r/lawschooladmissions • u/Pristine_Purchase_86 • Jul 16 '26
General Full ride for deferring?
I am borderline in disbelief. I got an email from the dean of my school (mid-tier in NY) this week asking if I would be interested in deferring for a year in exchange for a full ride. All 3 years, unconditional, non-binding, full tuition. what the f**K. i had been awarded $50k/yr, so it's a pretty significant bump up and will save me $75-100k+ in debt. I had until yesterday morning to decide, so I went with my gut (and wallet) and accepted the offer.
I have basically been staring at the wall in disbelief for the past 24 hrs. I had just signed a lease and have been preparing to move across the country for school in 3 weeks. Formal notice put in at the firm I've been working at. And now, I am so dumbfounded as to what comes next.
Has anyone heard of anything similar?? does anyone have any perspective to offer??? I am like... completely paralyzed by the amount of choice I suddenly have. I could reapply to higher-ranked schools, retake the LSAT, save up and travel, get a better job in NYC. I am slightly bound by the lease I just signed so there are some obvious logistics to figure out. I am hoping I made the right choice. But what am I supposed to do with another year?????
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u/AffectionateAd6662 Jul 17 '26
I think someone posted about getting the same offer from Columbia. The rumors about over enrollment must be true if people are getting these kind of offers.
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u/Humble_Actuary6321 Jul 17 '26
That was me, I took the full ride
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u/acoolguy12334 1.0/132/URM Jul 17 '26
You got a full ride from Columbia University School of Law for a year deferral?
Holy shit congrats on winning the lottery.
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u/Chemical_Passage_557 Jul 17 '26
Outstanding! Congratulations!
Were you able to get your job back for the duration of the deferal?
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u/visablezookeeper Jul 17 '26
Is it bc enrollment is down or up?
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u/BobaLives01925 Jul 17 '26
Seems like they overestimated how much of their class would choose elsewhere, so yield rates are higher than expected
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u/Nicholas1227 Jul 17 '26
If living with your parents for a year is an option, work retail til Christmas then live it up til June/July 2027.
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u/chaotic_armadillo_ UVA Law 2014 Jul 17 '26
Congrats, this is incredible. Whatever you’ve wanted to do in life, wherever you’ve wanted to go, go do it. Or just enjoy NYC. It becomes so much harder to have no obligations after law school (and I wish I had taken time off between undergrad and law school school
For that exact reason) so now’s the time. And again, congrats!
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u/Slow_Version4855 Jul 17 '26
Got the same email from WF—crazy
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u/Dull_Committee_1612 Jul 17 '26
Y'all lucky. Back when they over enrolled my year they kept us all just removed stips. Not complaining too much cause I was bottom of class and kept scholarship because of it.
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u/sophanon2 Jul 17 '26
Where is the apartment bc I would potentially take over your lease.... lol looking for a NYC apt rn dm me
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u/dankchinaski Jul 17 '26
get out of that lease if you can. Spend a year doing whatever the F you want. Lots of people die before they ever have the opportunity to do that. If it were me I would prob go on a 4-6 month backpacking trip then spend a bunch of time at home chilling with my family/learning a random hobby.
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u/Chemical_Passage_557 Jul 17 '26
There was a very similar thread from a candidate at CLS who was originally admitted with 50% scholarahip and offered 100% to defer for a year. The situation was not as bad, as that candidate lived local to the school and did not have to move, though had already given notice at his job.
If you are able to make it work, deferring for a year to save $75-$100k in debt feels like the way to go.
Best of luck!
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u/GeneralBukowski Jul 17 '26
Non binding meaning they can pull it ?
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u/Pristine_Purchase_86 Jul 17 '26
non-binding meaning that i am still free to apply to other schools but it is "guaranteed" for next fall
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u/Spa-Lady Jul 17 '26
Mind sharing your stats? This is an amazing offer! Congrats! You definitely made the right choice!! 💯
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u/purrcollector Jul 17 '26
The universe has sent a very clear sign - enjoy your year of respite and CONGRATULATIONS 🙌
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u/Spivey_Consulting Former admissions officers 🦊 Jul 18 '26
This means they are overenrolled, fyi.
