Deciding to go to law school is usually seen as a self-investment. If tuition costs are the only thing that stand in your way to being the next Harvey Specter, you’d be foolish to not pay whatever it takes to change the world (and your bank account) with your lawyering. But the reality is that deciding to go to law school is a lot more like gambling. As understandable as it is for everyone to enter thinking that they’ll graduate top of their class, the math rarely works out that way. Deciding which law school is best for you is aided by some risk assessment: how big are the class sizes, where do graduates tend to place, can you live in this area for three years? Huge classes, poor placement, and a city or town you can’t stand? You’d be better off playing blackjack. But one of the biggest factors is affordability. Public and private loans could lessen the financial blows, but the holy grail is always gambling with the house’s money: full ride scholarships.
If you’ve been considering the University of New Mexico’s law school, some great news could change how you view them. KRQE has coverage:
New Mexico’s only law school has received its largest donation in history, to go towards scholarships to help more students get their degrees. Each year, about one hundred law students are admitted to UNM Law School, and one lucky student is granted a full tuition scholarship every three years by alumni Eric and Dana Marie Knapp.
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Thanks to the Knapps’ latest donation, the largest in UNM Law School history, the $4.5 million endowed scholarship will help ten students get full tuition rides through law school.
A tenfold increase in students who won’t have to worry about law school debt is huge! Assuming prices remain stable (which is a big ask right now), the donation will cover the tuition costs of 10 in-state future lawyers over the course of 30 years. Unfettered by debt, full ride recipients could take on public service jobs and live comfortably, not to mention work toward buying a home or being able to afford having a family. One major caveat: the scholarship money won’t be doled out until the Knapps pass away.
Congratulations to the school and their future generations of lawyers!
UNM Law School To Receive Largest Donation In History To Help More Students Get Full Rides [KRQE]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boat builder who is learning to swim and is interested in rhetoric, Spinozists and humor. Getting back in to cycling wouldn’t hurt either. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
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