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Scholarship Negotiations/ how to do it?

jennilynn89jennilynn89 Alum Member
in Law School Admissions 822 karma

Hello fellow 7Sagers!

This is a question for all those of you going through the application cycle right now, or who have already gone through it.
How do you go about negotiating scholarships?

So far I have gotten accepted into a couple of schools. One particular school I am looking at attending, got my acceptance about a month ago, but no offer of scholarships so far. Another school accepted me a couple of weeks ago, is about in the same ranking and offered me a scholarship (merit-based).

Now my question is, should I wait to see what the other school (the one I'd like to attend) will offer me based on need-based scholarship? Or should I give them a call, let them know that I really want to attend their school but that this other school has offered me x amount of dollars in merit-based scholarship money and that I wanted to see if they could match it since scholarship money is really important to me?

I know deposits are due mid-April and I'll have to make a choice sooner than later, but I'm just not exactly sure how to go about this whole scholarship conversation.

Thank you for reading and any input you have! :)

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Comments

  • juliekimjuliekim Alum Member
    36 karma

    I'm in the same boat as you and hoping other people can answer your question!

  • JustDoItJustDoIt Alum Member ⭐
    3112 karma

    Attend the webinar tonight! I believe David can help with this.

    I believe that you should ask as soon as you can. The reason is because scholly money is no joke and can run out really quickly. It seems a little risky to me to wait rather than to jump out and see what happens.

    I think that by leveraging (politely) one scholarship to school that you actually want to go to can help, but don't expect it to work 100% of the time. In my experience, I attempted to leverage a scholarship from one school that was about 10 to 15 ranks lower and it did not work. That said, the schools need to be somewhat comparable in terms of rank and industry perception.

    The merit based scholarship is the real winner in terms of what should be leveraged. I could be wrong, but other schools will determine a similar need based aid and I wouldn't worry to much about that. I wouldn't worry too much about trying to leverage need based aid.

    Hope this helps!

  • Colin1485Colin1485 Member
    edited March 2017 108 karma

    Having no information about your background, lsat score or recommendations - I'll take a stab at perhaps providing input. First, I would recommend to anyone reading - check out the Ivey guide to Law School Admissions. if you haven't read that book yet (It is a great read). Chapter 8 of the book goes into some detail about this matter.

    *Scholarships are basically awarded based off your GPA, LSAT score, Your story and time when you apply. Be frank with the admissions workers (BUT BE NICE) ask them, "What type of candidates received the merit based scholarship?"; tell them you have received one from another school but really liked the institution (if of just about the same standing, tell them). Inquire if it may be better to wait the cycle. They may be willing to give you another offer on the next cycle but better.

    *Have you toured the schools in question? Talked to actual students/alum there? Law School is a huge investment, you should calculate your expected return on that investment. It's like taking out a 30 year mortgage at $125,000+. Basically many law schools lie about their graduation employment numbers to get you to sign the line but when you finish school; chances are you will struggle, take a low paying doc review job, making $35,000 coming out of school but be in the hole. Some schools offer LRAP programs (Loan repayment assistance programs) for graduates who go into low paying public interest jobs. Check with the schools in question to see if they offer these type of programs. equaljusticeworks.org has some info on this.

    *What are your goals as a lawyer/ what do you want to do? If any of the schools that have accepted you fit "your" vision and meet your likes of location; I.e. gave you good feelings about the direction you want to go and being there. That school may be the right choice. If you want to practice Criminal law and the school that accepted you is one of the top ranked Criminal law schools in your State, it may be the right choice for you (or whatever concentration your interested in)

    *Where do you want to Practice? Makes no sense for a New york/New Jersey school to want to practice in San francisco (unless some family issue or moving for family, ect.) or vice a versa or to goto some podunk school in Arkansas to want to practice in NYC.

    *Are any of the schools you were accepted into T15 schools? T15 schools degrees are more portable (national and globally recognized) and enable more job opportunities with "big law"; which could mean more earnings coming out.

    Basically all comes back to this:: How much are you willing to be in the hole (debt)?; Any of the schools T15?; did you like any of the schools and willing to practice in that area or State?; what are your goals and does the school fit those goals and your vision?
    To answer your question, what should i do? Whichever of schools that provides the best opportunity to these questions above, pick that school.

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