<p>Lets say someone was able to maintain a 4.0 in college and a 180 on the LSAT...</p>
<p>Would they be a "sure" admit it HYS?</p>
<p>Or is it like undergrad admissions where it puts you in range?</p>
<p>What if it was a 4.0 and a 176+?</p>
<p>(assume recs and personal statement are good)</p>
<p>A 4.0/180 is an auto-admit at HLS, even if said applicant has done virtually nothing else in college. Out of the top three schools, Harvard is the most numbers-oriented. Stanford and Yale would also be hard-pressed to reject such an applicant, but the applicant would still probably have to have some nice soft factors to push him over the edge.</p>
<p>A 4.0/176+ is also a lock at HLS, IMHO. Same rules apply for SLS and YLS. (Strong ) soft factors are a must.</p>
<p>What about scholarships, do any T-14s offer merit or need based grants to top students with high GPA/LSATs?</p>
<p>HYS do not offer merit-based grants. They don’t need to. Plenty of qualified candidates will apply and attend regardless of merit-grants. They do, however, have fairly generous need-based aid, just as the rest of the T14 do (despite the fact that HLS seems to think I don’t qualify and didn’t give me a dime…::sigh::).</p>
<p>Other top schools like Columbia, Michigan, Penn, etc. all have some form of merit-aid available. Some are offered simply based off of the application itself, whereas others require you to submit extra materials (e.g. NYU or GULC).</p>
<p>I think NYU and GULU both give token aid which you don’t need to apply for.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that’s accurate. The acceptance packages of both NYU and GULC mentioned that there were several merit scholarships to which admitted students could apply. Had there been merit aid automatically awarded to certain students, I think my numbers would’ve warranted at least some from either school.</p>
<p>Did you withdraw before receiving the financial aid package?</p>
<p>I did indeed withdraw before receiving any sort of financial aid package from either NYU or GULC, but I don’t think the merit aid process is tied to the financial aid process, which is strictly need-based in most cases. It’s my understanding that schools that dole out any sort of substantial merit aid usually do so upon acceptance so as to lure you away from a higher-ranked school.</p>
<p>How is need based aid calculated? By Parents Income (like in undergrad FAFSA?)</p>
<p>Also, if you do not get a good need package, would it be worth it to go 40k or 50k per year (so 120k-200k total) to go to a T-14? What about HYS? Are they worth that kind of debt?</p>
<p>Need-based aid is calculated pretty much the same way as it is for undergrad. Schools require you to fill out FAFSA, a form called Need Access, and sometimes a specific institutional form as well. After calculating your parents’ EFC (expected financial contribution), they see if your remaining need reaches or exceeds a certain base number. If it does, you’re eligible for some aid. If not, it’s all loans for you!</p>
<p>Also, you should be a bit more realistic about the cost of law school these days. Tuition at most private institutions is around $40K or more, but then you also have to figure out housing, food, health insurance and other necessities. The total budget for one academic year according to HLS is roughly $67K.</p>
<p>As for whether or not that sort of debt is worth it, I suppose that’s debatable. Certainly, graduating from a T14 school puts you in a good position to land a BIGLAW job (though perhaps not in this market…), which allows you to handle a debt load of $100K to $200K. And if you’re going to HYS, then the chances of NOT working in BIGLAW are actually smaller than doing something else. But if your goal is money, then law is probably not the best route for you. On the other hand, if you know that law is your passion, then that sort of debt can certainly be “worth it”, as long as you’re smart and plan your finances accordingly.</p>