BC vs. Money

[k3]

so as everyone probably knows, i really have my heart set on bc for the fall. i just checked my fin aid package, however, and it's not so great. i have other schools that have offered me money, and at this point, i'm freaked out at having to take out so many loans, especially with my interest in pursuing a career in public interest. i still have loans from undergrad, my parents are not supporting me in law school (my dad isn't really even employed and my sister is still in ug herself). i don't know if bc will come through with merit money. there's also a private scholarship from my ug for which i'm applying, but again, nothing is a guarantee. should i just throw caution to the wind, say eff it, and go for bc, and work my tail off for any scholarship opportunities which might come my way? or should i consider some of the lower ranked schools who are throwing money in my face?

[donwario]

so as everyone probably knows, i really have my heart set on bc for the fall. i just checked my fin aid package, however, and it's not so great. i have other schools that have offered me money, and at this point, i'm freaked out at having to take out so many loans, especially with my interest in pursuing a career in public interest. i still have loans from undergrad, my parents are not supporting me in law school (my dad isn't really even employed and my sister is still in ug herself). i don't know if bc will come through with merit money. there's also a private scholarship from my ug for which i'm applying, but again, nothing is a guarantee. should i just throw caution to the wind, say eff it, and go for bc, and work my tail off for any scholarship opportunities which might come my way? or should i consider some of the lower ranked schools who are throwing money in my face?

do you mind listing the other choices?

[k3]

so as everyone probably knows, i really have my heart set on bc for the fall. i just checked my fin aid package, however, and it's not so great. i have other schools that have offered me money, and at this point, i'm freaked out at having to take out so many loans, especially with my interest in pursuing a career in public interest. i still have loans from undergrad, my parents are not supporting me in law school (my dad isn't really even employed and my sister is still in ug herself). i don't know if bc will come through with merit money. there's also a private scholarship from my ug for which i'm applying, but again, nothing is a guarantee. should i just throw caution to the wind, say eff it, and go for bc, and work my tail off for any scholarship opportunities which might come my way? or should i consider some of the lower ranked schools who are throwing money in my face?

do you mind listing the other choices?

of course not. so far i've been accepted to northeastern, tulane, cardozo, all with money, and suffolk with a little bit of money (some sort of small grant). i feel like i'm missing some schools, but those are the important ones.

[k3]

Not to be annoying and off topic, but how did you get into your BC aid package?  I am having the damndest time with that website.

Oh, and in terms of advice, have you researched BC's LRAP?  I hear it's not the greatest ever, but it could be a factor.

i logged into agora with the info they sent us in that letter, clicked on the financial aid award notification, and then logged in my fin aid key. my stuff didn't go up until this morning, so i think it's taking them a bit to get everyone's business together.

i have looked into the lrap. it's not great, you're right, but i'm hoping that it will improve by the time graduation rolls around. sigh. this is all just so stressful. i hate thinking about all this now, at age 22, and how it could potentially affect my life negatively from here on out....

[donwario]

so as everyone probably knows, i really have my heart set on bc for the fall. i just checked my fin aid package, however, and it's not so great. i have other schools that have offered me money, and at this point, i'm freaked out at having to take out so many loans, especially with my interest in pursuing a career in public interest. i still have loans from undergrad, my parents are not supporting me in law school (my dad isn't really even employed and my sister is still in ug herself). i don't know if bc will come through with merit money. there's also a private scholarship from my ug for which i'm applying, but again, nothing is a guarantee. should i just throw caution to the wind, say eff it, and go for bc, and work my tail off for any scholarship opportunities which might come my way? or should i consider some of the lower ranked schools who are throwing money in my face?

do you mind listing the other choices?

of course not. so far i've been accepted to northeastern, tulane, cardozo, all with money, and suffolk with a little bit of money (some sort of small grant). i feel like i'm missing some schools, but those are the important ones.

Tulane and Cardozo are certainly good choices. May I ask how much each one offered?

