We know there has been a great deal of conversation over the past year about scholarship practices at law schools. Much of this conversation has focused on scholarship practices after the completion of a student's first year. Consequently, below you will find information focusing largely on what happens to students at our law school after the completion of their first year. Information about subsequent years is available on separate, linked webpages. We elect to provide the information in this format because we feel it makes the information more manageable, not to mention the fact that we believe first-year data is likely of most interest to prospective students given the discussion surrounding law school scholarship practices. Nevertheless, at the end of each relevant section, you will find a link to a webpage that provides additional information and analysis.
While the following information is intended to give you a sense of our scholarship practices over the past few years, these numbers and statistics should not be understood as assurances regarding the future. Each year in admissions is unique and no year is necessarily predictive of the next. We are providing this information so that you might know how we have dealt with our students over the years.
Click here for general information regarding scholarship awards
As the following data details, it is unusual for a student's scholarship to be reduced during his time at W&L Law. Reductions most often occur because a student is not truly committed to his legal education. While we do have performance requirements (3.15 for most), we consider these requirements very reasonable. 3.15 corresponds roughly to the 30th percentile (see our Grade Distributions for additional details). We feel a responsibility to the alumni and friends of the law school who have made these scholarships possible, and, as a result, we expect recipients to make the most of their time at W&L Law.
We know much of the popular attention regarding scholarship practices has focused on what happens after a student completes his first year of law school. The following reflects our recent experiences:
After Completion of First Year:
| Total Number of Scholarships Awarded (at Enrollment) |
# of Scholarships Reduced | Average Amount of Reduction | Average Reduction (as Percentage of Original Award) | |
| 2014 | 80 | NA | NA | NA |
| 2013 | 101 | 6 | $7,583.33 | 42.3% |
| 2012 | 81 | 2 | $8,522 | 27.5% |
| 2011 | 85 | 2 | $11,500 | 38.3% |
| 2010 | 71 | 5 | $6,200 | 32.3% |
| 2009 | 78 | 3 | $3,000 | 13.6% |
As the above data indicates, over the past five years, on average, of the students receiving scholarship awards at enrollment, only 18 had their scholarships reduced after the completion of their first year by an average amount of $6,974.67 with a median decrease of $5,009.50. 15 of these reductions were $10,000 or less, and of these 15, 9 were $5,000 or less, with a low value of $500 and a high value of $24,000.
Click here for additional data and analysis regarding scholarship reductions.
It is exceedingly rare for a student to have his scholarship revoked. We consider this a drastic action and only to be undertaken in the event a student is not attending class, is not making an effort in his studies or has repeatedly violated the University's conduct policy. For the 315 students in the Law Classes 2009-12 receiving scholarship awards, only 1 had his/her scholarship revoked entirely. No student has had his award revoked after his first year.
Occasionally, we increase a student's award during her time at W&L Law. The most common reason for such an increase is exceptional academic performance. As most of our students retain their scholarships for the entirety of their time in Lexington, we do not have a great deal of money to reallocate in this fashion and such awards are not part of our scholarship strategy. We occasionally have some money to award to students after their first or second year, but the amount of these awards is, as detailed below, relatively modest.
We know much of the popular attention regarding scholarship practices has focused on what happens after a student completes his first year of law school. To this end, consider the following data:
After Completion of First Year:
| Total Number of Scholarships Awarded (at Enrollment) | # of Scholarships Increased (Scholarship at Enrollment) | Average Amount of Increase | Average Increase (as Percentage of Original Award) | |
| 2014 | 80 | NA | NA | NA |
| 2013 | 101 | 11 | $2,212.27 | 8.2% |
| 2012 | 81 | 19 | $2,147.37 | 6.5% |
| 2011 | 85 | 20 | $3,289.50 | 20.3% |
| 2010 | 72 | 25 | $1,673.60 | 7.5% |
| 2009 | 78 | 28 | $1,467.86 | 9.3% |
As the above information indicates, for the Law Classes of 2009-13, of the students receiving scholarship awards at enrollment, 103 had their awards increased between their first and second year in law school by an average amount of $2,097.92 with a median increase of $1,850.00. 99 of these increases were $5,000 or less, with a low value of $500 and a high value of $20,025.
Click here for additional data and analysis regarding scholarship increases.
We often receive questions from prospective students about students who do not receive merit awards during the admissions process. Is it possible for such a student to receive an award after his first year (in the event that student, for example, performs exceptionally well)? After his second year?
As the below table chronicles, it is possible to receive such an award, and students receive these awards for a variety of reasons. However, the most common reason for such an award is exceptional academic performance. Nevertheless, such awards are rare and the amount of the award is modest.
We know much of the popular attention regarding scholarship practices has focused on what happens after a student completes his first year of law school. To this end, consider the following data:
After Completion of First Year:
| Class Size at Enrollment | Total Number of Students Who Did Not Receive Scholarship (at Enrollment) | Number of Scholarships Awarded to Students Not Initially Offered | Average Amount of Award | |
| 2014 | 121 | 41 | NA | NA |
| 2013 | 144 | 43 | 2 | $10,000 |
| 2012 | 135 | 54 | 3 | $8,666.67 |
| 2011 | 128 | 43 | 3 | $4,666.67 |
| 2010 | 116 | 45 | 8 | $7,375 |
| 2009 | 126 | 48 | 10 | $7,400 |
As you can tell from the above table, on average, for the Law Classes of 2009-13, 26 of the students not initially awarded a scholarship at enrollment received some award after the completion of their first year, and this award was, on average, $7,423.08, with a median value of $7,000.00. 20 of these awards were between $5,001 and $10,000, with a low value of $3,000 and a high value of $10,000.