Any reasons not to apply to my top choice law school early decision?

December 29, 2021 4:21 PM

Is there any reason not to apply to my first choice law school (CUNY) as early decision? My application is ready, so I can apply early decision or normal. (One caveat - I am applying the second time, after I was waitlisted and not admitted last year.)

The website says "CUNY Law accepts a small number of students via Early Decision each year.".

This almost makes it sound like a more selective process than the normal admissions.

I'm also not sure if people who apply early decision get told yes or no for admissions, or if anyone who isn't accepted early admission is then added back into the normal admissions pool.

[I tried emailing them a question last week, but an auto reply said they aren't responding until after the Jan 1 early decision deadline has passed.]

posted by davidstandaford to Education (5 answers total)

Someone close to me applied to law school in 2016, and I found a lot of good information at the web forum Law School Numbers. There you will find a lot of statistics on who got in where, as well as predictions for where you could be accepted, based on GPA and LSAT scores. There are other applicants who you can compare notes with. For my associate, it was spot-on: waitlisted where it would be a reach based on his numbers, accepted with modest scholarship at the places where his numbers were a good fit, and accepted with a significant scholarship at schools where his scores were higher than average.
posted by xo at 5:21 PM on December 29, 2021

The only reason not to is that you have a lower likelihood of being offered a scholarship, since you're bound to go if you get in. But if they're you're first choice regardless of finances, then you should apply early decision. Schools will sometimes reject ED applications and sometimes bump them to the regular pool. But if you were waitlisted last year, applying ED should give you a good chance, and there really isn't much to lose.
posted by cosmic owl at 5:22 PM on December 29, 2021 [6 favorites]

Most law schools offer a scholarship adjustment process. If you apply to a bunch of schools and get in at more than one, you have the opportunity to show each school the scholarship offers that other schools have offered. Whether this process would benefit you depends on whether you are able to get into schools of comparable quality with good scholarships.

I went through this process. The law school I went to offered me a low scholarship amount initially, and then increased their scholarship offer by $50k when I asked them to reconsider it in light of a better scholarship offer from another comparably ranked school. I will probably never make as much money with as little effort as I did through the scholarship reconsideration process.

The early decision process is okay if you're financially neutral. Would it be your top choice even if you had to pay full tuition there, even though other schools gave much better financial offers? If the answer is no, the regular decision process is better. My own perspective is to say that nobody should be financially neutral about law school unless you have it fully paid for and don't need to take out loans, or unless you are going to a top law school with intent of finding the most lucrative employment possible. I suppose it may also be reasonable to apply early decision to a school that is a reach based on your LSAT, undergraduate college, and GPA, but I think you have to do so expecting to pay full tuition, which is a brutal fate if you can avoid it.

And frankly, it is likely not worth it for CUNY Law in specific, because there are good odds based on their employment outcomes that paying full tuition there will end up with you being in a hole.
posted by vathek at 6:51 PM on December 29, 2021 [7 favorites]

Early decision removes any potential leverage or flexibility you have with regard to scholarships. Not that you have much to begin with, but it’s surprisingly possible to just talk your way into a scholarship after being admitted to some schools. “I’d really like to attend CUNY more than any other law school, but Comprabply Ranked School of Law is offering me a substantial scholarship. Is there any way you all can match that?” This tactic got me a $45,000 discount on law school back in the day. It wouldn’t have worked at all if I had been admitted ED. (It also might not work in your situation, everything comes down to the specific circumstances of your application and their admissions process).
posted by skewed at 9:38 AM on December 30, 2021

Former law school admissions officer here (not at CUNY): applying ED can sometimes provide a small "boost" to an applicant's chances, because you become a known quantity in the eventual admitted student pool, which is valuable to the school. They also want folks to come to the school who want to be at the school, so it's win-win.

I don't know how it works at CUNY, but at the schools I was at we did not deny ED folks at the outset. They might not receive an offer, but they would be reconsidered within the context of the broader applicant pool.

Lastly, it's true that some schools might adjust scholarship offers based on your leverage at other schools. It's also the case that many schools will deny they have such a policy, exactly because they're reticent to get into bidding wars with other schools. Up to you how much it's worth it to play that game.

Good luck!
posted by soonertbone at 8:19 AM on January 1, 2022