Top Law Schools

No, this is not a joke and I am not an idiot, though I still expect a reasonable amount of "this is obvious, you moron" ridicule. Also, I haven't received a Chicago scholarship offer, but for these purposes I'm assuming it's negligible. Here are the important factors:

-Reasonably debt-averse though not that hung up on it
-St. Louis native with no serious desire to move to either coast
-Serious interest in clerkships and somewhat in academia, and yes I am aware of Chicago's far superior placement
-Biglaw (in the Midwest e.g. Chicago) is the second preference
-Have very serious desire to make Law Review and some other activities based on relative rank to my class
-Coming straight out of undergrad, no significant savings of any use to pay for school
-No outside (read parental) contributions available
-No undergrad debt

This whole question has the feeling of the high school worries about classes: Do you take the AP course and probably get a B or take the regular version where you're much more likely to get an A?

I would appreciate anyone's serious input or advice, though I know this will ultimately come down to me. Thanks in advance.

ETA: more relevant factors

Do you have any savings at all that would help you to pay for Chicago at sticker? I mean, it is really really hard to turn down Chicago especially if you want clerkships or Chicago biglaw. WUSTL places in Chicago but you'll need to be top 15% at least...however, being from St. Louis should help you with the St. Louis firms if you decide to go to WUSTL. At Chicago, above median should be good enough for biglaw and top quarter for a district court clerkship perhaps (depending on the district). If this were me, I would go to Chicago, but I can understand how difficult of a choice it is.

EDIT: You should make a poll.

ndirish2010 wrote:Do you have any savings at all that would help you to pay for Chicago at sticker? I mean, it is really really hard to turn down Chicago especially if you want clerkships or Chicago biglaw. WUSTL places in Chicago but you'll need to be top 15% at least...however, being from St. Louis should help you with the St. Louis firms if you decide to go to WUSTL. At Chicago, above median should be good enough for biglaw and top quarter for a district court clerkship perhaps (depending on the district). If this were me, I would go to Chicago, but I can understand how difficult of a choice it is.

EDIT: You should make a poll.

I appreciate your input, and I added it to the original post, but I'm coming out of undergrad and will have no outside sources or savings to help pay for school.

And I considered making a poll, but what I tend to see is people who just look in, vote for the highest rank option, and then leave without reading everything. So I don't think it's really all that helpful, but I might later on. Thanks!

I don't think you can necessarily assume that much better grades from WUSTL.

Basically this comes down to risk/debt preferences versus prestigious opportunities (e.g. clerkships). I don't think you can go wrong with either choice but it is really only a choice that you can make.

Muenchen wrote:No, this is not a joke and I am not an idiot, though I still expect a reasonable amount of "this is obvious, you moron" ridicule. Also, I haven't received a Chicago scholarship offer, but for these purposes I'm assuming it's negligible. Here are the important factors:

-Reasonably debt-averse though not that hung up on it
-St. Louis native with no serious desire to move to either coast
-Serious interest in clerkships and somewhat in academia, and yes I am aware of Chicago's far superior placement
-Biglaw (in the Midwest e.g. Chicago) is the second preference
-Have very serious desire to make Law Review and some other activities based on relative rank to my class
-Coming straight out of undergrad, no significant savings of any use to pay for school
-No outside (read parental) contributions available

This whole question has the feeling of the high school worries about classes: Do you take the AP course and probably get a B or take the regular version where you're much more likely to get an A?

I would appreciate anyone's serious input or advice, though I know this will ultimately come down to me. Thanks in advance.

ETA: more relevant factors

How much undergrad debt do you have?

wolverine2014 wrote:

Muenchen wrote:No, this is not a joke and I am not an idiot, though I still expect a reasonable amount of "this is obvious, you moron" ridicule. Also, I haven't received a Chicago scholarship offer, but for these purposes I'm assuming it's negligible. Here are the important factors:

-Reasonably debt-averse though not that hung up on it
-St. Louis native with no serious desire to move to either coast
-Serious interest in clerkships and somewhat in academia, and yes I am aware of Chicago's far superior placement
-Biglaw (in the Midwest e.g. Chicago) is the second preference
-Have very serious desire to make Law Review and some other activities based on relative rank to my class
-Coming straight out of undergrad, no significant savings of any use to pay for school
-No outside (read parental) contributions available

This whole question has the feeling of the high school worries about classes: Do you take the AP course and probably get a B or take the regular version where you're much more likely to get an A?

I would appreciate anyone's serious input or advice, though I know this will ultimately come down to me. Thanks in advance.

ETA: more relevant factors

How much undergrad debt do you have?

None. Took a full scholarship at a state liberal arts school.

Given you're "reasonably debt-averse though not that hung up on it" I would say there's probably several other schools you could have expected about 1/2 scholarship from that you didn't apply to per your LSN profile. That might have been a good fit for you as far as debt/risk.

