This pains me to say as a UCLA alum, but I’d put USC on your list. They give half scholarship for NMF if you list USC as your top choice. Over the past 2 years, I’ve met 2 girls that got more than the half-scholarships making USC more affordable than their state flagships. Both had impressive ECs, were admitted to other ultra-selective schools but couldn’t afford to go and were headed to their state schools until SC significantly sweetened its financial offers. Neither got full rides, but enough to make it more affordable than UCLA and Oregon.
I wouldn’t consider BU and Northeastern matches. Both schools play the EA/ED game favoring students who apply in ED rounds. So if you’re aiming for their scholarships, take that into consideration. Similarly, I wouldn’t consider Michigan a match as an out-of-state resident, although there may be more Chicagoland kids there than any other major city. I’ve met several people who didn’t get into to Michigan that got in at other more selective schools - Michigan has its own formula and it seems to work well for it.
As others have said, finances should be your top factor if you plan on going to LS. Do not let your parents take out equity lines of credit to finance Yale/Penn just to go into $300k+ debt for LS. It absolutely is not worth it and you’ll be chained to some unpalatable job because of your golden handcuffs.
Why apply anywhere that can’t you close to a full ride or at least the possibility of full tuition ?
USC can. Others can. They’re not assured but can - Vandy, WUSTL.
And use the NM schools as a back stop.
Your application life will be much easier. You’l have financial flexibility for the long run. And you’ll still kick butt wherever you go - because it’s as much about you…moreso than the school - even if you don’t go to law school.
It just seems you’ll be spinning your wheels for a dream - unless you’re willing to let your parents tap out financially…and after they do and your siblings, you then have more school - so given you aren’t being held down at all going to a non-prestigous school in regards to prestigious law school admissions, why even go through the entire exercise of chasing schools that will set you back $380-400K?
Your senior year can be less stressful - and nothing worse than getting an acceptance to a school you know up front you’re unlikely to attend due to budget.
OP my advice would be to limit your discussions of affordability to conversations with your parents. They are the only one’s with the proper insight to determine what you can and can’t afford.
In addition these decisions all come down to very personal preferences and priorities. You have already expressed that your parents would pay up for certain schools. This is their prerogative and should be respected.
As strangers we can’t possibly give you proper guidance without knowing very private financial info, and as a community we should avoid the risk of potentially advising you contrary to your parents wishes.
You have amazing credentials and achievements so I would have a detailed conversation with those that know you best and have your best interest in mind. Everyone else (me included) comes at this with biases that aren’t relevant to you.
I think it’s helpful for us to suggest schools with possible full-ride scholarships, schools with possible full-tuition scholarships, and even schools that will give merit more in the half-tuition range. We do not know what this family can reasonably spend, and still have sufficient financial resources left over for younger sibs, parent retirement, etc. They need to weigh that for themselves.
It’s also fine to caution about the cost of law school and the perils of debt, and to enthuse about the beauty of big merit. But this is an intelligent young person who doesn’t need to hear the same advice over and over again. If we find ourselves feeling the need to belabor, maybe we should slow down and make sure we make our point succinctly and with clarity on the first pass, so that we can then move on.
OP I would as @aquapt suggests take in the advice of others but don’t feel bullied into others priorities around finances. They are blind to your unique family situation.
Great advice. Talk to your parents- and then keep talking. Most of the parents here know that the money discussion is never a “one and done”. I had a LONG list of schools that I was unwilling to pay for… to my kid’s guidance counselor’s chagrin. I was unwilling to pay MORE for amenities- nicer dorms, closer to surfing, better parties. I was happy to pay for academic rigor- more sophisticated labs, more endowed professorships with senior faculty teaching undergrads, more requirements for graduation or honors.
So if your parents have a list of “we’ll pay for this, we won’t pay for that”, keep the dialogue going so you understand their rationale. It will save you all some heartache down the road.
OP to be clear, I am not telling others what to post or suggesting what they shouldn’t post.
I am giving you my opinion that your parents are your best resource when it comes to finances. I am suggesting you take with a grain of salt those that have strong opinions on personal matters while lacking important information unique to your family’s circumstances.
My parents will be contributing to my college education. They said they’d be willing and able to make it worth if I got into a HYP+; however, i want to minimize my cost burden (partially bc of guilt and partially bc i have two younger brothers also looking to go to college)
I think this OP needs to have a conversation with their parents about what colleges cost. They need to do the net price calculators so the parents can see what their probable net costs will be for every college the student is interested in applying to.
AND then after that, the family needs to make the decision about what they can and can’t afford to pay for college costs.
And as noted, this might not be a one time discussion…
Totally. And having seen enough of this scenario before (where what the parents are willing to pay depends on the college), I very much agree the OP needs to initiate the conversation, needs to make sure it is well-informed on both ends, needs to make sure it keeps going through end, and so on. I just have seen too many heart-breaking stories where excited kids end up disappointed by their parents’ actual willingness to pay for the college they really want to attend.
Thank you all so much for your advice! I’m honestly overwhelmed by how helpful everyone here is. After doing some honest reflection on my college list and doing research on the merit aid schools mentioned, I’ve added 7 colleges from your recs + removed 4 that will offer little aid AND that I’m not enthusiastic about. Though I have kept colleges on the list that will likely give very little (as they still appeal to me greatly - e.g. Tufts, Yale), I will continue to update my list while I have (ongoing) discussions with my parents about budget, which colleges they’d be willing to pay more for, and how they plan to pay for my brothers’ education in the future.
ADDED:
Washington and Lee (their philosophy + pre-law program looks awesome btw!)
I think you’d be very competitive for the full-ride Johnson Scholarship at W&L, so if you’re liking what you see academically, that is a particularly great add! And the full ride at Tulsa is guaranteed, even if you didn’t progress from NMSF to NMF (which to be clear is not a worry at all in your case), so you have a completely-free financial safety now which is huge and provides a baseline to which all other “Is this worth the money?” discussions can be calibrated.
And you definitely have a shot at the more long-shot big merit awards at Duke, Vandy, and WashU, too… plus the full-tuition at USC. The one other in this category, which has been mentioned only in passing, is Rice. I can’t find info on what the maximum merit amount is at Rice, though; maybe someone else knows.
I think your list looks great, and you sound like you’re being very thoughtful about weighing the financial considerations along with all of the other factors. I look forward to hearing how the process goes for you; hope you’ll keep us updated!
I second all the comments here with regards to affordability which you seem to be very mindful of. All the NPC’s from a few of your reach schools were very much in line with the FA package my son received. So don’t expect actual FA package to miraculously be lower than what you’re getting on the NPC.
Also, as mentioned, your stats are very competitive but I also want you to prepare your heart a little bit as even match schools aren’t a sure thing. Purely anecdotal as it is a sample size of one but my son was accepted to a few of the schools in your reach list but waitlisted at Boston U and WUSTL.
You are going to land somewhere good given your accomplishments just don’t invest too much of your emotion toward one particular school. If there is anything I’ve learned the past year is how unpredictable acceptances and denials are for colleges.
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