Hey everyone,

I’m an LLB graduate pursuing my LLM in the US, and I’m wondering about the percentage/rarity of scholarships awarded to foreign LLM applicants. I ask as due to late graduation, I was not able to apply in time for T14 applications, but was awarded half-tuition scholarships at a couple of schools just outside the T14. The only thing is that those scholarship letters seem to be almost the exact same wording.

I’m just wondering about whether it’s custom for schools to deliberately overprice their LLM to then regularly award 'scholarships' to entice international applicants, or whether it’s the case that non-T14 schools just receive fewer international applicants and so award more scholarships.

Basically, I’m wondering whether to take one of these offers as a rare gift, or wait to try my luck at a T14 school next application cycle (and risk not being awarded any scholarship then anyway). Any insight would be very much appreciated!

Bump

What ended up happening?

Not sure why this 2-year old thread was resurrected, but I’ll chime in anyway…

Yes, it is common for US schools to charge very high tuition and offer a lot of scholarships/aid.

Part of it is to equal the playing field somewhat by charging high rates to some (e.g. those who can afford it and don’t need aid), and offer that aid to those of lesser means who can’t otherwise afford it.

Just as much, it’s marketing. “Our regular rate is $80,000, but because you’re special, random international applicant, you only need to pay $50,000.”

Random international applicant - “Oh boy, I’m special/wanted, and what a great deal!!1!”

This is not exactly true. I have applied for several T14 LLMs in the USA. Some schools are very generous and offer substantial scholarships. Others offer zero. So it is true that some schools want you more than others. It depends on how much you fit their profile and of course it depends on the competition. And yes, it feels good to get a generous offer from a leading university. Because it cannot be taken for granted.

I've done my LLM at Harvard and my impression is that it varies. The higher the school is ranked, the less willing they'll be to award scholarships.

I got $30k grant from HLS and then negotiated $8k more, after one of my other sponsors fell through.

My impression is that financial aid decisions in the US are often based on the school's politics and funding whom is going to look good on paper.

Also, lower-ranked schools try to attract international applicants because the number of international students and the scholarships awarded is part of how rankings are calculated. If it's a school ranked 101 or 102, this could bump them up a few places - and suddenly they are in the top 100.

On whether to take the offer or reapply - there is no answer except for the one that works for you. I know people who took the offers they had, and I know people who reapplied until they got into the school they wanted. Both were happy.
Just depends on how much uncertainty you can tolerate and how much you can invest in your applications.