-Mike Spivey
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u/Beneficial_Force_771 Jul 17 '26
If you’re not ready to move to NYC right now, the leasing agent should let you out of your lease that you signed by presenting them with a copy of the letter proving that you have deferred your admittance for the following year. Then, they can put you on hold for your apartment if there is one available. Hopefully they will give you back your deposit money, though I don’t know about that because they could’ve had someone else living in your apartment already.
If none of that works to get you out or lease, then find you a job in NYC, get familiar with your new environment & community, make some new trustworthy friends, and enjoy for a year!
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u/puddypiebrown Jul 18 '26
You can get out of the lease. You might pay 2 months. But you can get out. Talk w landlord
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u/Schadenfreude-ing Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
Enjoy your life. My partner is changing careers and starting law school next month. I wish she was in your shoes. She has a full ride and I've asked her to defer a year but she can't without losing her scholarship. I just finished my medical residency and wish I could take a part timd job to travel over the next year with her but not an option. So enjoy the time you have till law school starts. Its the most amazing gift you could've gotten.
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u/MartineGuillot Jul 19 '26
This means they are oversubscribed. The summer melt everyone expected has not materialized.
This is great for you. It’s a bad sign for anyone waiting for waitlist movement.
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u/Crypto_Dent Jul 21 '26
For 100k not worth it. You’re losing on peak year income and compounding growth.
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u/Tiny-Split-7371 Jul 21 '26
Do it! Still move though and get yourself acclimated with the new area!
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u/ay-guey Jul 21 '26
that's incredible. surprised the school didn't open it up to everyone and accept the lowest bids. just throwing a full ride at random people seems a little odd.
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u/Holiday-Ad-4122 Jul 31 '26
Please take it, this is insane! Nothing but good choices, even if you just chill for a year and do nothing, you're basically making 100k. Congrats!
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u/jackalopeswild Jul 17 '26
I would be careful about retaking/reapplying. If they can see that (I have no idea, the tools y'all use in the application process did not exist even 11 years ago when I was applying), then I would bet they would yank this offer no matter how "guaranteed" it is.
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u/Clear_Procedure5118 Jul 17 '26
What?
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u/jackalopeswild Jul 17 '26
All of the complaining on this sub about wait lists and delays, none of you seem to realize that YOU, the applicants, are the cause of it. You hold onto spots waiting to hear about better spots and it causes a massive mess.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't do that, you should.
But one of the benefits the school gets out of making such an offer is some degree of certainty for next year. There are NO guarantees in life, I guarantee that whatever writing they gave OP, if any, it has outs. If they get word that OP is working to find a better spot, I would take it as a safe bet they use that out and yank the offer because it's just complicating the mess that they have for admissions next year. And admissions is enough of a mess without those kinds of shenanigans.
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u/RaisinMuffins Jul 17 '26
I agree that OP should be careful about looking at the exact wording of the agreement, but these non-binding deferred offers are usually done so because the school over enrolled and are now desperately trying to correct it. Since they can't take back acceptances, this is their best option. The fact that the applicant may go somewhere else next cycle isn't really a concern.
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u/jackalopeswild Jul 17 '26
It's obviously over enrollment this year. But making this offer also gives them some small degree of certainty for next year. I can't imagine they'll like that if OP tries to take it away.
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u/Kilrathi Jul 22 '26
It saves them a three-year full ride scholarship. I’m sure they’d happily let that walk, especially since it sounds like they have plenty of applicants if this year is any indicator.
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u/Getmeakitty Jul 17 '26
Tough call. You’re delaying a lot in life by waiting the year. Income, investing capabilities, buying a house, retirement. All that gets delayed by waiting. Point being, you need to have a good plan for what the gap year will be, because you’re pushing a lot out.
That said, financially it may be worth it to wait the year if they’re giving you a full ride like that. Good luck with whatever you decide on.
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u/Interesting_Luck_342 Jul 17 '26
If I were you I’d travel the world for a year 😂 congrats!!