Pitt vs Rutgers ??? Forum

[ARC908]

I was pretty sold on the University of Pittsburgh (82 on US News Rankings), I've been visiting the city to see friends at undergrad there for years, very used to getting around the area. Then Rutgers (62 on Us News Rankings) came in and threw me for a loop. I'm an NJ resident so I'd be paying a lot less tuition, but I've heard mixed reviews about Rutgers (Newark and Camden, I have the option for either). I've also heard that Pittsburgh is one of those cities/schools that is on the rise. Any opinions/personal experiences?

Pitt: $22K scholarship
Rutgers: $8K scholarship + in state tuition

Undergrad GPA: 2.5
LSAT: 159

[cavalier1138]

What are your career goals? And cost of attendance at each school?

[ARC908]

Career goals are very open, I'm just hoping to find an area of law that I enjoy once I start taking classes. Sounds very wishy-washy but I'm not committed to any one type of practice at this time yet.

Cost of Attendance at Rutgers is $24K + housing, living, etc.
Cost of Attendance at Pitt is $41K + housing, living, etc.

[Rigo]

You definitely shouldn't pay that much for Pitt. Rutgers is even too expensive imo, but of the two, it's they way to go on money alone.

We need more info on your goals though.
Also, would you be able to commute from home to Rutgers to save money?

There are mixed reviews on both schools because neither are great. You're probably just more exposed to Rutgers criticism being from NJ.

[ARC908]

I wouldn't be able to commute to Rutgers, so I would be living alone and paying rent regardless. As for my goals, I have been considering criminal law for a while to become a defense attorney, however I also want to explore my options in business law once I'm in school.

[guynourmin]

Have you calculated your debt at repayment and do you know what kind of jobs (and salaries) are available to most graduates of these schools?

[cavalier1138]

Assuming those costs you listed are per year, then neither. Retake the LSAT and reapply for better options (or the same options at better prices).

[dianalc717]

You should go to the school that makes you the happiest. Cost is secondary as you will make over 100k per year upon graduation. Pittsburgh is a great town with lots to do. Newark and Camden are scary places. And I hear housing in Pittsburgh is really affordable and nice.

[UVA2B]

You should go to the school that makes you the happiest. Cost is secondary as you will make over 100k per year upon graduation. Pittsburgh is a great town with lots to do. Newark and Camden are scary places. And I hear housing in Pittsburgh is really affordable and nice.

Get out of here with this objectively horrible advice. You should feel really bad for hitting submit with this ridiculous tripe.

[cavalier1138]

You should go to the school that makes you the happiest. Cost is secondary as you will make over 100k per year upon graduation. Pittsburgh is a great town with lots to do. Newark and Camden are scary places. And I hear housing in Pittsburgh is really affordable and nice.

No. Go troll somewhere else.

[Npret]

You should go to the school that makes you the happiest. Cost is secondary as you will make over 100k per year upon graduation. Pittsburgh is a great town with lots to do. Newark and Camden are scary places. And I hear housing in Pittsburgh is really affordable and nice.

Is this an admission officer from Pittsburgh?
You aren't going to be making over $100k from either school.

[rwhyAn]

As a student at one of these schools, I can tell you it's going to be an uphill battle. Even top 10% at these schools is not a lock for OCI. Pitt should be out because $180K in debt upon graduation is insane and the $120K you're looking at with Rutgers is too much. You'll be unlikely to service the debt with either option. If you're dead-set on being a lawyer, Rutgers is the better option since you're from Jersey and it's cheaper. That said, you would probably do better financially in another field.

[LafayetteJeff]

You should go to the school that makes you the happiest. Cost is secondary as you will make over 100k per year upon graduation. Pittsburgh is a great town with lots to do. Newark and Camden are scary places. And I hear housing in Pittsburgh is really affordable and nice.

Pittsburgh is delightful, but that is pretty ancillary to OP's dilemma, except to the extent OP is determining where they would definitely like to live afterwards-- and it sounds like OP is a NJ/NY person. Do I have that right? In that case, Rutgers is going to carry you further, at lower price.

OP, I'd say retake and get a better deal at Rutgers, but you can't undo your lowish GPA and thus I don't think you'll be able to sweeten the pot much more, and unless you get high-160s, you're not going to get a top 30 NYC school at anything less than full price.

If you want to be a lawyer, and you want to be in NJ-NY-Phila, you should probably choose Rutgers.

Also, to Dianalc, the relevant parts of Newark for a law student are not scary. I am sitting at work in Newark right now, as I do everyday. Not scary. And frankly, a lot of nice stuff downtown near Rutgers with renovated park space, new high rise residential, new Whole Foods, interesting restaurants. And 20 minutes from lower Manhattan. Again, OP does not need the chamber of commerce to convince them, but don't let some cranky old perception of the place spoil your better choice. Yeah, the projects of south Newark are scary, but that's not where you will go to class or go to work, and we could all rattle off the bad areas in any law school's home city-- which is irrelevant. It's the same BS that people spew about Temple-- a fine law school.

OP, I cannot say much about the Camden campus, other than it has much more resources post-merger, but I think you should pay the Newark campus a visit.