Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price Forum

(Rankings, Profiles, Tuition, Student Life, . . . )

Which one?

Poll ended at Sat Apr 15, 2017 6:14 pm

WashU
20
47%
Northwestern
23
53%
 
Total votes: 43

carsondalywashere

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Wed Apr 12, 2017 11:58 pm

star fox wrote:
carsondalywashere wrote:Just read NU will be curving all classes from now on; what impact should this have on my decision making? I'm assuming WashU already does this?
It probably shouldn't. This effects upper level course (2L/3L). Your 1L courses will already be curved and those are the only grades you have going into OCI.

A bummer nonetheless, since uncurved classes are sweet.
Gotcha, good to know.
Last edited by carsondalywashere on Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

carsondalywashere

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:33 pm

I legitimately cannot make a decision, so I am going to deposit at both places. Hopefully this translates into a higher scholarship from either school, but in all honesty, the extra time to make a decision is probably worth the $500-750.

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star fox

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by star fox » Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:42 pm

You gotta just decide man. Kicking that decision down another month isn't gonna make it easier. Don't waste $750 like that.

carsondalywashere

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:43 pm

star fox wrote:You gotta just decide man. Kicking that decision down another month isn't gonna make it easier. Don't waste $750 like that.
You don't think there's a possibility of a scholarship increase once they see who has deposited?

carsondalywashere

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Thu Apr 13, 2017 4:50 pm

Final bump; 90% sure I know what I'm doing, but I'd like to see what people say about double deposits and if it's worth paying for the slight possibility for scholarship increases

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Justtrying2help

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by Justtrying2help » Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:18 pm

You should probably retake the lsat and try to get another point (unless you are over the 75ths already) so you can get more money from Northwestern. If you decide not to retake, I would likely still select Northwestern if I were in your situation. The options are honestly equal on balance and the tiebreaker should go to the school that best fits your personal preference and opportunities for reaching your career goals. You have a better chance at a firm job at Northwestern and that's likely worth a 60K difference. Being debt free is awesome and gives you a lot of career flexibility in case you decide to make a lifestyle or career change. In the end, 60k in debt is not much with a t-13 law degree. The real question is how much money will you have in surplus if you attend WUSTL? If you could have a WUSTL degree plus 60-80k in the bank, that would be a great starting place for a good life. If the surplus is less than 10k, the calculus changes a bit.
Last edited by Justtrying2help on Thu Apr 13, 2017 6:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

carsondalywashere

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:28 pm

Justtrying2help wrote:You should probably retake the lsat and try to get another point (unless you are over the 75ths already) so you can get more money from Northwestern. If you decide not to retake, I would likely still select Northwestern if I were in your situation. The options are honestly equal on balance and the tiebreaker should go to the school that best fits your personal preference and opportunities for reaching your career goals. You have a better chance at a firm job at Northwestern and that's likely worth a 60K difference. Being debt free is awesome and gives you a lot of career flexibility in case you decide to make a lifestyle or career change. In the end, 60k in debt is not much with a t-13 law degree. The real question is how much money will you have in surplus if you attend WUSTL? If you could have a WUSTL degree plus 60-80k in the bank, that would be a great starting place for a good life. If the surplus is less than 10k surplus, then the calculus changes a bit.
I plan on retaking the LSAT regardless of where I deposit, as I was waitlisted at 9 schools. I'm hoping to use the score for this cycle.

If I went to WashU, I would have 57k left on savings (so, pretty much the inverse of NU).

I went to both ASWs, and could see myself enjoying life at either place. But while I like Saint Louis a lot, NU better fits my career goals and gives me my desired geographic flexibility.

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by Justtrying2help » Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:41 pm

carsondalywashere wrote:
Justtrying2help wrote:You should probably retake the lsat and try to get another point (unless you are over the 75ths already) so you can get more money from Northwestern. If you decide not to retake, I would likely still select Northwestern if I were in your situation. The options are honestly equal on balance and the tiebreaker should go to the school that best fits your personal preference and opportunities for reaching your career goals. You have a better chance at a firm job at Northwestern and that's likely worth a 60K difference. Being debt free is awesome and gives you a lot of career flexibility in case you decide to make a lifestyle or career change. In the end, 60k in debt is not much with a t-13 law degree. The real question is how much money will you have in surplus if you attend WUSTL? If you could have a WUSTL degree plus 60-80k in the bank, that would be a great starting place for a good life. If the surplus is less than 10k surplus, then the calculus changes a bit.
I plan on retaking the LSAT regardless of where I deposit, as I was waitlisted at 9 schools. I'm hoping to use the score for this cycle.