Why didn't you blanket more of the T14-25 range? It's not too late! Well, maybe to expect a lot of $$$.... is applying next cycle an option?

lolschool2011 wrote:Given you're "reasonably debt-averse though not that hung up on it" I would say there's probably several other schools you could have expected about 1/2 scholarship from that you didn't apply to per your LSN profile. That might have been a good fit for you as far as debt/risk.

Why didn't you blanket more of the T14-25 range? It's not too late! Well, maybe to expect a lot of $$$.... is applying next cycle an option?

Edit: Also, retake, get into YHS, profit.

lolschool2011 wrote:Given you're "reasonably debt-averse though not that hung up on it" I would say there's probably several other schools you could have expected about 1/2 scholarship from that you didn't apply to per your LSN profile. That might have been a good fit for you as far as debt/risk.

Why didn't you blanket more of the T14-25 range? It's not too late! Well, maybe to expect a lot of $$$.... is applying next cycle an option?

I mean I think I have plenty of middle ground options which are on my LSN (e.g. Texas with 84k scholarship, GULC, NYU, Vandy), though for the two largest factors being money/debt and career goals dependent on prestige, it seems like WUSTL and Chicago are the two big choices. Vanderbilt, though I don't have a money offer, would probably be the middle ground with it's surprisingly high clerkship placement, but I don't want to muddy the waters. And waiting for next cycle is definitely not an option.

wolverine2014 wrote:

Muenchen wrote:No, this is not a joke and I am not an idiot, though I still expect a reasonable amount of "this is obvious, you moron" ridicule. Also, I haven't received a Chicago scholarship offer, but for these purposes I'm assuming it's negligible. Here are the important factors:

-Reasonably debt-averse though not that hung up on it
-St. Louis native with no serious desire to move to either coast
-Serious interest in clerkships and somewhat in academia, and yes I am aware of Chicago's far superior placement
-Biglaw (in the Midwest e.g. Chicago) is the second preference
-Have very serious desire to make Law Review and some other activities based on relative rank to my class
-Coming straight out of undergrad, no significant savings of any use to pay for school
-No outside (read parental) contributions available

This whole question has the feeling of the high school worries about classes: Do you take the AP course and probably get a B or take the regular version where you're much more likely to get an A?

I would appreciate anyone's serious input or advice, though I know this will ultimately come down to me. Thanks in advance.

ETA: more relevant factors

How much undergrad debt do you have?

AP analogy doesnt make sence......a b in an ap class counts (credit wise) like an A, and if you rock the test they will change your grade...

crossingforHYS wrote:

wolverine2014 wrote:

Muenchen wrote:No, this is not a joke and I am not an idiot, though I still expect a reasonable amount of "this is obvious, you moron" ridicule. Also, I haven't received a Chicago scholarship offer, but for these purposes I'm assuming it's negligible. Here are the important factors:

-Reasonably debt-averse though not that hung up on it
-St. Louis native with no serious desire to move to either coast
-Serious interest in clerkships and somewhat in academia, and yes I am aware of Chicago's far superior placement
-Biglaw (in the Midwest e.g. Chicago) is the second preference
-Have very serious desire to make Law Review and some other activities based on relative rank to my class
-Coming straight out of undergrad, no significant savings of any use to pay for school
-No outside (read parental) contributions available

This whole question has the feeling of the high school worries about classes: Do you take the AP course and probably get a B or take the regular version where you're much more likely to get an A?

I would appreciate anyone's serious input or advice, though I know this will ultimately come down to me. Thanks in advance.

ETA: more relevant factors

How much undergrad debt do you have?

AP analogy doesnt make sence......a b in an ap class counts (credit wise) like an A, and if you rock the test they will change your grade...

*facedesk*

Muenchen wrote:

lolschool2011 wrote:Given you're "reasonably debt-averse though not that hung up on it" I would say there's probably several other schools you could have expected about 1/2 scholarship from that you didn't apply to per your LSN profile. That might have been a good fit for you as far as debt/risk.

Why didn't you blanket more of the T14-25 range? It's not too late! Well, maybe to expect a lot of $$$.... is applying next cycle an option?

I mean I think I have plenty of middle ground options which are on my LSN (e.g. Texas with 84k scholarship, GULC, NYU, Vandy), though for the two largest factors being money/debt and career goals dependent on prestige, it seems like WUSTL and Chicago are the two big choices. Vanderbilt, though I don't have a money offer, would probably be the middle ground with it's surprisingly high clerkship placement, but I don't want to muddy the waters. And waiting for next cycle is definitely not an option.

I live in Chicago and honestly, I would pick WUSTL for free. If you're not used to it... Chicago could be a pretty drab experience. Good luck either way!

lolschool2011 wrote:

Muenchen wrote:

lolschool2011 wrote:Given you're "reasonably debt-averse though not that hung up on it" I would say there's probably several other schools you could have expected about 1/2 scholarship from that you didn't apply to per your LSN profile. That might have been a good fit for you as far as debt/risk.

