Poll: My choices at this point Forum

[dakatz]

So I've been admitted to a few schools so far, but I'm still waiting on a bunch of decisions and some scholarship information. So the landscape may change greatly between now and when I have to make my final decision. But I have 3 top choices right now, and was wondering which seems to be the best one at this point in time.

I am a New Jersey resident, and I live pretty close to Newark, so not only would tuition be mostly covered by scholarship, but my living expenses would be very low since I'd be commuting. The other 2 choices are pretty self-explanatory. I did my undergrad in Boston so I'm familiar with the city and know many people in the area. Ultimately, I would like to work in the NY/NJ area but am certainly open to staying in New England, since it is only a few hours from where my family is located.

Edit: The amounts in parenthesis are scholarship amounts per year

[Blindmelon]

Is 25k a year the cost of BU a year or your scholly amount? I know plenty of people who took 25k/year at BU over Cornell/Northwestern/Gtown at sticker. Cornell is a stronger school, no doubt, but I'd be scared to go for full fare... I'd say BU, but I'm biased. Also, BU has a good rep. in NJ/NY and in NE. Of course for NYC, Cornell is much stronger.

[Jay-Electronica]

Boston all the way, dont look back

[Jockin Jay-Z]

I'd go with BU, but I'm debt averse. It has a great reputation, especially in the Northeast. 70k+interest on debt is not worth the 6 or 7 spots in the rankings. I'm sure there are those who would tell you T14 or nothing.

Also, try negotiating with BU for more money. Might not work, but you lose nothing.

[najumobi]

I'd go with BU, but I'm debt averse. It has a great reputation, especially in the Northeast. 70k+interest on debt is not worth the 6 or 7 spots in the rankings. I'm sure there are those who would tell you T14 or nothing.

Also, try negotiating with BU for more money. Might not work, but you lose nothing.

the difference is more than that....tution at cornell is ~50k while tuition at bu is only ~40k. factoring cost of living, OP would end up with 105k of debt coming out of BU and 205k of debt coming out of cornell.

is the difference between in potential job prospects from cornell and those from bu worth 100k?

probably.... especially when you consider that the bu degree is still going to cost you over a 100k. if this was a comparison between cornell and usc/ucla/vandy/texas, i would say take the money. but in this case, unless OP can negotiate more money from BU, it wouldn't be worth it to choose BU.

[Blindmelon]

I'd go with BU, but I'm debt averse. It has a great reputation, especially in the Northeast. 70k+interest on debt is not worth the 6 or 7 spots in the rankings. I'm sure there are those who would tell you T14 or nothing.

Also, try negotiating with BU for more money. Might not work, but you lose nothing.

the difference is more than that....tution at cornell is ~50k while tuition at bu is only ~40k. factoring cost of living, OP would end up with 105k of debt coming out of BU and 205k of debt coming out of cornell.

is the difference between in potential job prospects from cornell and those from bu worth 100k?

probably.... especially when you consider that the bu degree is still going to cost you over a 100k. if this was a comparison between cornell and usc/ucla/vandy/texas, i would say take the money. but in this case, unless OP can negotiate more money from BU, it wouldn't be worth it to choose BU.

I think this depends on what you want to do. For Clerkships, yes Cornell is worth the $, but isn't Cornell just as screwed for big firms as BU is? I haven't heard great things from Cornell students so far....

[scribelaw]

I chose Cornell just because if you borrow $105,000 from BU, your monthly loan payment will be ~ $1,200 on a 10-year plan (or $700 on a 30-year plan). You'll probably still need BigLaw to live comfortably, and Cornell gives you a better shot, especially since you're interested in NY/NJ.

It's a tossup, though.

[Yimbeezy]

Employment goals? Not location, but practice.

[Jay-Electronica]

DEBT is real people. 100k more in debt for a marginal difference in employment prospects is not worth it.

WonHundredThousand dollaz!!

[najumobi]

I think this depends on what you want to do. For Clerkships, yes Cornell is worth the $, but isn't Cornell just as screwed for big firms as BU is? I haven't heard great things from Cornell students so far....

