Value of financial aid Forum

[demondeacon]

Hello. This is my first post. I am entering into my senior year at a top 30 university. I have a GPA of 3.37 and an LSAT score of 170. I am in the fortunate position that I can go to any law school debt free, as my family is happy to pay, and can afford it without stress. I am wondering if this will make me a more competitive applicant. I am in a very fortunate situation that I can graduate debt free, but with a weak gpa I am still nervous about getting into a top law school. Would being able to afford full sticker price improve my chances?

[hoos89]

Hello. This is my first post. I am entering into my senior year at a top 30 university. I have a GPA of 3.37 and an LSAT score of 170. I am in the fortunate position that I can go to any law school debt free, as my family is happy to pay, and can afford it without stress. I am wondering if this will make me a more competitive applicant. I am in a very fortunate situation that I can graduate debt free, but with a weak gpa I am still nervous about getting into a top law school. Would being able to afford full sticker price improve my chances?

I doubt it would help other than that it means you can attend the best law school you get into without regard to financial aid...everyone can "afford" full tuition thanks to uncapped Grad Plus loans so I don't really see the argument for why you're a more valuable candidate because you don't need to take out loans. The school shouldn't really care what the source of the money is. Also, I wouldn't proactively disclose that fact as it may cause schools not to offer you scholarships. Table of likely outcomes for your numbers below. I think you should consider retaking the LSAT; you need about 2 more points to have a legit shot at Columbia or NYU.