Fordham v. GULC for NYC Big Law Forum

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tls77887334

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Fordham v. GULC for NYC Big Law

Post by tls77887334 » Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:41 am

Hi guys,

I was just looking for people's advice/knowledge about my situation. My goal is NYC big law, given, I dont really care if its a super prestigious V10, just a good firm that I gel with. I am currently based in NYC and don't truly want to leave, but obviously would for enough of an advantage to achieve my career goals.

I'm in at GULC and Fordham. Fordham has not said anything about scholarship info yet, but based on what I have gotten from other schools so far, I have a feeling I will be given (or can negotiate) good money to attend (90K+). GULC will most likely be at sticker or close to it. My COL is covered, so COA is only tuition.

Does Georgetown really give that much of an edge in NYC Big Law over Fordham? Am I crazy for even considering not going to Georgetown? I welcome all thoughts.

GPA 3.64, LSAT 168.

Law2019

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Re: Fordham v. GULC for NYC Big Law

Post by Law2019 » Thu Nov 15, 2018 8:14 pm

tls77887334 wrote:Hi guys,

I was just looking for people's advice/knowledge about my situation. My goal is NYC big law, given, I dont really care if its a super prestigious V10, just a good firm that I gel with. I am currently based in NYC and don't truly want to leave, but obviously would for enough of an advantage to achieve my career goals.

I'm in at GULC and Fordham. Fordham has not said anything about scholarship info yet, but based on what I have gotten from other schools so far, I have a feeling I will be given (or can negotiate) good money to attend (90K+). GULC will most likely be at sticker or close to it. My COL is covered, so COA is only tuition.

Does Georgetown really give that much of an edge in NYC Big Law over Fordham? Am I crazy for even considering not going to Georgetown? I welcome all thoughts.

GPA 3.64, LSAT 168.
If your goal is NYC big law and you don't care about prestige, then it sounds like Fordham, at that scholarship, would be a better option. Fordham places about 40% in big law, and that is basically all in NYC. From what I have seen, GULC places a little over 50% in big law, and that is not all in New York (that is not to say that GULC does not do well in NYC--GULC is obviously a very respected school, and a degree from there gets you in the door at most, if not all, NYC firms). Granted, a number of the top GULC graduates take clerkships instead of entering big law, but GULC is not a guarantee of a big law job, unlike schools ranked higher in the T14. A scholarship that large, in my opinion, makes Fordham a safer option to achieve your goals. A word of caution--do not assume that you will be able to negotiate a scholarship at Fordham. The dean who negotiates scholarships is usually not open to negotiating.

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boredtodeath

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Re: Fordham v. GULC for NYC Big Law

Post by boredtodeath » Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:57 pm

OP I was in a very similar position as you and chose Georgetown. Actually deferred a year and chose Georgetown. Only difference is that both would have been sticker. Fordham is very stingy with scholarships - they did not match anything I had at some of the schools in that T20-T40 range.

If you get nothing from Fordham, I think the decision is obviously Georgetown. But let's pretend you get ~$100k from Fordham to make it interesting. You said COL is covered (although that's basically a wash between NYC and DC these days) so you'll have about $200k debt coming out of Georgetown and $100k coming out of Fordham (yes, tuition is "only" ~$50k per year but you will end up borrowing more).

I'd lean Fordham here. You are from NY and want to stay in NY. Fordham places slightly worse than Georgetown in NY, but I'm not sure the extra 10% chance or so is worth $100k. We're talking being median at Georgetown vs. slightly above median at Fordham. That could turn on a single grade, and your chances at median at Fordham are still not zero. I'd take the money here (assuming you actually get it).

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Re: Fordham v. GULC for NYC Big Law

Post by QContinuum » Tue Nov 20, 2018 10:29 pm

Georgetown still places significantly better than Fordham into BigLaw. Georgetown's placement % into BigLaw and fed. clerkships is currently (for the class of 2017) 59%, whereas Fordham's placement % is 42%. That's an almost 20% difference, which IMO is pretty substantial.

OP, what other schools have you applied to? If you aren't expecting to get into any T13s based on your stats, you should at least blanket the rest of the T20s.

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