Merit full ride?

Kayyyyyyy

Where is it possible to get a merit full ride in the T-14? Everywhere? Or are there schools (H? Y? S?) that don't offer merit full rides? Are there schools that don't generally offer merit aid period?

goingfor99th

@Kayyyyyyy said:
Where is it possible to get a merit full ride in the T-14? Everywhere? Or are there schools (H? Y? S?) that don't offer merit full rides? Are there schools that don't generally offer merit aid period?

Not sure many schools in the T14 offer a full-ride. Even if they did, I would plan on some fierce competition for that scholarship if it's merit-based. In the T14, I think you're more likely to receive a full-ride, or close to it, based on need. This is especially the case at YSH.

However, it seems that some schools just outside the T14 offer full-rides or fellowships to exceptionally qualified candidates in an attempt to recruit them away from better ranked schools.

Alex

HYS don't offer merit full-ride scholarships. The rest all have merit aid in some capacity, though!

Seeking Perfection

Harvard, Yale, and Stanford don't offer any merit based aid, but do offer excellent Loan Repayment Assistance Programs(LRAPs) and need based aid.

The rest all offer full tuition merit scholarships. Some may even include stipends for their top scholarships. None of the stipends are big enough to fully cover room and board to my knowledge so I'm not sure if you would consider them a full ride. I'm a little sensitive to the difference between a full ride and full tuition since my sister got an actual full ride scholarship in undergrad, but I "merely" got full tuition and thus paid room and board.

That said, these scholarships are extremely competitive. To get merit scholarships you generally have to help them raise their ranking. This means you need to be above their medians or maybe their 75th percentile lsats and or GPAs.

Additionally, you need some leverage. This usually means that for a full ride, you have stats that could get into Harvard so that they have to tempt you away with a scholarship. For some merit aid there just has to be a chance you will get into some school ranked higher than the school you want aid from.

A couple schools just outside the top 14 definitely offer full tuition scholarships at a more frequent rate. I recieved an offer of one today from Washington University in St Louis. They are awarded to tempt people to going to those schools instead of the Top 14.