Questions: Please concisely address the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.
The Main Idea:
- Please briefly summarize the practices of law schools in giving out merit scholarships.
The Economics:
- What is the cost/benefit formulation for a student entering their first year of law school? What is it for the law school offering the scholarships?
- From the perspective of a student at the beginning of the second year, how should the time and money spent in the first year be viewed? How should it considered in the decision to stay or leave? (Assume transferring is not an option. Generally, it isn’t because other schools will not accept credits.)
- How are law schools using economics to create policies that maximize their benefits and limit their costs? (In other words, what was the economic reasoning of the people who created these policies?)
The Regulation:
- What information should schools be required to report regarding merit scholarships? Why?
School and You:
- What effect does U.S. News & World Report have on law schools? Would you consider it to be a net positive or negative effect? Explain.
- How have school rankings affecting your choices concerning college?
A Word of Caution:
- While the issue of lost merit scholarships is not as prevalent at the undergrad level, I was wondering, have you read the fine print attached to any of the awards, scholarships or loans you are utilizing for college? Have you looked for any additional information related to past retention rates? (You don’t have to answer these two – they are rhetorical.)