BC...money..it's what I want.... doo doo doo

[k3]

Is the scholarship thread you're referring to the more recent one listed under the Reviews, Rankings, and Visits forum? I think I know which one you're talking about, but I wanted  to make sure. If not, I can just run the search.

So, what if I get into a similarly ranked school with money? Then can I leverage? Quite frankly, I don't care if I get merit money or grants or whatever, all I want is some money (I'd take a small sum for sure) that I don't have to pay back to make this more feasible. If I do decide do ask, when is an appropriate time? I don't want to jump the gun, but I also don't want to wait until money runs out and eff myself over. Also, is it appropriate to do this by email or is it better by letter? Should I mention my future public interest plans and the fact that I'm paying for law school by myself to make it more convincing?

Sigh. So many questions!

[k3]

Is the scholarship thread you're referring to the more recent one listed under the Reviews, Rankings, and Visits forum? I think I know which one you're talking about, but I wanted  to make sure. If not, I can just run the search.

So, what if I get into a similarly ranked school with money? Then can I leverage? Quite frankly, I don't care if I get merit money or grants or whatever, all I want is some money (I'd take a small sum for sure) that I don't have to pay back to make this more feasible. If I do decide do ask, when is an appropriate time? I don't want to jump the gun, but I also don't want to wait until money runs out and eff myself over. Also, is it appropriate to do this by email or is it better by letter? Should I mention my future public interest plans and the fact that I'm paying for law school by myself to make it more convincing?

Sigh. So many questions!

We're not talking about need money, so there really aren't any other options.

I'm confused, and a total dorky noob...do law schools never ever give out financial aid grants? Is it all loans? Sorry, I'm just not sure what this statement means...could be because I'm knee-deep in a paper that's due in two hours...are you simply saying that I shouldn't or can't request consideration for need-based aid? Or that it's not yet appropriate? Gosh I am dumb.

[chammon2]

If you're looking for need based grants, I think you have to wait for BC to process your fafsa before asking for more. Have they given you your aid package yet?

Ya, Larry is right.  Gotta wait for FAFSA processing and your aid package to find out about grants.

[k3]

so i should wait to hear about need-based grants, and in the event that i want to be considered for scholarship money, i should proceed then?

[chammon2]

Obviously you did the FAFSA, but did you have to do any other financial aid forms for BC?  Did you have to do Need Access?

I think you can ask the admissions people about a scholarship now.  I'm not sure if you talk to financial aid before or after your award is made available about a grant?  Perhaps you could make another thread about that?

[Sergio]

Well how many percent of people really get need-based grants, as opposed to loans?  I bet it's pretty small.

[k3]

Yikes. I'm still really unsure about what to do. You guys have been really helpful, but any further guidance is definitely appreciated.

[k3]

Have you filled out fafsa and need access (if BC wants that)?

Indeed, I have completed both of them.

[botbot]

BC is notoriously stingy with merit aid. I hate to be negative, but it's just not realistic to expect much from them. They sent out a handful of full-scholarships earlier in the cycle, but they were to 168+/3.7+'s. Unless you're at their 75th percentiles or better, $$ is probably out of the question.

I would DEFINITELY not try to use Toledo as leverage against BC. I'm sorry, but it's just not going to work. Unless you're using a T20 or ND, it's not going to happen.

If you're doing public interest, I would assume you have a better shot at $$ though.

She isn't using Toledo.  I was giving an example of me using Toledo for leverage with schools within 15 spots of Toledo's ranking.  I think the schools are Northeastern and Tulane.

My bad, I glossed over the thread and misread your post.

So as I go on my wild BC tear across the LSD boards, I figured I'd pose a couple of questions re: scholarship money.

My numbers are good, but nothing to write home about. I've been offered scholarships at both Tulane and Northeastern (Tulane a lot, Northeastern not so much). BC is clearly my first choice at this point, and I'm really excited about going there, but I haven't heard from them about money yet.

My first question is, how long did those of you who got scholarships wait after your acceptance to hear about them? I'm also curious about numbers, but I wouldn't ask you to post them unless you feel comfortable. How generous is BC with financial aid?

Second part of the question is, I'm wondering if it's rude to ask for money if I'm not sure if I'm going to get it. I feel like I don't have that much leverage given that my scholarships are from lower-ranked schools, so barring any money from one of the other schools I'm waiting on, I don't know what my bargaining power is, if any. I'd love to let BC know that they are my first choice, and I could absolutely commit to them they threw me a financial bone (anything would help). Is this appropriate to do? I don't want to seem sleazy or ungrateful. When should I do it? Has anyone else done this?

Ayy...I'm dancing around in my chair to American Idol and avoiding a paper. Indulge me.

I would suggest not leveraging another school against BC. It is bad form I think, especially given that BC is way better than Tulane and Northeastern, I don't think they would appreciate the idea of having to compete against those schools for you. BC doesn't give out much money anyways, but I think you lower your chances to absolute zero if you try to challenge them with much-lower-ranked schools. Just my two cents.

lol

I'm not going to derail the thread and point out how stupid that comment was, so I will be helpful.  There have been schools in the past (especially within 20-25 USNews ranking spots) that have offered smaller scholarships to those who made a good case for money by using larger scholarships from lesser ranked schools.  (see the long scholarship matching thread).

BC gives little merit aid, but the worst they can do is tell you no. 

Please stop with the Tulane trolling. I understand that you go there and that you're probably doing it to annoy people, but you're giving bad information. There is absolutely nothing that proves BC and Tulane are even comparable law schools.

Give it a rest.

I won't go into the flaws in the information you just posted.  I never said that BC didn't place better, isn't ranked higher, or that their students don't have higher numbers. (if you have seen any of my posts, you should know just how much I understand "the facts")  The "way better" part, though, was absurdly misleading.  BIGLAW goes 5-10% deeper into BCs class (some NE V100 firms might go 15% deeper while SE firms go no deeper). 

To the OP, last year BC awarded a very small amount of money to an applicant based on a scholarship at SMU.  You should ask for some more money, they will probably say no - but it doesn't hurt to ask.

[botbot]

And they won't take away need based grants if she asks for scholarship money...