+1 @ note about clerkships

i also think you're right in that the average cornell student is screwed for big firms. i've been reading on here that 40% got callbacks and 75% of those receiving callbacks (30% of class) were given offers. but if cornell is about at the level bu was at for big firm jobs when the economy was good, where does that leave bu?

[Helmholtz]

Boston got my vote. I'm a bit of a prestige whore, and even I would have problems justifying full tuition at Cornell when something like a $75k scholarship at BU is available. BU still does reasonably well in biglaw and the Boston market held up decently through the crisis, unlike NYC.

[Jockin Jay-Z]

DEBT is real people. 100k more in debt for a marginal difference in employment prospects is not worth it.

Far too many people on this board don't recognize this. And it's not 100k, necessarily. It's probably more, because you also have to pay interest on that.

[Jockin Jay-Z]

I'd go with BU, but I'm debt averse. It has a great reputation, especially in the Northeast. 70k+interest on debt is not worth the 6 or 7 spots in the rankings. I'm sure there are those who would tell you T14 or nothing.

Also, try negotiating with BU for more money. Might not work, but you lose nothing.

the difference is more than that....tution at cornell is ~50k while tuition at bu is only ~40k. factoring cost of living, OP would end up with 105k of debt coming out of BU and 205k of debt coming out of cornell.

is the difference between in potential job prospects from cornell and those from bu worth 100k?

probably.... especially when you consider that the bu degree is still going to cost you over a 100k. if this was a comparison between cornell and usc/ucla/vandy/texas, i would say take the money. but in this case, unless OP can negotiate more money from BU, it wouldn't be worth it to choose BU.

Just in terms of location, I'm pretty sure BU places better/just as well in the Northeast (New England/NJ/NY) as any of the four schools you mentioned.

[dakatz]

Employment goals? Not location, but practice.

Not 100% sure on this yet, but I'm looking at both real estate and employment law. I spent a few years working in the hotel industry, and would really love to end up working in the legal department of a large hotel company one day. Most of their issues typically fall into the real estate or labor law areas. So, I'd most likely prefer one of those specialties. Also, if I were to choose Boston, I can get housing for 10K a year, so tuition + housing would be 75K, plus whatever other expenses come up (food, transportation, books, etc). My parents will help me cover a chunk of this, but a majority would be in loans.

[najumobi]

I'd go with BU, but I'm debt averse. It has a great reputation, especially in the Northeast. 70k+interest on debt is not worth the 6 or 7 spots in the rankings. I'm sure there are those who would tell you T14 or nothing.

Also, try negotiating with BU for more money. Might not work, but you lose nothing.

the difference is more than that....tution at cornell is ~50k while tuition at bu is only ~40k. factoring cost of living, OP would end up with 105k of debt coming out of BU and 205k of debt coming out of cornell.

is the difference between in potential job prospects from cornell and those from bu worth 100k?

probably.... especially when you consider that the bu degree is still going to cost you over a 100k. if this was a comparison between cornell and usc/ucla/vandy/texas, i would say take the money. but in this case, unless OP can negotiate more money from BU, it wouldn't be worth it to choose BU.

Just in terms of location, I'm pretty sure BU places better/just as well in the Northeast (New England/NJ/NY) as any of the four schools you mentioned.

woops...yeah you're right.

[Jay-Electronica]

DEBT is real people. 100k more in debt for a marginal difference in employment prospects is not worth it.

Far too many people on this board don't recognize this. And it's not 100k, necessarily. It's probably more, because you also have to pay interest on that.

+1
Over the years that 100K is probably closer to 200K

Because most people havent had to hold down a job yet or are still living off of mommy and daddy they dont understand that DEBT/LOANS are not a joke.

[dakatz]

DEBT is real people. 100k more in debt for a marginal difference in employment prospects is not worth it.

Far too many people on this board don't recognize this. And it's not 100k, necessarily. It's probably more, because you also have to pay interest on that.

This is what my parents keep telling me. They say that, no matter how much I think I know, I really have no idea just how crushing that type of debt can be, and how much of a burden it can be, especially once you factor in the interest.

[Sauer Grapes]

....

