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3.9/173, KJD, n-URM, low income

I am currently trying to decide if I am interested in applying law school, as I am only really interested in going if I can get t14 for less than 120-150,000. Based off my stats and background, is this feasible? I am also wandering if I have a good shot at schools like Harvard/Standford as I am right around their medians and I understand schools are trying to push their numbers. My resume is fine for a KJD but definitely not special, my financial need is high (parents low income), and my essays and diversity statement are okay.

Edit: I understand that sometimes applicants like me get academic awards and financial need awards, and I was wondering if anyone can tell me more about this.

Congrats on the good numbers.

Most schools other than HYS will give "academic" scholarships to people with high GPA/LSAT numbers (e.g., people above the 75th percentile for both GPA and LSAT). These are usually given automatically, and you will be told about it when you get your acceptance letter. Given your numbers, you are likely to get at least a partial scholarship from most of the T14, and some of the lower ranked ones might even offer you a full ride.

HYS don't usually give out academic scholarships, but they do give out need-based awards/aid. You won't graduate debt-free, but you could probably get a degree within your stated budget if you family is low income.

I would suggest working for a couple years rather than going right out of college. But whenever you decide to apply, you should be applying everywhere in the T14. Nothing is off the table for you.

More about merit scholarship and need-based aid:
Virtually all law schools have some form of scholarship/aid available, and most schools offer both merit- and need-based aid. The schools that give merit-based scholarships generally offer them to students who would help their numbers or who are likely to get into higher-ranked schools; it's essentially a bribe for you to go there instead of a better school. Each school has a limited amount of resources to fund these scholarships, and some are more generous than others. You can see how much aid a school tends to give on their ABA Standard 509 forms (those numbers include need- and merit-based aid together, not tabulated separately). Many schools---and in my day, most schools---give a merit scholarship offer with the acceptance letter, if they will give one at all. Some schools wait until a particular date to release most of their scholarship awards for students who have already been accepted. You will probably receive merit-based aid at some T14 schools based on your numbers, and you may receive merit money from CCN. YHS rarely give any merit-based scholarships, but if you get in, they have more generous need-based aid than other schools.
I know less about need-based aid, but I do know that higher-ranked schools (and particularly Ivy League schools, NYU, and Stanford) have more comprehensive need-based aid programs than lower-ranked schools. Need-based aid is generally NOT a bribe for you to go there over another school and will be based on certain factors including your family's income rather than your numbers. If you get into a particular school---even if you "barely" got in---you'll probably get the same need-aid package as if you were a "lock" for that school.

I think you're likely to get a variety of t14 offers, each a mixture of need-based aid and merit scholarship. If you get into YHS, it will likely be all need-based; a school like Georgetown might give you a full-ride merit scholarship, making need-based aid unnecessary. Congrats on your numbers and good luck this cycle.

My impression is that need-based aid isn’t very common outside of HYS (where it is the exclusive form of aid; they don’t offer any merit aid). I think there’s some anecdotal indication that schools might informally consider need when awarding merit aid, but generally the options are merit aid or loans.

HYS are the only law schools that give out any significant need-based aid. Other schools claim to do so, but those claims are largely if not completely false.