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fishtwentyfive
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Also, if you're applying early decision you're pretty much assuring the school that they dont need to give you any money for you to choose their school. Georgetown pretty much out right says on their site that if a scholarship is a serious consideration for you then you should not apply early decision.
A friend of mine went to a top 100 school though and was offered a small scholarship (about $10K total) so he wrote the school a letter asking for more money/a full ride and listed the reasons why and they gave it to him. You just have to be professional. Don't be whiny, don't send in a sob story, and don't be rude to whoever you're speaking with. Look at your own application, do your research about what other people have gotten in terms of a financial aid package, compare your numbers to the average of the school and prep for a conversation with the financial aid office and then make your call.
I know someone who had tried to negotiate with GULC and they turned her down for more money, and then randomly added $20K to her scholarship a week later. This obviously doesn't happen to everyone, but it is possible. Also, try to apply to a rival school. If they are trying to get more qualified applicants to attend their school over that of a rival, then they'll be interested in negotiating an offer with you.
A good way to get dinged is to start negotiating prior to an acceptance... it is just wicked presumptuous that you'd even get accepted...that's like negotiating salary before you show up for a job interview (since there are cases where your can negotiate salaries prior to accepting a job, but I digress). Though there will be third tier schools and diploma mills that will start sending out letters virtually guaranteeing you a full ride or some nonsense to attend their terrible law school. I heard of one school that offered to pay for someone's LSAT they already took if they would just apply to that school (with a fee waiver no less!)
Some schools have certain scholarships that you can apply to, while others just give merit or need-based aid on their own. If you haven't already done so, you really need to research the ins and outs of scholarships at every school to which you are applying. Obviously HYS don't give merit aid, but do give need-based aid, while pretty much every other school in the country gives merit aid in some way shape or form. Some will just throw money at you outright, some you have to ask, but don't ever take their initial offer as their final offer, but again, don't be a dick about it, and don't condescend to them since you're often negotiating with former lawyers who do this for a living and I'm pretty sure you're not a seasoned negotiator anyways. As with everything in this process, a little common sense and a lot of common courtesy/professionalism goes a long way. Once you get into the second level of negotiations then yield protection can play a bigger role and you can exploit that to some degree in order to get a school to match another's with your promise of attendance. Not 100% successful, but I've seen it work for some people.
Since I am not a citizen and can't apply for federal loans, can anyone tell a bit more about need based aid. I mean I know it depends a lot on the schools you are applying to but how much do they cover ( rough idea )
Thanks.
Just to add -- if a school is doing this, it's probably wise to steer clear. I know a full ride is a very lucrative offer to some people, but it's also smart to realize that the degree you get is also very important in this field, so it's okay if you have to pay some of your tuition. I get that finances are complicated for most people (myself included) but I just wanted to throw this out there because I keep hearing about how people choose diploma mill schools in attempts to graduate with zero debt -- yet forget that with that zero debt come abysmal job prospects in any field you apply to. I would be careful about this. Some schools often recruit international students for two reasons: 1) they can have them pay full/higher tuition and 2) boost their overseas prestige (while bringing in money). Either way, keep in mind that your goal here is to get into law school first, and then negotiate. So it would be wise for you to apply strategically to rival schools (even if you have no plans of attending that school) because they may give you a scholarship and you can use that as leverage. You cant just default on 'need' after your acceptance, because it gets very complicated to negotiate after that. Do what @Pacifico said and research and then go from there. Sometimes you were the bottom 25th percentile of their accepted class, so they're not hell bent on keeping you. You want a scholarship? Go to a different school. So think about what you have to offer/say about yourself as an applicant (that isn't a sob story + can be said professionally) that will help give you leverage? You know your application better than other people, so look into it closely. Having 'need' is good, but having a good (yet professional and polite!) argument is better.
You probably won't have to worry about this in the T14, but for some low-tier schools that's actually part of their business model. I don't know how often it happens, but I know anecdotally of a couple of cases where people didn't get more money, but managed to get the conditions on the scholarship knocked down.
I would say this is different depending on the school, because each school sets their departments up differently. For example, from what I've heard (but have not confirmed, so I would double check this if I were you), at GULC the admissions/financial aid office for the law school operate as one, but at NYU they are two separate departments. You would have to do your research and find this out. If you can't, calling a general office phone number may yield results if you speak to the receptionist. They should know how to direct you. I would say it's best to do it over the phone, that way if you make a fool of yourself, its not necessarily down in writing.
I would not mention this in your negotiating. Don't mention how you don't *need* the money to go to their school, when negotiating, make it seem like it's something that is an extremely important factor for you to choose their school (again, this is a conversation you have with them *after* your acceptance).
This obviously helps you. Talk about your score, your percentile, your work history and how it compares. Do your research and then talk about how you rank in comparison. Then mention a rival school's scholarship. If the rival school is lower ranked, try calling them and negotiating with them first by telling them you got into the school you did so that they give you money, then use that money as leverage with your target school. Be smart, think it through. How can you get what you want?
Also, while your GPA isn't necessarily high, its not exactly low either. So I'd say something like how you have 'strong academic qualifications' as well.
I've never negotiated a scholarship before and I'm honestly just going off of what I've heard/my experiences working at a law school and learning 'what not to do' from what I've seen students actually do. But if you've worked in an office environment before thats basically what you should imagine you're going into. It's not just one person necessarily controlling what kind of scholarship you get, it's multiple people that may discuss it. So you want to make sure that you are firm but professional about it and have a good idea of the process that school follows, and the only way to do that is *research*.
The school staff you speak with will remember you years down the line and the staff all talk about the students amongst each other. You'll develop a reputation during every encounter you make. Also, the vast majority of the time (esp at a law school), every single email you send to a staff member at the school gets logged into a system under your name and they never get deleted. As long as someone has access to the system, they can read every email/reply ever sent to the school. So stay professional. I've had alumni from the 90s visit the office and I've been able to log in and see emails they sent when they were law students that they've probably completely forgotten about. Even though the staff has changed, when they interact with that student they have to open that student's account, and then they'll have access to all of that stuff. So don't send stupid shit that will haunt you in the future.
Beyond that, I think there's a lot of literature for this online. If you're serious about this then check out some kindle books from amazon or look up what Anna Ivey/other consultants would recommend about the process. No one knows your application as well as you do, so you're going to want to take a closer look at it and then do your research and address any gaps/strengths/weaknesses.