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Below, a prospective law student named Mads asks some tough questions about her law school admissions decisions, and PowerScore CEO Dave Killoran responds:

Mads: "Hi Dave! I appreciate all the help you’re offering to potential students in this tough decision making time! I’ve narrowed my choices down to three waitlisted top 50 schools and Villanova. I am wondering if I should express my undying love in a LoCI and promise to accept if admitted to any of the top 50’s, “take the money and run” at Villanova, or reapply next cycle.

WASH U (#17)
Waitlisted, (presumably) no scholarship – COA @ $63,000 a year
– National school with great employment outcomes and median salary
– Not interested in practicing in St. Louis
– I’m undecided in the type of law I want to practice, so there is a fear in not being able to pay back the debt if I don’t go biglaw
GW (#22)
Waitlisted, no scholarship – COA @ $63,000 a year
– National school with the same perks of employment and salary
– DC is my second choice city to practice in (next to Atlanta)
– Debt
EMORY (#24)
Waitlisted, no scholarship – COA @ $62,000 a year
– National school with the same perks
– I was an undergraduate student at Emory and loved my time at Emory and in Atlanta- It feels like home to me
– I hope to practice in Atlanta long term
– Debt
VILLANOVA (#62)
Unconditional, $40,000 a year scholarship – COA @ $9,000 a year
– Interested in the possibility of pursuing sports law, which they have one of the best programs for nationally, but not set on it
– It’s not Atlanta, but I wouldn’t mind working in Philadelphia or DC
– “Big fish in a small pond” argument. Because of my scholarship I might have a better chance of being in the top 10% of my class
– I have an opportunity to negotiate my scholarship to full tuition based on a full tuition offer at a comparable school

With how competitive this admissions cycle has been, I’m wondering if reapplying next cycle would potentially give me more scholarship money and acceptance to schools I’m currently waitlisted at. However, am I giving up the “bird in the hand” at Villanova and inviting them to give me less money if I reapplied? I’m curious to know your thoughts. Thanks in advance!"

Dave Killoran: "Hi Mads,

Thanks for the questions! Let’s start at the end, first, with “I’m wondering if reapplying next cycle would potentially give me more scholarship money and acceptance to schools I’m currently waitlisted at.” Quite likely this is the case, but I can’t entirely tell since I can’t see your numbers. they were clearly competitive since you made WLs, and I do think next year will be less competitive than this year. By how much is anyone’s guess at this point though.

As for your four schools, that’s very tough. As a reference for anyone else reading, here’s the basic LST comparison: https://www.lstreports.com/compare/vill ... y/gw/washu. Any of the 3 WL schools leave you with around $190K of debt vs $27K debt at Villanova, and that is a serious difference. And when you look at employment stats, you can see that Nova does fairly well in comparison–perhaps surprisingly so. It’s also tough on the WL schools because Emory seems to have been struggling a bit recently, yet that’s your preferred location, and WashU is the strongest of the three employment-wise, but less of an interest for you location-wise. I’m not sure I’d pay the full ride at Emory when Villanova fares reasonably well in comparison, to be honest. And I might only pay for WashU if biglaw is a strong desire, since their biglaw numbers are almost three times better than Villanova. So, no matter which way you go here, it’s going to be a tough call. The best answer will come down to what you really want vs how much you are willing to pay for it.

I hope that helps a bit. Thanks!"

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