"law schools appear to be actively scamming their students" through merit aid

[sakky]

<p>

Worse yet, more and more law schools appear to be actively scamming their students by luring first year students with large merit scholarships that disappear after the first year is over.
Here’s how it works: Law schools know that to enhance their institutional reputations, they need to attract the best possible students – the ones with the highest GPAs and LSAT scores. So they offer huge scholarships – worth tens of thousands of dollars per year – in order to attract students that might otherwise choose higher ranked institutions. But there’s a catch. These scholarships are usually contingent upon maintaining a specified grade point average. If students fail to make the necessary grades, they lose their scholarships permanently… law schools never seem to mention how grading on a curve will allow them to automatically disqualify a significant percentage of those awards when they send out scholarship letters to would-be students.

</p>

<p>[Is</a> Law School a Scam? - International Business Times](<a href=“http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/258744/20111130/law-school-scam.htm]Is”>http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/258744/20111130/law-school-scam.htm)</p>

[alwaysamom]

<p>Oh, my goodness, sakky. I think you need to get a new hobby!</p>

[sallyawp]

<p>I don’t think that’s a new practice at all, sakky. I remember when I was applying to law schools, I knew about this issue and was impressed when a couple of law schools, including Northwestern, guaranteed the same level of financial aid for all three years of law school. I am not certain whether Northwestern still provides this guarantee.</p>

[parentofpeople]

<p>Even though it has been going on for a long time, it is still good to bring it up so that new applicants are aware of it. I think it is a good thing to keep in mind when choosing a school. </p>

<p>I know there is a difference in scholarships vs. FA. Everyone knows FA is reviewed each year, but it isn’t always as clear for scholarships.</p>

<p>Anyone know which law schools have stronger FA available?</p>

[bluebayou]

<p>I’ve also read that some scam-schools put all of the scholarship recipients into the same section, which is curved against itself. Thus, by definition, a bunch of the students will be below average and lose their merit money.</p>

[angryelf]

<p>Undergrad schools do the same thing…
I believe for our school, average gpa is just slightly above a 3.0 and there are certain scholarships that require anywhere between a 3.0 and a 3.5 to keep.</p>

[Otsuichi]

<p>This isn’t exceptionally underhanded. Every scholarship I’ve seen for undergraduate work similarly requires a certain GPA. </p>

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