To all law students, how hard is it to keep a scholarship?

[highhopes967]

I was admitted with a scholarship to Seton Hall. In order to keep the scholarship, I have to keep a 3.3 GPA, which on their curve is a B+ (their grades go all the way up to a A+ which I believe is a 4.3). I know many of you don't go to Seton hall but basically how hard is it to keep a B+ average in law school, what type of work is involved and basically what have your experiences been, thanks!

[Sell Out]

If the curve is a B+ and they want you to have a 3.33 GPA, then I would say you have a 50/50 shot.  But seriously, if you study hard and make the effort (which I assume you will, since this board is for future gunners, haha) you should be fine.  What separates people in law school is hard work.  Everyone is intelligent so it just depends on who puts the effort in.  Good luck to you!

[StevePirates]

I was admitted with a scholarship to Seton Hall. In order to keep the scholarship, I have to keep a 3.3 GPA, which on their curve is a B+ (their grades go all the way up to a A+ which I believe is a 4.3). I know many of you don't go to Seton hall but basically how hard is it to keep a B+ average in law school, what type of work is involved and basically what have your experiences been, thanks!

You should be able to contact Setton Hall and ask them what percentage a 3.3 usually works out to.  That will give you the best idea.  Schools all use different curves of different ranges and "steepness".  I'd say that if a 3.3 is top third or so you should be fine.  If it's top 25 or so, eh, maybe a little worrisome the first semester, but not too bad once you've established a few good grades.  If it's higher than that... eh..

You should also ask the admissions office how many scholarship recipients typically lose their scholarships.

Forewarned is forearmed. 

[pig floyd]

What separates people in law school is hard work.  Everyone is intelligent so it just depends on who puts the effort in.  Good luck to you!

False.

What separates people is how far their final flies down the stairs after a professorial toss. 

I'd say that if a 3.3 is top third or so you should be fine.

No.

Make any decisions going in as if you'll lose your scholarship after grades are posted. 

[Sell Out]

What separates people in law school is hard work.  Everyone is intelligent so it just depends on who puts the effort in.  Good luck to you!

False.

What separates people is how far their final flies down the stairs after a professorial toss. 

HAWHAWHAWHAWHAW!
It's true.  Sad, but true.  There will be days where you just say, I either made an A, or I'm going back to my job at the Starbucks.

[RobWreck]

Make any decisions going in as if you'll lose your scholarship after grades are posted. 

TITCR. Many schools throw out scholarships to attract students, knowing full well that they will only have to pay 1 year's worth for many of them. The only accurate way of knowing what sort of grades you're going to get in law school is to take an actual law school class... and all the other people you're competing against are probably just as capable and motivated (presumably they're motivated if they're signing up for all that law school debt). In regards to a scholarship that has a GPA requirement to maintain, don't count on having it for more than the 1st year.
Good luck,
Rob

[jacy85]

I was admitted with a scholarship to Seton Hall. In order to keep the scholarship, I have to keep a 3.3 GPA, which on their curve is a B+ (their grades go all the way up to a A+ which I believe is a 4.3). I know many of you don't go to Seton hall but basically how hard is it to keep a B+ average in law school, what type of work is involved and basically what have your experiences been, thanks!

I don't think you understand anything about law school curves.  It doesn't matter if a 3.3 is a B+ or an A- on their grading *scale*.  What you need to know is what the grading *curve* is.  If the curve is set at a 2.8, then relative few people will get grades over a 3.3 (b/c 1/2 of the class MUST be below a 2.8 ).  But if the curve is set at 3.2, then far more people can get over a 3.3.

If you're not getting what I'm saying, then you need to know more about how grading at law school works.  You live and die by the curve, and when you have scholarship money riding on your gpa, you have even more at stake.

[Luziana]

I agree with the messages that urge you to be careful.  A high GPA requirement to maintain a scholarship is very tricky, and there are no guarantees.  With most scholarships with GPA requirements, I think the wisest thing to do is to assume that there is a good chance you won't be able to keep the scholarship.  Also, you need to find out what Seton Hall's curve is to find out what percentile a 3.3 cumulative GPA would be in their first-year class.

A couple years ago when I was applying to law schools, a couple schools offered me scholarships where the only requirement was that I make "satisfactory academic progress" -- i.e. a 2.0, the minimum GPA to continue in the law school.  I was pleasantly surprised that was their only requirement... most schools' scholarships (like the 3.3 at Seton Hall you've been offered) are much more difficult to maintain.

[PSUDSL08]

I agree with pretty much everything said here regarding maintaining your scholarship. Also, it's difficult to provide you with sound advice without knowing more about your situation. It would be helpful to know the following: (1) how much of a scholarship are you receiving (2) would you be able to live at home and commute or will you have to find an apartment (3) assuming you got into higher ranked schools w/o a scholarship, what's the tuition at your other options?

According to LSAC's site, Seton Hall's tuition is $38,040 per year and they estimate that you'll have to take out another $17,345 if you're renting or $10K if you're living at home. So you're looking at anywhere from $55K+ without the scholarship if renting, $48K+ per year if living at home. Even assuming you're on a half ride there (a pretty significant scholarship), are able to maintain that scholarship there, you're looking at $90K if you live at home and $110K if you have to rent...and that's before you take into account any summer bar loan or scholarship loss. That's not cheap despite the fact that you would be cutting out significant costs.

On the other hand, Rutgers Newark is $21K per year for in-state residents without a scholarship, and if you do well enough, you might be able to bargain your way into a scholarship after you finish your first year.

[highhopes967]

Wow great response guys thanks for the input. I found this webpage on Seton Hall detailing their curve, I have some basic idea what it means, but since you guys actually have dealt with law school curves, maybe you could make more sense of it and how hard a 3.3 will be to maintain.

:http://law.shu.edu/administration/registrar_bursar/examinations_and_grading/grading_curves.htm