The Importance of Scholarships in Law School
Scholarships are arguably the most positive thing to come out of the law school bonfire. Lower tuition payments, higher post-graduation solvency, and smaller loan balances are all to be had by those fortunate enough to receive scholarships at their law school of choice.
Scholarships are no mere bribes to get more students in the door; they’re necessary for many lower and middling ranked law schools. Like any other institution that’s been around since before the Internet, law school is an old model. In the Old Law School days, law schools were faceless institutions, and nearly every student lived far away from campus and most of their fellow classmates. Getting into law school was once the toughest part. Those who got in, however, earned respect and prestige. Prestige helped students get the jobs they wanted while in law school, and upon graduating. This wasn’t Jeeves & Wooster; this was real life, and law school was the holy grail. All of that prestige isn’t much help anymore, though.
As we’ve seen, in the digital age, the Old Law School prestige model has been replaced by a more merit-based approach to employing new graduates. As a result, it’s hard for schools to convince bright students to enroll. Sure, Harvard and Yale will get the best students every year, but everywhere else, especially where there is more than one law school, a bit of a life-or-death battle rages for the brightest students.
Students with good grades can choose which of their schools to attend based on those scholarships . This is a huge boon to students, since law school tuition even at a state school is around $35,000 a year these days. That’s a huge chunk of money to hand over for three years.
But law school scholarships aren’t just important when compared to the sticker prices. They’re also important because of the same reason more students are wary of enrolling in law school-ever-changing post-graduation career options. Because law school is so expensive, students who don’t get graduating jobs that are as good as they thought they’d be are stuck with mountains of debt.
Scholarships can’t negate the tough law market, but they sure help. It’s hard to justify spending $60,000 on a degree that has a less than 50% chance of giving you a job in the field. But with scholarships, that number is reduced. You might not make your money back on your degree in two years of practice, but the expense does at least approach common sense for a short while.
Scholarships are also important to schools because they magnify prestige in an accessible kind of way. If all the best students are attending a more obscure law school just because it gave them free tuition, then all of a sudden that school looks pretty prestigious. Likewise, schools that don’t have the most academic students can still offer scholarships in an attempt to attract the best. Scholarships are a double-edged sword.
In the end, scholarships matter because above all else, they help make law school financially feasible. They mean students don’t have to worry about paying off a $100,000 debt someday.
Harvard Law Scholarships
At Harvard, the average school scholarship per student is $44,745 and 49 percent of students receive some form of financial aid. Harvard offers a number of merit-based scholarships as well as scholarships based on financial need. There are also a number of outside scholarships adopted by students.
The Latham & Watkins Diversity Scholars program offers up to $10,000 in scholarship assistance, a paid summer associate position for ten weeks, and a special Latham & Watkins mentor.
Isaac Ankum Scholarship Program awards a $10,000 scholarship and is for minority students between 18-24 years old who have had contact with the judicial system.
The HLS Equity Assistance Fund is for students who have been adversely affected by the recent federal tax reforms, resulting in a reduced ability to afford their legal education. The maximum award is the difference between the amount of the increase in one’s student bill due to the tax reform and $6,000.
Yale Law Scholarships
Yale Law School is the second-best law school in the nation according to the U.S. News and World Report 2024 ranking. Yale Law seeks to do right by its students, many of which are granted scholarship assistance.
Financial aid is available to J.D. and LL.M. students as well as undergraduate and graduate law students. Yale’s financial aid office explains that need-based grants are awarded to students who apply for aid. The total amount of funding for graduate and professional programs at Yale for 2023-2024 was $70,857,855.
Yale’s median need-based grant offer amounts to $33,067 for first-year students. This is just above the median grant offer of $34,053 for public university law schools. Yale Law is competitive with its merit-based scholarship offerings as well. It offered 35 percent of students a merit award in 2023.
The median merit award at Yale Law is a whopping $16,020. While University of Chicago Law and Columbia Law offer merit awards to 15 percent of their first-year students, Yale Law outstrips both by tens of thousands of dollars.
Yale Law offers 18 full-ride scholarships for incoming J.D. students. Those who apply for the ‘Yale Law Need-Based Grant’ must also submit the Student Financial Statement (SFS) or the FAFSA. Yale Law will review all financial aid applications after admissions decisions have been made and financial aid awards in the spring of 2023 involved $13 million going towards students who applied for the "Yale Law Need-Based Grant." Yale Law is committed to reviewing aid applications and matching funding to addresses students’ financial needs.
Yale Law School awards 12 Lillian Goldman Fellowship Packages (LGFPs) to entering students. LGFPs are available to students of any race or ethnicity, and the fellowships can be awarded to incoming first-year students or second-year students transferring to Yale Law. The LGFP covers tuition, fees, room, board, laptops, and travel. Yale Law uses application information to make LGFP selections, which are then made known in the spring semester of the first year. Notably, students who receive LGFPs do not need to seek prior approval to engage in paid work if they so choose.
Stanford Law Financial Aid
Financial aid is available to both JD and LLM students, and is intended only for those who need financial assistance to help cover the cost of their education. The law school does not guarantee financial assistance to cover the full cost of attendance. The financial aid program at Stanford Law School will not take the place of parental support except in very unusual circumstances, nor do we provide support for living expenses beyond what is covered by the grant and loan programs.
