3.45 isn't a great place to be for $ at those schools. That said, I got a decent chunk of change at cls with a 3.6 & December application.

[benwyatt]

thank you all for replies. Given where I am scoring in practice, I feel confident I can raise to 175 by December. How would my scholarship opportunities look like at either school with a 3.45 GPA and 175 LSAT?

Scholarships are so hard to predict. Look at mylsn and just regular lsn for people with similar numbers.

+1

Cls and nyu seem particularly volatile with scholarship money. 3.45 isn't a great place to be for $ at those schools. That said, I got a decent chunk of change at cls with a 3.6 & December application.

And I got a surprising amount with a 3.3 and a 174 with an earlier app.

OP, I totally understand the instinct but unless this prediction will have an effect on whether or not you even bother applying (which it shouldn't) there's no reason to stress it this much.

[Russellwestbrookzero]

thank you! For those who received scholarships from either school - do you mind indicating how much you received and stats?

[nate3869]

As a single data point for you, this is what happened for me last year:

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/nate3869

[Veil of Ignorance]

Can only speak on my own situation, but I got in to both for this cycle. I applied in January with 3.8/173 and did not receive any merit based (though it may because I was considered for Need-Based). I think for close to a full ride for Columbia (Hamilton I believe), you'd need like 3.8-3.9/176 or where they think you'll go to Y/S/H. NYU is probably less than that, but you'd probably need 174+ with your lower GPA. Probably not helpful to you, but I got 30k a year from both schools since I'm dirt poor.

Check out this link: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p?t=144338 Mind you, I'm also giving you these insane numbers because you wanted 50k a year.

This is not necessarily correct. At least for Columbia, need based and merit aid is pooled together, so you have no idea whether you got any merit aid or not. My family is very wealthy but I too got "need based" aid.

I don't understand, how did you get need based aid if you are wealthy? Do the quote marks mean that the aid was actually merit?