Tulane v. Loyola (and others)

[scs0179]

So I just got my acceptance letters from Tulane and Loyola New Orleans. Loyola New Orleans has offered me a full tuition scholarship and Tulane has offered me 15,000 a year. 15,000 is nice but when you include living expenses this is roughly 25% of my total cost of attendance. My question is a simple one. Is Tulane (clearly a much nicer and higher ranked school) worth the extra 85,000 dollars of debt?

Also, if you have time what is your opinion of other third tier schools like Mississippi and Wyoming. These are two schools I've applied to but not heard back from. I'm pretty sure I will be accepted though since I've been acepted to Tulane. My LSAT score is 154 and my GPA 3.45, and I'm Cuban.

Thanks for your help you guys! Feel free to give your impression of these schools too if you have attended or visited them.

[Aqualibrium]

It depends on where you want to work. A full ride at Loyola vs 45k total at Tulane is really a no brainer if you want to work in New Orleans. Go to Loyola.

If New Orleans isn't your goal, and I assume that's the case since you're even slightly considering ole miss and wyoming, then who knows. In that instance, the first question I'd ask is why you want to go to law school at all.

Your previous posts suggest you'd look for work in Texas...if your two choices come down to a full ride at Loyola vs. 150k in debt at Tulane, I'd say Loyola. Even for Texas ( I'd also say you should have applied better, but that's a different story).

[scs0179]

The difference between the two in total cost, including living expenses, is 30,000 a year. I'm most interested in law in the South/South West region. I like that studying in New Orleans gives me access to Texas energy firms and decent legal markets in that state. I'm also interested in copyright law which I know Tulane is great in. The attraction to Ole Miss and Wyoming is that they give such low tuition in the second and third year for residents (11,000). These states appeal to me for other reasons too.

Does anyone know anything about the New Orleans legal market?

[Aberzombie1892]

I know about it.

(I'm a Tulane 2L).

PM me with questions.

I'm familiar with:
Tulane Law
New Orleans legal market
Loyola Law (My gf of forever goes there)
How Tulane is perceived by various employers

[Aqualibrium]

The difference between the two in total cost, including living expenses, is 30,000 a year. I'm most interested in law in the South/South West region. I like that studying in New Orleans gives me access to Texas energy firms and decent legal markets in that state. I'm also interested in copyright law which I know Tulane is great in. The attraction to Ole Miss and Wyoming is that they give such low tuition in the second and third year for residents (11,000). These states appeal to me for other reasons too.

Does anyone know anything about the New Orleans legal market?

My knowledge of the New Orleans legal market is why I said that Loyola is the better bet at that price than Tulane. There is really no reason to pay that type of money to go to school across the street when it doesn't significantly change your chances of getting a New Orleans firm job.

[Aberzombie1892]

Class of 2013 data

First semester median at Loyola NO is 2.769.*

Top quarter is 3.2 and higher.*

Bottom quarter is 2.350 and below.*

*These stats are for the common law students, part time and civil law students combined.

Civil law median = 2.769.

Common law median = 2.781

(don't ask me to explain it, all I have are the statistics themselves)