Why didn't you blanket more of the T14-25 range? It's not too late! Well, maybe to expect a lot of $$$.... is applying next cycle an option?

I mean I think I have plenty of middle ground options which are on my LSN (e.g. Texas with 84k scholarship, GULC, NYU, Vandy), though for the two largest factors being money/debt and career goals dependent on prestige, it seems like WUSTL and Chicago are the two big choices. Vanderbilt, though I don't have a money offer, would probably be the middle ground with it's surprisingly high clerkship placement, but I don't want to muddy the waters. And waiting for next cycle is definitely not an option.

I live in Chicago and honestly, I would pick WUSTL for free. If you're not used to it... Chicago could be a pretty drab experience. Good luck either way!

Chicago>>>>>St. Louis

Patriot1208 wrote:

lolschool2011 wrote:

Muenchen wrote:

lolschool2011 wrote:Given you're "reasonably debt-averse though not that hung up on it" I would say there's probably several other schools you could have expected about 1/2 scholarship from that you didn't apply to per your LSN profile. That might have been a good fit for you as far as debt/risk.

Why didn't you blanket more of the T14-25 range? It's not too late! Well, maybe to expect a lot of $$$.... is applying next cycle an option?

I mean I think I have plenty of middle ground options which are on my LSN (e.g. Texas with 84k scholarship, GULC, NYU, Vandy), though for the two largest factors being money/debt and career goals dependent on prestige, it seems like WUSTL and Chicago are the two big choices. Vanderbilt, though I don't have a money offer, would probably be the middle ground with it's surprisingly high clerkship placement, but I don't want to muddy the waters. And waiting for next cycle is definitely not an option.

I live in Chicago and honestly, I would pick WUSTL for free. If you're not used to it... Chicago could be a pretty drab experience. Good luck either way!

Chicago>>>>>St. Louis

$180k debt @ Chicago? Not sure.

lolschool2011 wrote:

Patriot1208 wrote:

lolschool2011 wrote:

Muenchen wrote: I mean I think I have plenty of middle ground options which are on my LSN (e.g. Texas with 84k scholarship, GULC, NYU, Vandy), though for the two largest factors being money/debt and career goals dependent on prestige, it seems like WUSTL and Chicago are the two big choices. Vanderbilt, though I don't have a money offer, would probably be the middle ground with it's surprisingly high clerkship placement, but I don't want to muddy the waters. And waiting for next cycle is definitely not an option.

I live in Chicago and honestly, I would pick WUSTL for free. If you're not used to it... Chicago could be a pretty drab experience. Good luck either way!

Chicago>>>>>St. Louis

$180k debt @ Chicago? Not sure.

O, I wasn't comparing the schools, just the cities. I assumed that's what you were doing when you said Chicago could be drab but now i'm thinking I misread what you were saying.

I dont know the answer, but just remember, both those options rock. carry on.

None. Took a full scholarship at a state liberal arts school.[/quote]

Honestly, I think it's a no brainer. You don't know what the future holds for you or if you have a sudden change of heart. The opportunities a school like Chicago offer you are on a whole other level. Good luck.

Lol. /thread

Had a friend who was similar to your stats and got 20k from Chicago. No major softs.

Personally, Chicago sticker is better choice for what you want to do.

And you should not decide with the assumption you're going to own the rest of the class at WUSTL.

A couple of alumni at my school go to the business school at WashU and hang with a few law students. They made the employment situation there seem pretty dire. If you are pretty serious about academia/prestigious clerkships you should definitely be leaning towards Chicago. Plus, Chicago scholarships dont start coming out until the end of this month so you might not actually be looking at sticker.

Wait for aid package from Chicago/renegotiate offer. Then attend there.

Muenchen wrote:-Serious interest in clerkships and somewhat in academia, and yes I am aware of Chicago's far superior placement

If this is real then... Chicago. The debt you can take care of later - your inability to get a clerkship because of the school you're attending you cannot.

Don't know if this is flame. Probably not. Surprised that you got a full ride at WUSTL but didn't get a full ride at better schools like GW, BC, BU, etc.

It depends what you want to do. If you want public interest/government after graduation, take the scholarship money. You'll be happy when you get a job with a lower salary. WUSTL's abismal biglaw and clerkship placement won't really affect your chances at public interest/gov't work.

If you want to work BigLaw, then take Chicago. Your chances will be significantly better, as WUSTL places pretty horribly in BigLaw, at least in comparison to its peer schools in the 15-30 range. You'll have a higher salary and more respect as an attorney coming out of chicago. Not to mention you'll be able to clerk for some of the top judges, possibly even the top appellate federal courts, something very hard (though not impossible) from WUSTL.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=108528

Informative wrote:Don't know if this is flame. Probably not. Surprised that you got a full ride at WUSTL but didn't get a full ride at better schools like GW, BC, BU, etc.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=108528

Blatant anti-WUSTL trolling.

wait, did you change your username?