Can you keep your scholarship if your GPA falls below a certain point? Would you still be happy with your T2 school if you had to pay full price?

I was offered free rides from some 3rd tier schools, mediocre scholarships from some T2 schools, and nothing from some T1 schools. I ended up going to a T2 school, losing those scholarships because my GPA wasn't high enough, and graduating with huge debt from a school that was not very competitive.

Since my loans ended up being the same, I REALLY regretted not going to the T1 schools or taking the free-ride from the T3 schools. If I had it to do over again, I'd take the free-ride. The debt looming over my head made it really hard to focus during law school and the bar exam.

What I recommend, having gone to a decent T2 school, use your acceptance from the T1 school to get a better scholarship from the T2 school. Call up the admissions office and tell them your situation: you're interested in Oregon, but not at that price. Make sure the scholarship doesn't depend on your GPA! It is surprisingly hard to get in even the top quarter of your class when you're competing against other law students!

If that doesn't get you a price you want, delay your entry for a year, retake the LSAT, and try to get a better score/offer next year.

It's probably not what you want to hear, but rank 25-40 does not guarantee you a job that will pay off $150k in loans or higher. I have plenty of friends who went to top 50, top 30, and even top 10 schools who are still unemployed and mired in crippling debt. After seeing how much we've gone through, I can't recommend that anyone pay full-price for a rank 40 school, or pay at all for anything lower.