Thanks, but no thanks.
Last week I pondered whether I would have to turn down an acceptance to my first choice school if they didn’t offer any scholarship money. Or, alternatively, whether I would choose to turn down the opportunity to go to law school sans the cost of tuition in order to go to my first choice school. (See Love v. $$$). Having the official, mailed, acceptance letter in my hands really brought a lot of clarity. I have been so extremely fortunate and blessed to have three law schools which want me to go to their schools so badly they are willing to grant me full-tuition scholarships. Ultimately, I want to attend a school that truly wanted me to attend as badly as I want to be there. Needless to say, my top-choice school just wasn’t willing to show me the love. I received my very flat, thin, acceptance letter. On first glance I quickly skimmed it looking for indicators of money. No dollar signs, no decimals, no zeros. So I read it again, slowly. Nothing. Sifted through the paperwork. Nothing. And then came clarity. I folded up the letter, pushed it back into the envelope and said, thanks, but no thanks.
Laurie said,
December 22, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Sounds like you made a very smart choice – congrats!
LawSchoolDreamer said,
December 26, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Thanks Laurie!
Kate Sherwood said,
December 22, 2010 at 8:06 pm
You have probably already investigated this since you seem to be a very thorough type of person, but some rewards are often made later in the process. Congratulations on how well you did though, regardless!
LawSchoolDreamer said,
December 26, 2010 at 8:27 pm
That is a very good point, Kate. I appreciate you mentioning this. I am going to call after the holidays to see if by chance this a school that makes financial aid decisions in March (or after the FAFSA deadline has passed). The materials I received did not indicate whether financial aid decisions would be coming later or not. But it did include a brochure from LSAC entitled “Paying for Law School.” So I took that as a hint. Ha!