[vanwinkle]

Boston got my vote. I'm a bit of a prestige whore, and even I would have problems justifying full tuition at Cornell when something like a $75k scholarship at BU is available. BU still does reasonably well in biglaw and the Boston market held up decently through the crisis, unlike NYC.

+1

Boston is a good market to work in, and BU does really well there (since Harvard grads often go elsewhere on graduating it's in a way the best school in Boston for Boston firms to hire from).

[dakatz]

What are your stats? I'm surprised that Rutgers gave you that little if Boston is giving you so much. Plus, anyone that can get into Cornell should be sought after by Rutgers.

I think something might have been lost in translation here. I am in-state so Rutgers costs 21K a year in tuition, and they offered me 18K a year in scholarship money, which is nearly full tuition. Boston gave me more probably since they charge much more, but Rutgers offered me a larger percentage of full tuition.

[Yimbeezy]

Employment goals? Not location, but practice.

Not 100% sure on this yet, but I'm looking at both real estate and employment law. I spent a few years working in the hotel industry, and would really love to end up working in the legal department of a large hotel company one day. Most of their issues typically fall into the real estate or labor law areas. So, I'd most likely prefer one of those specialties. Also, if I were to choose Boston, I can get housing for 10K a year, so tuition + housing would be 75K, plus whatever other expenses come up (food, transportation, books, etc). My parents will help me cover a chunk of this, but a majority would be in loans.

I'm not good at the general topic (and I actually think BU is the best choice due to how averse I am to the thought of accumulating debt), but something else to consider is that Cornell has a school for hotel management. Perhaps you could get a little interdisciplinary while focusing on the legal aspect. Just a thought.

[JusticeHarlan]

Employment goals? Not location, but practice.

Not 100% sure on this yet, but I'm looking at both real estate and employment law. I spent a few years working in the hotel industry, and would really love to end up working in the legal department of a large hotel company one day. Most of their issues typically fall into the real estate or labor law areas. So, I'd most likely prefer one of those specialties. Also, if I were to choose Boston, I can get housing for 10K a year, so tuition + housing would be 75K, plus whatever other expenses come up (food, transportation, books, etc). My parents will help me cover a chunk of this, but a majority would be in loans.

I'm not good at the general topic (and I actually think BU is the best choice due to how averse I am to the thought of accumulating debt), but something else to consider is that Cornell has a school for hotel management. Perhaps you could get a little interdisciplinary while focusing on the legal aspect. Just a thought.

BU has one too, actually: http://www.bu.edu/hospitality/

I don't know anything about it, just throwing that out there.

[beesknees]

Ok, doing some quick numbers, Boston would cost you roughly $90k over 3 years, including COL (tho I always estimate that on the low end). Cornell would be about $180k total. I don't know anything about Rutgers to say if it was worth the money and effort (small, tho the money may be).

So I'd cut my debt in half and go with BU. But realize that $90k is still a shit ton of debt, especially if you don't get a 100k starting salary coming out of it. Plus, reading this (http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ ... hat_i_did/) would scare me considering its from ABA news (not Bitter Law School Grad Weekly, its a recent BU grad who took out similar debt and did ok (albeit, not spectacular) at BU and is pissed.

[BiddyPocket]

Either way, try to get more money from all of them...that's what I plan on doing :p. I'm sure BU could probably cough up some more dough if they knew you were leaning on choosing CU. I'm surprised Cornell didn't give you any money, considering they usually give people at least something. You could also do the reverse, tell CU you're thinking of attending another school that nearly gave you a full ride and they might give you something.

Also, you can always transfer schools....my friend at CU was accepted to Yale and CU gave him a full ride after he decided not to transfer. CU job prospects are also pretty awesome...know some people with $200,000+ offers in 2L. Up to you. And, Ithaca is just as lovely a place as Boston

[gavinxdorian]

Either way, try to get more money from all of them...that's what I plan on doing :p. I'm sure BU could probably cough up some more dough if they knew you were leaning on choosing CU.

To chime in on this from personal experience: I'm currently attending BU with a $25k/yr scholarship, and last year I tried to use my acceptance to Northwestern as leverage to get more money out of them, but failed. They didn't up my scholarship at all. That being said, BU's a pretty sweet place and I recommend it pretty highly.