Cornell + 60K Bad choice? Forum

[joycool9567]

Whenever I read TLS thread I am quite confused. Some people say Cornell isnt a bad choice especially if you are aiming for big law whereas others say retake LSAT and re-apply next cycle.
Everyone seems to be skeptical of going to lower t14 and people argue over whether going to Cornell is a bad choice or not. .

Despite the fact I applied under ED, Cornell was generous enough to offer me 60K scholarship. Honestly I am quite satisfied with this result given my status as an international applicant.

I think I could spare another year and up my lsat score a little bit (my stat is currently 169/3.9) if I try rlly rlly hard. But honestly i think this score is probably my upper limit and even if I try hard I would never get over low 170s say like 171.

Hypothetically let's say in the best case scenario I end up going to NYU or Duke (which was the school I kinda wanted to go) in the next cycle. Do you think rejecting Cornell's offer for NyU or Duke at sticker would be worth it? Is the discrepancy in terms of job prospect between cornell and nyu that much big? In fact is lower t14 school that much of an underdog in the legal market compared to the rest of t14s like NU Duke Michigan Penn and NYU? What would you do?

[QContinuum]

Whenever I read TLS thread I am quite confused. Some people say Cornell isnt a bad choice especially if you are aiming for big law whereas others say retake LSAT and re-apply next cycle.
Everyone seems to be skeptical of going to lower t14 and people argue over whether going to Cornell is a bad choice or not. .

I'm not sure which threads you've been reading, but I don't think there's a widespread skepticism about "going to lower t14." Rather, to my understanding, the TLS "conventional wisdom" is that any T13 - Cornell included - will get you (using "you" in the generic sense) into BigLaw. TLSers have repeatedly admonished Harvard-obsessed or T6-obsessed 0Ls who want BigLaw to consider attending a "lower" T13 if they will pay significantly less tuition there.

The "conventional wisdom" also holds that attending a T20 - Georgetown, Vandy, UT, UCLA, USC, WUSTL - can also make sense in many cases, though BigLaw is much less of a guarantee from a T20 than from a T13.

Now, whether to retake the LSAT is a case-specific determination. In some cases, an applicant may get into one or more T13s at sticker or with a minimal scholarship, but - in light of their LSAC GPA (if domestic) and LSAT - it is apparent that even two or three extra points on the LSAT could get them into a higher-ranked T13 and/or a significantly larger scholarship at a "lower" T13. In that case, it is - economically - a "no brainer" to retake the LSAT. This has nothing to do with Cornell's ability to place its students into BigLaw. It has everything to do with, hypothetically, attending Cornell this cycle with a $60k scholarship, and attending Cornell next cycle on a full ride - a huge difference when it comes time to repay that debt.

[Npret]

1How much did you study for the LSAT already?

2. How are you paying for law school? How much debt will you have?

LST shows last years non discounted cost as $333,296 so are you looking at about $270k debt?

[AdieuCali]

Whenever I read TLS thread I am quite confused. Some people say Cornell isnt a bad choice especially if you are aiming for big law whereas others say retake LSAT and re-apply next cycle.
Everyone seems to be skeptical of going to lower t14 and people argue over whether going to Cornell is a bad choice or not. .

Despite the fact I applied under ED, Cornell was generous enough to offer me 60K scholarship. Honestly I am quite satisfied with this result given my status as an international applicant.

I think I could spare another year and up my lsat score a little bit (my stat is currently 169/3.9) if I try rlly rlly hard. But honestly i think this score is probably my upper limit and even if I try hard I would never get over low 170s say like 171.

Hypothetically let's say in the best case scenario I end up going to NYU or Duke (which was the school I kinda wanted to go) in the next cycle. Do you think rejecting Cornell's offer for NyU or Duke at sticker would be worth it? Is the discrepancy in terms of job prospect between cornell and nyu that much big? In fact is lower t14 school that much of an underdog in the legal market compared to the rest of t14s like NU Duke Michigan Penn and NYU? What would you do?

Cornell with $$ isn’t a bad result at all in general, but you appear to have significantly underperformed your stats by applying ED. Even without a retake, applying early next cycle RD will likely give you some better options.
https://mylsn.info/23hqgw

Edited to add that adding 1-2 points to your LSAT would yield significant advantages.
https://mylsn.info/i802ze

[cavalier1138]

Yeah, the issue here isn't that you got into Cornell with some money. The issue is that you applied ED and hamstrung yourself for the cycle.

You might not be able to get Cornell to give a similar offer next cycle (depending on how petty they get about ED applicants who withdraw). But I think you'd get better offers from a number of top schools.