This blog comes from our consultant Jayme McKellop, who prior to joining Spivey Consulting served as Director of Admissions at the University of Chicago Law School. You can read more about Jayme at the end of this post.
Requesting a scholarship increase can be a tricky process. As with many things in the world of law school admissions, it varies by school. There are wrong ways, and right ways, to do it, however. Some schools are very open to reconsideration requests, while others may do it reluctantly and view it as a necessity. Here are some basic tips on what to do (and what not to do) to help you navigate this process.
These are meant to serve as a starting point only—if you're looking for personalized advice and strategy, Spivey Consulting Group offers scholarship reconsideration assistance; just email us at info@spiveyconsulting.com to schedule a free initial consultation.
- Follow the process in place. Some schools provide specific instructions on how to approach scholarship reconsideration. There may be procedural steps outlined on the school’s admitted student website, such as a form and required information to submit. You should follow any instructions the school gives you closely and pay attention to any deadlines—if they have established a process, they want you to follow it. Others do not have a set process in place. In that case, it is appropriate to reach out to the individual handling scholarship correspondence to ask.
- Be extremely polite and appreciative in all of your communications. Always emphasize first how excited you are to have been admitted to that particular law school. Being polite, in and of itself, can get some applicants considerable scholarship consideration.
- Be realistic. Schools are often only interested in considering scholarships from what they consider to be “peer schools,” and it undermines your credibility to ask a school to consider an award from a law school that is not comparable in reputation. Also, be realistic about your own qualifications and what you add to the class to manage your own expectations.
- Be cognizant of your true financial need. If you have submitted your FAFSA or CSS Profile to a school, they may have some knowledge of your and your family’s assets. You will hurt your effort if your family has substantial financial assets/net worth and you are asserting that you are financially needy without compelling circumstances.
- Don’t exaggerate or lie. Be truthful and honest about the reasons you are asking to increase your scholarship award and how scholarship aid will factor into your decision.
- No ultimatums. You should, however, be honest about your deadlines at other schools. If you have a deadline at School X, you can politely let School Y know that because you are so interested in School Y, it would be extremely helpful to have all of the information about financial aid available before School X’s deadline so that you can make a fully informed decision.
- Often, if a student really wants to be at a certain school, the law school wants to make that happen for you, particularly if money is the only hurdle. If a school is truly your first choice and money is the only thing holding you back, tell them. They can’t always make it work, but they usually like to try.
Jayme McKellop has almost 20 years of experience in legal practice, education, and consulting, serving as the Director of Admissions at the University of Chicago Law School before joining the Spivey Consulting Group. At Chicago, she administered the application review process from start to finish, read thousands of law school applications, and was responsible for designing and implementing Chicago’s admissions interviewing program. She also managed Chicago’s student admissions committee, affinity group outreach, and several aspects of the admissions process. Before transitioning into law school admissions, she practiced employment and labor law at Sidley Austin in Chicago. Jayme has a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and a B.A. in Psychology from Ohio University. Jayme is a detail person and enjoys helping clients find the best way to convey their authentic voice and ideas. She loves the strategy involved in admissions on both the applicant and law school sides. Jayme is also an animal welfare advocate and has worked on several legislative initiatives related to companion animals and addressing the problem of puppy mills.
Jayme grew up in a small town in central Ohio, but she now proudly considers herself a Chicagoan. She lives in downtown Chicago with her husband and two young children. She loves dogs (with a soft spot for West Highland White Terriers and older rescue dogs), California wine country, and traveling with her family where they can spend time outdoors. Most weekends, she and her family enjoy exploring the city, and she is always in search of great vegetarian food or a new local coffee shop.