Stanford Law School currently offers 15 named scholarships to JD students, which include the Robert Crown Law Group Scholarship, William W. Klein Trust, Joseph G. Chafkin Fellowships, Donald P. Koonz Fellowships, and the H. Gerald Slossberg Fellowships.
Upon completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), applicants must submit a separate financial aid application, including a personal statement describing your financial situation and the reasons you are seeking financial aid. Applications for financial aid are included in the JD Admission WelcomePacket, which can also be accessed online. Once the application has been submitted, it is reviewed by the financial aid committee, which is independent from the admissions committee. Students are notified approximately ten days after the decision letters have been sent, by both email and regular mail, if they have been awarded a financial aid package.
Columbia Law Scholarships
Columbia Law School is one such institution known for providing a broad-ranging array of scholarships. The largest merit-based scholarship at Columbia Law School is the Empire Diversity Initiative (EDI) Law Fellowship, which awards up to 10 students who have demonstrated a commitment to public interest law and have completed the core first-year classes at a participating New York City law school. Each fellowship includes $10,000 towards the cost of their legal education each of the second or third year.
The law school additionally awards up to five full-tuition, three-year Femme Scholarship , which honors women who have demonstrated a dedication to service, scholarship, and/or excellence in their communities. Students may apply for the Femme Scholarship regardless of race, color, gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status.
Columbia Law School also offers a number of need-based scholarships, with approximately 12% of domestic students awarded scholarships. These awards are based on financial need and available to students across the board, including J.D. students, transfer students, and students in the LL.M and J.D./LL.M programs, and vary in amount.
University of Chicago Law Scholarships
The University of Chicago Law School is another school that offers a number of scholarships to encourage diversity among their students. The Citadel Foundation offers several different scholarships designed to encourage black students to pursue a law degree at the University of Chicago. In addition, the Paul Anderson Diversity Scholarship is available for a select number of students each year. All admitted students at the University of Chicago are automatically considered for the university’s merit-based scholarships. This means there is no application process or letter of intent required to receive a merit-based scholarship.
For more specific details on the University of Chicago Law School’s merit-based scholarships, the law school’s official website can provide the information. Some lesser-known scholarships that may be available to students who choose to attend the University of Chicago include the Bernard Hale Davis public interest and government service fellowship, the Clifford Thompson and Juliana Benson Prize for community service, and the Kimball Fellowships in law and public interest.
Alumni at the University of Chicago Law School report strong job prospects after they graduate. Chamberlain Associates notes that the 10-year salary of alumni at this prestigious university is $245,417.
Law Schools to Consider Based on Their Scholarships
If scholarships are a key concern in the law school admissions process, students should consider the percentage of scholarship recipients at each prospective school, the average amount of those scholarships and the financial implications for all three years. Also important are the school’s odds for transferring to another institution without losing financial aid and the university’s financial aid policies and practices. In a competitive law school admissions landscape, students must be diligent to make sure there is a good match between themselves and a chosen law school if student debt is an important issue in their choice of law school.
Tips for Getting Law School Scholarships
Applying for scholarships is one of the most important steps in financing law school. Some scholarships, such as the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, are available to postgraduates. But for J.D. candidates, many law schools offer a number of generous scholarships to select students. So knowing about the scholarship landscape and how to succeed is essential when making your law school budget.
For top law schools, the process of awarding scholarships tends to be highly competitive. However, there are still opportunities to tap into all available funds for those who know the process inside out. Below are some tips that can aid a candidate in crafting a successful application package for law school scholarships.
Speak the language of scholarship committees
When applying for law school scholarships, the first decision you’ll make is whether to apply using a general personal statement or a specialized one. If your specific concentration overlaps with a scholarship’s eligibility requirements, it pays to develop a customized essay to address the requirements.
Your strategy in this fight will depend on the audience. For law school scholarships, committees are looking for the general requirements of a successful lawyer, such as:
Volunteering for academic or service clubs can aid in making a personal impression and strengthening any application. Still , a committee is most likely to remember a candid portrait — i.e., unique qualifications during school, personal experiences, and a glimpse into your thought process — rather than the rehashing of the basics.
Follow the instructions
It may seem patronizing to tell an applicant to read the scholarship requirements carefully, but skipping this step is the root of many law school scholarship application errors. There’s a reason we college students dragged back out the high school lesson that reading the directions is crucial: scholarship committees would rather fund students who don’t need to have everything pointed out for them.
They’re looking for good candidates as well, so missing a minor detail sets you apart as careless or unprepared. Don’t be so eager to return your application that you skim it for the major points. Take the time to ensure it’s truly done and tailored for the requirements of each committee to which you’ll send it.
Ask former scholars
Do you have law school friends who received scholarships from your desired school? Getting in touch with them is an excellent way to gain insight into the application process. Your friend may be able to point out any unusual or unexpected items on the process that could extra money requirements. It’s also a good idea to ask any alumni you know if they have scholarship tips from their own applications.
