$$ Value of NYC? Forum

[telephuse]

.

[D. H2Oman]

Good luck trying to quantify that

[270910]

How much should one value being in NYC during law school? Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education, or are these abstract factors not really worth considering as we make our decisions?

I want to move to consulting or lobbying in the endgame of my legal career - will having gone to school in NYC pay off eventually, as opposed to living in an MVBP city during what are probably my final "formative years?"

This is the wrong question to ask.

MVPB >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Fordham if you want biglaw. NYU / Columbia are worth a premium over MVPB because new york city firms higher deeper into the classes there, not because of 'networking'.

[quickquestionthanks]

Good luck trying to quantify that

[tintin]

i hear a latte costs $6

[OG Loc]

Stuyvesant and the Dutch bought it for $24...hth

[holydonkey]

Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education

NYC "culture"

[telephuse]

[OperaSoprano]

How much should one value being in NYC during law school? Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education, or are these abstract factors not really worth considering as we make our decisions?

I want to move to consulting or lobbying in the endgame of my legal career - will having gone to school in NYC pay off eventually, as opposed to living in an MVBP city during what are probably my final "formative years?"

This is the wrong question to ask.

MVPB >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Fordham if you want biglaw. NYU / Columbia are worth a premium over MVPB because new york city firms higher deeper into the classes there, not because of 'networking'.

I won't tell you he's wrong, for biglaw, anyway, but I can tell you from personal experience that networking matters in other circumstances. I got my nonprofit position because I was able to start on a part time basis during the school year. It would've been hard to do that from a non NYC school, and I probably wouldn't have found out about this opportunity in the first place. I am doing community economic development right in my own neighborhood. If I want to pursue biglaw, however, I will certainly need a higher class rank than that required of my friends at MVPB. The CLS/NYU people are on a much higher playing field than we are, even if the Columbians I was drinking with said I could not claim to be no competition at all for them, or "not in their league in any sense". Their flattery is touching but inaccurate.

I will add that I love my school and am happy with my decision. I didn't come here wanting biglaw, but in the years before the bubble (IE: relatively normal years) around the top third of the class got biglaw if they wanted it. Things spiked in 2007 and 2008, and then came ITE, of course. It is encouraging to read that PPP report that says NYC firms pulled ahead relative to their competitors based in other markets...

[sharpnsmooth]

How much should one value being in NYC during law school? Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education, or are these abstract factors not really worth considering as we make our decisions?

I want to move to consulting or lobbying in the endgame of my legal career - will having gone to school in NYC pay off eventually, as opposed to living in an MVBP city during what are probably my final "formative years?"

people overrate how expensive manhattan is compared to other parts of the metro area. rent is a bit expensive, but if you're going to school at NYU or whatever, you don't need to do any car payments (can save 400 a month b/w insurance and a 199/mo lease). what's more is you never really have to pay for transportation. walking from the village to midtown is under 2 miles, and a good way to keep in shape.

grocery shopping is ridiculous (trader joes is considered reallllllllly cheap), but there are bargains to be had... there are a lot of $1 pizza places. i disagree about it being significantly more expensive. my gripe with new york is that unless you go to Columbia or NYU, you might not have a job in NY out of college cause there are so many schools. Fordham in a different state might put you on top of the food chain, but in NYC, you're a distant third.

[OperaSoprano]

How much should one value being in NYC during law school? Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education, or are these abstract factors not really worth considering as we make our decisions?

I want to move to consulting or lobbying in the endgame of my legal career - will having gone to school in NYC pay off eventually, as opposed to living in an MVBP city during what are probably my final "formative years?"

people overrate how expensive manhattan is compared to other parts of the metro area. rent is a bit expensive, but if you're going to school at NYU or whatever, you don't need to do any car payments (can save 400 a month b/w insurance and a 199/mo lease). what's more is you never really have to pay for transportation. walking from the village to midtown is under 2 miles, and a good way to keep in shape.

grocery shopping is ridiculous (trader joes is considered reallllllllly cheap), but there are bargains to be had... there are a lot of $1 pizza places. i disagree about it being significantly more expensive. my gripe with new york is that unless you go to Columbia or NYU, you might not have a job in NY out of college cause there are so many schools. Fordham in a different state might put you on top of the food chain, but in NYC, you're a distant third.

You will get a job. Fordham =/= NYLS. (IE, employment reporting standards are not based on a teensy fraction of the graduating class.) The odds that the job will be biglaw have obviously decreased, but the school is strong and well connected enough that people are getting other legal jobs. Most don't pay six figures, but some pay more than you might think. I recently found out the starting salary for attorneys at my nonprofit, and I was pleasantly surprised.

[sharpnsmooth]

How much should one value being in NYC during law school? Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education, or are these abstract factors not really worth considering as we make our decisions?

I want to move to consulting or lobbying in the endgame of my legal career - will having gone to school in NYC pay off eventually, as opposed to living in an MVBP city during what are probably my final "formative years?"

people overrate how expensive manhattan is compared to other parts of the metro area. rent is a bit expensive, but if you're going to school at NYU or whatever, you don't need to do any car payments (can save 400 a month b/w insurance and a 199/mo lease). what's more is you never really have to pay for transportation. walking from the village to midtown is under 2 miles, and a good way to keep in shape.

grocery shopping is ridiculous (trader joes is considered reallllllllly cheap), but there are bargains to be had... there are a lot of $1 pizza places. i disagree about it being significantly more expensive. my gripe with new york is that unless you go to Columbia or NYU, you might not have a job in NY out of college cause there are so many schools. Fordham in a different state might put you on top of the food chain, but in NYC, you're a distant third.

