Considering that I already have student loan debt, I'm really trying to minimize any additional debt I take on for law school. If you don't really have any student loan or credit card debt, then it's not as big a deal. You're still going to need to take out loans to cover the rest of tuition and living expenses, but the scholarship sounds like it would basically halve your law school debt. The only reason that I would suggest considering Cornell over BU would be if they had a specific program or area of concentration which interests you. The rankings aren't a huge factor in my decision-making, so I don't put much stock in those. It looks like you're talking about a difference between #13 and #20. BU is still t25, and it sounds like they are being very generous. Freak makes a good point though; you might want to find out what GPA you need in order to retain the scholarship and also what percentage of students lose their scholarships each year. If you're leaning toward Cornell and you don't think you'll be able to meet the requirements to keep your scholarship for 2L and 3L, then maybe follow your heart? I know that sounds corny.