[k3]

so as everyone probably knows, i really have my heart set on bc for the fall. i just checked my fin aid package, however, and it's not so great. i have other schools that have offered me money, and at this point, i'm freaked out at having to take out so many loans, especially with my interest in pursuing a career in public interest. i still have loans from undergrad, my parents are not supporting me in law school (my dad isn't really even employed and my sister is still in ug herself). i don't know if bc will come through with merit money. there's also a private scholarship from my ug for which i'm applying, but again, nothing is a guarantee. should i just throw caution to the wind, say eff it, and go for bc, and work my tail off for any scholarship opportunities which might come my way? or should i consider some of the lower ranked schools who are throwing money in my face?

do you mind listing the other choices?

of course not. so far i've been accepted to northeastern, tulane, cardozo, all with money, and suffolk with a little bit of money (some sort of small grant). i feel like i'm missing some schools, but those are the important ones.

Tulane and Cardozo are certainly good choices. May I ask how much each one offered?

25k and 28k a year, respectively, though the cardozo one comes with stricter requirements...something like a 3.3 gp whereas tulane is a 3.0. i don't have the stuff in front of me but i believe that's it.

[Penn263]

so as everyone probably knows, i really have my heart set on bc for the fall. i just checked my fin aid package, however, and it's not so great. i have other schools that have offered me money, and at this point, i'm freaked out at having to take out so many loans, especially with my interest in pursuing a career in public interest. i still have loans from undergrad, my parents are not supporting me in law school (my dad isn't really even employed and my sister is still in ug herself). i don't know if bc will come through with merit money. there's also a private scholarship from my ug for which i'm applying, but again, nothing is a guarantee. should i just throw caution to the wind, say eff it, and go for bc, and work my tail off for any scholarship opportunities which might come my way? or should i consider some of the lower ranked schools who are throwing money in my face?

I'm facing a similar situation. Fortunately, I went through ug with huge scholarships and grants and basically graduated with no debt. Now, my family and I are actually earning LESS on the whole than we did during my ug (thanks to this terrific economy). So even though my EFC is LOWER now, I'm getting FAR LESS financial aid. After graduating I'll owe nearly 90k in loans. On the other hand, I just got a merit-based scholarship from UHouston, who might actually end up offering me more than BC. If it's enough more I might be persuaded to attend there. I think, depending on the contexts, school ranking can be secondary to financial aid. Hard decision.   

[donwario]

so as everyone probably knows, i really have my heart set on bc for the fall. i just checked my fin aid package, however, and it's not so great. i have other schools that have offered me money, and at this point, i'm freaked out at having to take out so many loans, especially with my interest in pursuing a career in public interest. i still have loans from undergrad, my parents are not supporting me in law school (my dad isn't really even employed and my sister is still in ug herself). i don't know if bc will come through with merit money. there's also a private scholarship from my ug for which i'm applying, but again, nothing is a guarantee. should i just throw caution to the wind, say eff it, and go for bc, and work my tail off for any scholarship opportunities which might come my way? or should i consider some of the lower ranked schools who are throwing money in my face?

do you mind listing the other choices?

of course not. so far i've been accepted to northeastern, tulane, cardozo, all with money, and suffolk with a little bit of money (some sort of small grant). i feel like i'm missing some schools, but those are the important ones.

Tulane and Cardozo are certainly good choices. May I ask how much each one offered?

25k and 28k a year, respectively, though the cardozo one comes with stricter requirements...something like a 3.3 gp whereas tulane is a 3.0. i don't have the stuff in front of me but i believe that's it.

This is a tough call. IMO, BC is not 75k better than Tulane. This seems especially true when you consider that your goal is to have little debt and to work in public interest. But, if BC really is your top choice, maybe you should try to push for those scholarships

[k3]

after a lot of thought and conversations with my financial advisor...also known as my father...i think i'm going to stick with bc. i think it's the best fit for me, i will be happy there, i don't want to move south, and i will deal with the debt as i have to when the time comes. thanks guys!

[Penn263]

Two questions if you don't mind answering:

How much more than BC were you being offered at the other schools?
And out of curiosity, What type of public interest law?