<p>Hey, I've just started considering law school. I am not definitely sure about attending or my future career. However, I do know that law school is incredibly expensive. Do a lot of students get decent scholarships/grants to attend? If I were to attend a lower-tier institution with a high GPA and LSAT score, would there be a chance at getting a full ride or almost a full ride? Or is that not how law schools work? Sorry, I'm completely new to this topic. I have a 3.9 GPA at NYU. I'm about $30,000 in debt right now and I am extremely worried about money.</p>
<p>Yes, some schools offer merit aid. Even top schools offer a few merit scholarships, though of course they're extremely competitive.</p>
<p>While attending a lower-ranked school can give you the benefit of having less debt, it can also be much harder to get jobs (clerkships, law professorships, public interest fellowships, and jobs at large law firms in particular, but in reality all jobs) upon graduation. The jobs available will often be lower-paying. It may be harder to find jobs outside the state or region where the school is located if the lower-ranked school doesn't have strong alumni connections in other parts of the country. Finally, lower-ranked schools are often MORE competitive, since there's a big difference in the jobs you can get graduating in the top 10% v. top 30% v. top 50%, whereas that difference is less pronounced at higher-ranked schools.</p>
<p>So there are some very good reasons to go for merit aid and some reasons to take on the debt and go to the best school you get into. There are a lot of threads on this topic here so you'll have plenty of advice for that decision!</p>
<p>Stacy has a good point, and a lot of other people on this forum can answer this better than I can...but if you look at the career prospects for a graduate of a top school vs. those of a second- or third-tier law school grad, the extra $ you'll owe in loans will be a small fraction of the higher salary you'll be earning. Since I'm looking at schools primarily in DC, I'll offer you these numbers from US News:</p>
<p>25th-75th percentile private-sector STARTING salaries:</p>
<p>Georgetown $135,000 - $145,000</p>
<p>George Washington $115,000 - $135,000</p>
<p>Catholic University $60,000 - $125,000</p>