Chances for significant scholarships/financial aid in t14? (3.85/171) Forum

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2651704

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Chances for significant scholarships/financial aid in t14? (3.85/171)

Post by 2651704 » Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:01 am

I am an international student who will graduate from a top 20 US liberal arts school next year. I have a predicted GPA of 3.85 and 171 on the LSAT. I am planning to apply to all T14 schools. Additionally, and I don't know how relevant this might be, but I have an interesting story of how I grew up in a really small town (almost a village) in India, learned English, prepared for the SAT and applied to colleges in the US without any external help, and got a full ride for undergrad. Even in college, I work ~20 hours a week to sustain myself, on top of maintaining a (relatively) good GPA. My family cannot really afford to pay for law school so I was hoping to apply for significant financial aid (close to a full ride or full tuition, at the least). I might take a loan to cover any remaining expenses. All things considered, how are my chances at T14?

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GFox345

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Re: Chances for significant scholarships/financial aid in t14? (3.85/171)

Post by GFox345 » Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:51 am

Have you actually received a 171 on the LSAT already, or is that a "predicted" number in addition to your GPA? If that's the case, I will say preliminarily that predicted LSAT scores are notorious for turning out lower than expected given the stresses of test day, an off-the-wall logic game, etc. Do not make any significant moves with regard to your future in law school without knowing your actual LSAT score. Keep your head in the game on LSAT prep until you finally get the score you need. The logistical stuff will fall in line once that score is in place. If you do under-perform your average on practice tests, retake.

If you have actually received a 171 on the LSAT, congratulations. That is a fantastic score, and it can be leveraged to get you significant aid in the T-14. If money is your primary concern, I would suggest that you blanket the top 20 schools or so in addition to any major regional schools in areas in which you could see yourself remaining long-term at the very beginning of the application cycle (early September). Even if you have no intention of going to some of these schools, generous scholarship offers from them can sometimes be used to leverage additional scholarship money from schools you would attend.

As far as predicted cycle results, I would say that you can expect acceptances from at least a few T-14 schools: Probably UChicago on-down. HYS are harder to get with your numbers and are notorious for giving little or no scholarship aid, though you may be one of the rare applicants that could qualify for need-based aid. Check LawSchoolNumbers for specifics.

Toward the lower T-14, I would say you are looking at significant aid, perhaps north of half of Cost of Attendance or more if you play your cards right. Keep an open mind with places you are willing to spend 3 years, and you could get out with a great law degree on the cheap.

Also, as a recent graduate of a mid T-14 myself who received significant aid, I would encourage you to at least consider continuing your practice of working during law school. Especially great are RA gigs that can get you free housing and a stipend. Law library gigs can also be a great opportunity to make money while you study. With my scholarship and earnings from my part-time jobs combined, I make it out of a T-14 with less than $50k debt. And, though you'll need to play it by ear, it should not interfere with your grades. I held two jobs throughout law school and graduated in the top 3% of my class.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

2651704

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Re: Chances for significant scholarships/financial aid in t14? (3.85/171)

Post by 2651704 » Tue Jun 04, 2019 6:26 pm

Thanks a lot! This is really helpful. The LSAT is actually a predicted score so I agree with you in that it is not a good estimate of what my actual score may turn out to be. With that in mind, I will definitely make sure to work harder and retake the test if I don't get a 170+ this time. Additionally, for what it's worth, the GPA might be more slightly accurate of an estimate because I am now done with my major, including the hardest courses that I am officially required to take. Hence, for the next year or so, I will select a relatively lighter and easier course load so as to give me a GPA boost as well as more time to focus on law school applications. I definitely appreciate your advice on working as an RA - in fact, I currently work as one and it has proven to be a pretty nice gig so I intend to continue working in law school.

I don't know what the standards for qualifying for need-based aid are, but I am pretty sure that I would qualify. My family income, given that it is middle class by Indian standards and the exchange rate is exorbitant (something like $1 = 70 Rs), would put me in a position where I will probably qualify for a lot of need-based aid. However, I was under the impression that most T14 schools do not offer any significant need-based aid (except for maybe HYS). Do the lower T14 schools also offer substantial financial aid, in addition to merit scholarships? Pardon my ignorance on this - I am somewhat new to the whole law school application process.

Again, thanks a lot for taking out the time to help me out!

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