Waitlist...Financial Aid...logistics?

Graduate School Law School
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<p>For those who have had this experience, or know someone who has, a couple of questions.
Matriculated to a law school, and now filling out financial aid forms that include Grad PLUS loans.
Currently on the wait list for 2 LS.
Once PLUS loan is signed/approved/designated to a law school, can you switch the receiving LS?
IF so, then up until time of disbursement or even after disbursement where it is then prorated?
Next question...is it likely one can negotiate a similar financial aid package or even better with the school now offering to take you off the waitlist?</p>

<p>Thoughts? Suggestions??</p>

<p>Thank you-APOL</p>

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<p>You can transfer schools and your loans will follow you. One of the nice things about law schools is that they excel in getting paid. If you move to another school they will happily take care of making sure the money is going to the right place. Just you make sure it’s worth taking out loans for whichever school it is you’re going to.</p>

<p>The chances of merit money as a waitlist are slim. Most of that money is already handed out, and it went to people whose scores were high enough that waitlisting wasn’t an issue. </p>

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<p>Thank you Demosthenes49. It is helpful to know that the loans can transfer.</p>

<p>As to negotiating a similar financial aid package or even better, given the schools involved, my sense is they have the money available and its a matter of how best to craft the negotiations. </p>

<p>Has anyone undertaken that type of negotiation? What did you do to be successful? What would you do differently if you had to do it again??</p>

<p>Thoughts?</p>

<p>-APOL</p>

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<p>I agree with Demos, that most of the merit $$ has been exhausted and most of the negotiations have already been done for the june 1 deadline. What schools are now looking to do is fill in small gaps to round out the class. </p>

<p>As far as negotiating for more money, unless you are trying to negotiate a Hamilton or a Darrow against HYS, which, still only gives need based aid. it is probably not going to happen.A t-14 is not going to care about the full tuition that you got at a T30-50. </p>

<p>Just like undergrad if you are comparing apples to apples, then you will have a different story. Otherwise the wait list school (which is probably higher ranked) is not going to care what a lower tier school is offering you. Depending on how high up the chain the wait list school is, they will not be at a loss of people will to pay/borrow full freight to attend.</p>

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<p>Some may describe the schools apples to apples. All within the top 5.</p>

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<p>I am somewhat disheartened to see no one has any experience with negotiating financial aid package with the new LS after being taken off the WL. I guess will see how it goes. Fingers crossed. ~APOL</p>

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<p>^^depends on how bad they want your numbers. If they need your numbers, they maybe willing to pay with merit money. But in general, those off of the WL don’t get offered much.</p>

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<p>Thank you bluebayou.</p>

<p>For those on CC who may be wondering about your financial aid options if taken off the waitlist…I just found this article online from lawschooli dot com that was encouraging. </p>

<p>It reads: I’m currently waitlisted at a couple law schools in the top 25. Is it totally unheard of to get off the waitlist with an offer of some scholarship money? I would really like to attend these schools location-wise, but I already have a decent money offer from my home state’s public university. I think based on what I’ve heard that would be tough to justify making the move unless I got some kind of money offer. </p>

<p>Good question. While it used to be very rare to get an offer of merit scholarship money coming off the waitlist, I’ve seen more examples of it happening in recent years. It makes sense: the law school application process is in a new era since fewer people are applying now, and schools might not quite know how to handle it perfectly yet. Their estimates about who they can get to come when they admit students in earlier rounds might be way off, and then they have to pull more people from the waitlist than they anticipated. This could result in using scholarship offers to attract a lot of students off the waitlist.</p>

<p>When I look at recent self-reported admissions data, I see a lot of examples of people accepted off waitlists with scholarship offers, more than I used to see. It’s still somewhat unlikely, but it does happen. Bear in mind that we are talking about merit scholarships here. Need-based aid, if your target school offers it and there is money available, will be given if you qualify regardless of whether you are admitted in the normal admissions window or via the waitlist.</p>

<p>RELATED: GETTING IN OFF A WAITLIST WITHOUT BEING A STALKER</p>

<p>You might still be wondering why schools would offer merit aid to those on the waitlist. After all, if you are still on their waitlist, presumably you want to come and will accept if given an offer, right? Maybe, but I think that’s less true nowadays when law students are so concerned about cost. Students may hang around on the waitlist to keep their options open without necessarily having a firm decision in place to go to that school, and that’s okay. You are allowed to stay on waitlists even if you have already put down a seat deposit elsewhere. If schools want a high yield (a good ratio of offers accepted to offers handed out), it can be in their interest to offer you money later, even if they waitlisted you at first, to make sure you come.</p>

<p>Particularly at schools in the bottom end of the top 25 such as Vanderbilt and WUSTL, I’ve seen this happening a lot. If they look at the waitlist and they want you to come, they often offer money. These schools know they are trying to attract students that might have a lot of decent options, such as admission to a lower T14 or two, so again it’s makes sense that they would occasionally offer money to students on the waitlist.</p>

<p>It might also be the case that smart students are negotiating for a scholarship after receiving their acceptance off the waitlist. This is definitely an avenue that you should pursue when and if you are accepted.</p>

<p>If you get in, there is no need to be shy. At that point, tell the school the situation you are in and that money is a factor for you. They may be willing to match or approximate offers you have at schools a little lower down the rankings ladder. If the thought of negotiating terrifies you, I might suggest hiring an admissions consultant to help with the process.</p>