preLaw Magazine - Fall 2008 - (Page 26) aimed at residents of North Carolina. “The scholarship money completely changed my priorities in deciding where to go to law school. I had originally planned to go to a public university for financial reasons,” Payseur said. “The scholarship opportunity opened more doors for me.” Avoiding the “golden handcuffs” of debt was a huge boon for Stephen Foland, a second-year student at Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor. Foland received a full scholarship to attend the relatively new law school. “My undergraduate grades and LSAT scores were high enough to earn admission to a lot of schools, but getting into law school and paying for it are two different matters,” Foland said. “I had planned on attending graduate school from the day I finished college,” Foland said. “If it were not for my scholarship I would still be working to save enough money to pay for it, and I would not be enrolling in law school until I was 32 or 33. So in addition to the $100,000, my scholarship saved me four or five years of work.” Ave Maria has made “a concerted effort” to help incoming students with generous scholarship awards since its first entering class in 2000, said Charles W. Roboski, an associate dean in the office of admissions and external affairs. “Through the generosity of supporters, including Ave Maria Foundation, we have been in the fortunate position of providing generous awards to between 50 and 65 percent of the typical entering class,” Roboski said. Both incoming and current students are eligible for scholarships, which range from $10,000 to full tuition, Roboski said. Most full-tuition scholarships go to new students who show academic potential, and a few are awarded to students who performed extremely well in their first year at Ave Maria. How they do it One Vision. 30 Years. 10,000 Practice Rounds. 100 National Advocacy Wins. Res Ipsa Loquitur. Surveys show the average debt of the graduating Class of 2006 from the Top 14 law schools is just under $100,000. Debt among students in schools ranked in the top four tiers as determined by U.S. News & World Report comes in around $75,000 across the board. Wake Forest University School of Law provides grants and scholarships anywhere from $5,000 to full tuition to about 40 percent of its entering class, said Melanie Nutt, director of admissions and financial aid. She said much of the funding for Wake Forest’s financial aid comes from alumni and through the law school’s budget. Nutt said there is good reason why some students receive scholarships and others do not. Today’s law schools are slaves to magazines like U.S. News. So if they want to boost their ranking, they need to find the best students they possibly can. That often means giving full rides to those with high GPAs or LSAT scores, Nutt said. Larger, more prestigious law schools may not need to offer as much money to students. “Scholarships are very much like athletic grants or major league signing bonuses,” Nutt said. “You might get a signing bonus with the Winston Salem Warthogs, but you’re not going to with the Chicago White Sox.” In the past three years, Ave Maria also created leadership and service awards, which range in value from $4,000 to $10,000. These awards help Ave Maria “enroll incoming students with a record of commitment to serving others,” Roboski said. “The scholarship program allows us to enroll students who have a wide variety of other enrollment options and for whom the cost of attendance at our law school Houston, Texas www.stcl.edu 26 preLaw http://www.stcl.edu http://www.stcl.edu
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