mom2collegekids

Columbia U - Really hard reach for me, no doubt near impossible
U Chicago - Another hard reach
NYU Stern undergrad
UT Business Honors Program
Tufts U
Northwestern U
U Mich - Ann Arbor
UC Berkeley




My dad makes around $120,000 a year. Does that exclude me from financial aid?


Your dad's income will exclude you from getting much FA at many of those schools.

NYU, Berkeley, and UMich will not give you much (if any) FA at all. UT won't give you any need-based aid. Most likely all those schools would give you is a 5500 student loan.

Out of state publics don't typically give aid to OOS students...especially if their family income is that high.

Do you know how much your parents will pay?

A school like Northwestern would likely expect your parents to pay about $30k per year (perhaps more if your family has good savings/investments/equity). That doesn't mean that NU would give you the rest in "free money". They might give you some free money, but they would also likely expect you to take out a 5500 student loan and do about 2500 per year in work-study.


If you don't know how much your parents will pay each year, then you need to ask them so that you're all clear about the situation. Only schools like HYPS will give you "super aid" with that income (again, assuming that you don't have a lot of assets). Other schools like NU will likely expect your family to pay (roughly) about 25% of income (again, assuming that you don't have a lot of assets).

So, find out what your parents will pay. If the amount that they will pay is much less than what colleges will expect them to pay, then you need to carefully target schools that will be affordable because of scholarships, etc. You can still apply to a few of these schools "just to see," but you need to assume that they won't be affordable unless your parents will pay for the costs.

davismiles

Aligning with the high prioritization on education, my parents have said that they are willing to pay any tuition so long as it means that I'm getting the best education that I can. That being said, a lower tuition cost through any means never hurt anybody. However, my parents are kind of biased against LACs, because they don't offer solid fall-back jobs compared to Engineering or Business majors. They want me to have a back-up regardless of how deadset I am on the legal profession.

A good safety would probably be UTD, considering that I would not only be admitted, but with a full-ride.

ucbalumnus

You can major in anything as a pre-law student. And which university matters little compared to LSAT and GPA.

However, if you don't get into a desired law school, your major and school can make a difference in your other academic and career prospects. Note that some liberal arts majors like math and economics have decent career prospects. Note also that some majors like engineering do require taking needed courses from your first semester, rather than waiting until your fourth or so semester to start the major.

davismiles

I got a 2350 on the SAT. When applying for colleges, do I submit only that, considering that my ACT as a 33 is much lower on the conversion scale? It feels weird to prepare for both scores and then submit only one.

littledot

dude. if it's possible, go visit a couple of the schools. I thought I would love UChicago, walked on campus, and hated it within ten minutes.

par72

Might look at some LAC's like Holy Cross, Colgate, Davidson all have strong alumni networks.

Erin's Dad

With the 2350 I would only submit that, though a 33 ACT is nothing to sneeze at.