If I went to WashU, I would have 57k left on savings (so, pretty much the inverse of NU).

I went to both ASWs, and could see myself enjoying life at either place. But while I like Saint Louis a lot, NU better fits my career goals and gives me my desired geographic flexibility.
Both of your options are solid then. It's a coin flip decision. WUSTL with ~60k in savings sounds really good the more I think about it, but you can't make a mistake choosing between the options as is.

carsondalywashere

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Thu Apr 13, 2017 6:05 pm

Justtrying2help wrote:
carsondalywashere wrote:
Justtrying2help wrote:You should probably retake the lsat and try to get another point (unless you are over the 75ths already) so you can get more money from Northwestern. If you decide not to retake, I would likely still select Northwestern if I were in your situation. The options are honestly equal on balance and the tiebreaker should go to the school that best fits your personal preference and opportunities for reaching your career goals. You have a better chance at a firm job at Northwestern and that's likely worth a 60K difference. Being debt free is awesome and gives you a lot of career flexibility in case you decide to make a lifestyle or career change. In the end, 60k in debt is not much with a t-13 law degree. The real question is how much money will you have in surplus if you attend WUSTL? If you could have a WUSTL degree plus 60-80k in the bank, that would be a great starting place for a good life. If the surplus is less than 10k surplus, then the calculus changes a bit.
I plan on retaking the LSAT regardless of where I deposit, as I was waitlisted at 9 schools. I'm hoping to use the score for this cycle.

If I went to WashU, I would have 57k left on savings (so, pretty much the inverse of NU).

I went to both ASWs, and could see myself enjoying life at either place. But while I like Saint Louis a lot, NU better fits my career goals and gives me my desired geographic flexibility.
Both of your options are solid then. It's a coin flip decision. WUSTL with ~60k in savings sounds really good the more I think about it, but you can't make a mistake choosing between the options as is.
Thanks for your help everyone!

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carsondalywashere

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Fri Apr 21, 2017 2:44 pm

Just got off the waitlist for Vanderbilt; what they do about money will make things interesting

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Fri Apr 21, 2017 4:56 pm

Ended up getting $24,000 a year. Probably would still go with NU or WashU in this case, unless others think differently

WashU - walk away with 60 grand in my pocket
Vandy - no loans, empty bank
NU - 60k in loans

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trebekismyhero

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by trebekismyhero » Fri Apr 21, 2017 5:34 pm

carsondalywashere wrote:Ended up getting $24,000 a year. Probably would still go with NU or WashU in this case, unless others think differently

WashU - walk away with 60 grand in my pocket
Vandy - no loans, empty bank
NU - 60k in loans
Vandy makes no sense. WashU or NU is the choice

carsondalywashere

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Mon Apr 24, 2017 12:34 pm

trebekismyhero wrote:
carsondalywashere wrote:Ended up getting $24,000 a year. Probably would still go with NU or WashU in this case, unless others think differently

WashU - walk away with 60 grand in my pocket
Vandy - no loans, empty bank
NU - 60k in loans
Vandy makes no sense. WashU or NU is the choice
Yeah, I feel you. I like Nashville and Tennessee, but I don't like the other markets Vandy has a reach into.

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carsondalywashere

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Mon Apr 24, 2017 10:35 pm

How accurate are the cost of attendance numbers on the websites of nu and washu?

carsondalywashere

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Wed May 24, 2017 11:22 pm

.

carsondalywashere

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Wed May 31, 2017 10:47 pm

i have made a decision; thanks for the advice TLS

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Re: Northwestern vs. WashU; huge disparity in price

Post by carsondalywashere » Thu Jul 06, 2017 8:57 pm

Edit - we'll cross that bridge later

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