Colleges use advanced data tracking to fine-tune scholarship offers based on what they think you’ll pay and to make you feel good about your price. Ben and Nathan explain how firms analyze digital behavior, like email click speed, to calculate offers. Wealthy students get merit aid, lower-income students get need-based aid, but both often pay the same price. The result is personalized pricing that favors schools. 

Later, they cover Yale Law Dean Heather Gerken’s push to ditch rankings and focus on need-based aid. Ben suggests two fixes for law schools: eliminate student loans and scrap ABA requirements. The episode also covers the Perkins Coie ruling, another round of the Personal Statement Gong Show, and Tips from a Departing Demon. 

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0:30 – Law Schools Know What You’ll Pay

Ben and Nathan cover a NYTimes article that reveals how schools set tuition prices and financial aid. Law schools work with data firms that track every digital move, including email clicks, to determine how much you’re willing to pay. They then personalize your financial aid offer accordingly. Out-of-state students are targeted with high sticker prices and bigger discounts, which still net higher profits for schools. Merit aid and need-based aid are distributed strategically so that students from different income levels often pay the same amount. This model lets law schools charge each student a different price, while making them all feel like they got a deal. Applying early signals price sensitivity and can help you get a better offer.

EAB Sales Presentation

32:07 – Abandon Rankings

Heather Gerken, the Dean of Yale Law School, calls for moving away from law school rankings. Despite talk of supporting need-based aid, schools still spend ten times more on merit-based scholarships. The Trump administration’s past proposal to cut loans for schools with high default rates could help stop these  “scammerships.” Ben argues that two reforms are key: end federal student loans and overhaul ABA accreditation requirements. But without new incentives, the tragedy of the commons suggests schools will keep playing the rankings game.

57:28 – Big Law vs. Trump: Perkins Decision

In a follow-up to the discussion on Episode 505, Ben and Nathan break down a new court ruling that found Trump’s executive order, which attempted to penalize Perkins Coie, is unconstitutional. 

59:43 – Personal Statement Gong Show

Gabriella steps into the spotlight as the latest contestant in the Personal Statement Gong Show. Ben and Nathan read her personal statement and hit the gong the moment something goes wrong. The standing record to beat is ten lines, held by Greta.

1:12:10 – Tips from a Departing Demon

Sam encourages students to follow the Demon’s core advice: slow down, understand what you are reading, and solve each question. 

1:16:15 – Index Calculations

The Demon Scholarship Calculator is an estimate built on data from previous years. The proven way to go to law school for free is to improve your LSAT and keep your GPA high.

1:18:54 - Word of the Week - Blithely

“The government blithely describes the statements set out in Section 1 of EO 14230 as 'not seriously contested' and 'matters of public record.’ This description is inaccurate.”