Waiting and reapplying effect on aid $? Forum

[Big_Country]

I've decided I'm simply not ready for law school. It is still in my plans, but I've decided that I need to have more direction in what I want to do after law school, and be more committed to the work law school requires. My question is how would applying in a few years to many of the same schools that I've been accepted affect how they look at my application. Is it a negative? Also I've received some very generous scholarships, including 120K from Wash U and Indiana, which I was very interested in. I realize I can't count on getting the same aid, but would schools be less likely to give aid because I've already turned it down once? Any help would be great.

[nelaw2010]

Great question. Has anyone actually been through this? I don't think they would penalize you b/c u turned it down. However, they might have different criteria by the time u apply again (IUB might no longer be doing the 120k for a 167+ LSAT). Can u defer for a year?

[CanadianWolf]

I think that Indiana awards $120,000 scholarships to those with a score of 166 or above & to some 165s. But, I agree with the above poster who wrote that standards for large scholarship awards at Indiana are subject to change in subsequent cycles.

Otherwise, OP, it is difficult to answer your question other than to guess that any financial aid decisions will be on a case-by-case basis based on your circumstances at that time.

[Pricer]

Anecdotal story: My roommate was accepted to UGA last year with a $4,000 a year scholarship. He decided to hold off a year. He reapplied this year, and he was admitted with a $5,000 a year scholarship. No GPA change, no LSAT change, no real work experience (works at a bar downtown) added.

[fatduck]

i don't think they'll be upset if you take a few years off. law schools understand that in a big country, dreams stay with you.

[cubswin]

Last year, I decided not to enroll anywhere and re-applied this year. WUSTL tripled my scholarship amount this year. I suspect this was because I applied much earlier the second time around (first time was mid-January, second was in November) and they simply had more money remaining for me. But it doesn't appear that they looked upon my application with prejudice for not enrolling the year before.