You will get a job. Fordham =/= NYLS. (IE, employment reporting standards are not based on a teensy fraction of the graduating class.) The odds that the job will be biglaw have obviously decreased, but the school is strong and well connected enough that people are getting other legal jobs. Most don't pay six figures, but some pay more than you might think. I recently found out the starting salary for attorneys at my nonprofit, and I was pleasantly surprised.

on that note would you recommend fordham on a 60-80% free ride over columbia with no money, and all loans?

disclaimer: i am willing to live poor for 2-3 years after law school as long as i can guarantee i will make bank when i'm 30.

[clintonius]

If you're looking to go biglaw, absolutely not. Take Columbia.

[OperaSoprano]

If you're looking to go biglaw, absolutely not. Take Columbia.

I imagine most of my classmates, as much as we love Fordham, would not reluctantly concede that CLS is the better school. It's not a comparison most people make. Fordham >>>>>>>>> other non T14s for NYC biglaw, but CLS's placement in biglaw has enough of an edge to make it well worth paying sticker, unless your other options are HYS.

[Rand M.]

How much should one value being in NYC during law school? Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education, or are these abstract factors not really worth considering as we make our decisions?

I want to move to consulting or lobbying in the endgame of my legal career - will having gone to school in NYC pay off eventually, as opposed to living in an MVBP city during what are probably my final "formative years?"

people overrate how expensive manhattan is compared to other parts of the metro area. rent is a bit expensive, but if you're going to school at NYU or whatever, you don't need to do any car payments (can save 400 a month b/w insurance and a 199/mo lease). what's more is you never really have to pay for transportation. walking from the village to midtown is under 2 miles, and a good way to keep in shape.

grocery shopping is ridiculous (trader joes is considered reallllllllly cheap), but there are bargains to be had... there are a lot of $1 pizza places. i disagree about it being significantly more expensive. my gripe with new york is that unless you go to Columbia or NYU, you might not have a job in NY out of college cause there are so many schools. Fordham in a different state might put you on top of the food chain, but in NYC, you're a distant third.

You will get a job. Fordham =/= NYLS. (IE, employment reporting standards are not based on a teensy fraction of the graduating class.) The odds that the job will be biglaw have obviously decreased, but the school is strong and well connected enough that people are getting other legal jobs. Most don't pay six figures, but some pay more than you might think. I recently found out the starting salary for attorneys at my nonprofit, and I was pleasantly surprised.

on that note would you recommend fordham on a 60-80% free ride over columbia with no money, and all loans?

disclaimer: i am willing to live poor for 2-3 years after law school as long as i can guarantee i will make bank when i'm 30.

This is not really how it works. Biglaw seems to be a door that only opens once for most. Laterals are usually from similarly sized firms, and is not something that you can 'work up' to. Take Columbia if "bank" is your motive.

[jl2032]

the sticker price at CLS is making me think twice about that...

what if after i start, i realize i don't want biglaw? i guess i'd be forced to do it just to pay off the debt...

meanwhile fordham pt would be free and i could keep my job and make money while i go...



is it worth paying sticker just to be able to carry the name Columbia around for the next thirty years?

[keg411]

the sticker price at CLS is making me think twice about that...

what if after i start, i realize i don't want biglaw? i guess i'd be forced to do it just to pay off the debt...
meanwhile fordham pt would be free and i could keep my job and make money while i go...



is it worth paying sticker just to be able to carry the name Columbia around for the next thirty years?

You can always go the PI route if you make that decision and CLS has a VERY strong LRAP.

However, there is something to be said for free Law School. My sister had her outgoing financial aid program at her law school and it totally freaked her out, even though she has biglaw.

You work at a law firm right now, right? Why not ask some of the people there who know you are going to school what they think?

[D. H2Oman]

the sticker price at CLS is making me think twice about that...

what if after i start, i realize i don't want biglaw? i guess i'd be forced to do it just to pay off the debt...

meanwhile fordham pt would be free and i could keep my job and make money while i go...



is it worth paying sticker just to be able to carry the name Columbia around for the next thirty years?

Yes, Good LRAP combined with IBR. Debt is scary and it sucks, but I think you'll really regret not taking Columbia.

[jl2032]

I just renegotiated and got something, not much at all, but enough to get me to take CLS with all its glorious debt.

(Everyone where I work wants me to work here while I go to school and to come back and work here after I graduate, so they are pulling for Fordham)

[CG614]

the sticker price at CLS is making me think twice about that...

what if after i start, i realize i don't want biglaw? i guess i'd be forced to do it just to pay off the debt...

meanwhile fordham pt would be free and i could keep my job and make money while i go...



is it worth paying sticker just to be able to carry the name Columbia around for the next thirty years?

I will add that working and doing PT is probably really hard and you will not get the same experience. I turned down a full ride to a PT program for CLS and it was not a second thought for me. But we all have to make those decisions based on what we individually value. I think CLS at sticker is most certainly worth it, no matter the direction you want to go. But that is my opinion.

[D. H2Oman]

I just renegotiated and got something, not much at all, but enough to get me to take CLS with all its glorious debt.

(Everyone where I work wants me to work here while I go to school and to come back and work here after I graduate, so they are pulling for Fordham)

Congrats! Though you seem like you might be the least excited Columbia 0L ever