Location, Location, Location: Midwest vs. East Coast

[cowgirl_bebop]

Because of the generous offers from both schools, I just need to find something upon graduation to help me service any small bit of LS debt as well as my UG debt. Big law is not necessary. Location is pretty much the only thing that has me on the fence. I am leaning towards IUB for obvious reasons, but I am still unsure. My only other options so far are UMD (no scholly info yet) or GW at sticker. My numbers make it unlikely that I would receive any offers from my other schools similar to what SJU and IUB have offered.

So here's the skinny:

IU-B with $40K/year; I'd pay what's left of tuition plus COL:

I dont know a damn thing about the Midwest and have only been there once, which coincidentally was for a basketball game vs. IU. The idea of moving away is a bit exciting, and I think I may enjoy my time there, but I dont know know comfortable I am with living out in Indiana long-term. All of my family is in NY and I have lived in DC for the past 5 years and fell in love with it. I know IUB has a strong alumni base in DC and NY, but obviously they mostly place in IN. Big law is the preferred outcome, but with that scholarship I can also end up in mid-law and be fine. If I dont end up in NY or DC I will be fine with anything along the East Coast (NJ, MD, etc.)

SJU with full tuition; I'd pay virtually no COL:

Because my family lives in NYC, I have been offered a room with my mom and great aunt free of charge if I go to SJU. Her house is about 15 minutes from campus. I would also not have to worry about most of my meals, as that would be covered as well. SJU's offer covers the full cost of tuition for all thre years regardless of tuition hikes, as well as any summer courses I decide to take. Problem is, SJU is near the bottom of a crowded NYC market, even with it's large alumni base. It is definitely in the right location, but my chances of getting something decent coming out of there are definitely slim.

[Justathought]

I like you Cowgirl, we have similar numbers (yours are a little better), and I have to say this is a tough choice. I live in NY, I have friends at St. John's, and they have been undeniably pessimistic when it comes to job opportunities. I've heard most of the big firms were simply at OCI to collect resumes, and not many people got biglaw at all. But it sounds like you know this.

With IUB, you certainly stand a better chance of getting a decent job, but I just don't know that you can come close to counting on the east coast.

Your best option would probably be GW, but that's at sticker, so that's damn expensive.

I'm not casting a vote because I think its simply too close to call. I would probably take the risk and go to GW, I'm just not in love with the other two options. If I had to choose between the two... I guess St. John's. You'll find work in NY and its the cheapest option, but I don't know what kind of work it will be.

[kapachino]

I've been following your cycle on LSN, and totally think you should go for GW. Yeah, there's no money from them, but they do have the best employment options out of all the schools that took you. I think the cost of attending would be balanced out by your ability to find a job at graduation. Have you called them to see if there are any URM schollys or need-based aid you could get? I don't think you should give this up, especially since you want to stay in DC.

[Justathought]

I've been following your cycle on LSN, and totally think you should go for GW. Yeah, there's no money from them, but they do have the best employment options out of all the schools that took you. I think the cost of attending would be balanced out by your ability to find a job at graduation. Have you called them to see if there are any URM schollys or need-based aid you could get? I don't think you should give this up, especially since you want to stay in DC.

To echo that sentiment, my cousin just finished at GW and she did find biglaw, all the way back in her home state of California. Anecdotal, but I thought I would share.

[cowgirl_bebop]

I should probably also add that I have a bunch of UG debt, so I am a bit debt adverse. Adding a ton of debt on top of what I already have feels like financial suicide. If I pay sticker somewhere, I would literally HAVE to land big law if I didnt want to have to become a high-end "escort" on top of whatever FT job I had to pay back the loans.

GW has told me that I would qualify for need-based grants, but they max out at $16K a year. Other than that they have nothing for me.

[fakemoney]

.

[ndirish2010]

IU. Learn to like Bloomington and then Indianapolis/Chicago/St. Louis, wherever you end up. You will get a job from IU with decent grades. From SJU? Who knows.

[ndirish2010]

I'm in a similar situation, just substiute UMN for IUB, and I've got 60K instead of 120K. There are pro's and con's to the different schools, obviously. In your case, 120K at IUB is basically a full-ride minus COA, which shouldn't be too much in Indiana. It does have appealing aspects, as it's a huge scholarship at a t25-t35 school. Still, I think to go, you really gotta sell yourself on Indiana and the Midwest. GW might not be a bad option if you think you can handle the debt and are ambitious. SJU -- hey, it's a full tuition scholarship, and this is your home. But I'm sure your versed in the challenges of entering the NYC market from anything less than a top school. The fact that you would have next-to-zero debt probably makes it a better option for you than others. It probably comes down to what your ambitions are, and where you want to work.

As for myself, I have a lower scholarship at UMN, but I think the decent-size of MSP market makes taking on some debt more palatable there than in Indiana. I won't go to UMN, however, unless I can see myself staying in the Minneapolis area. It seems like one of the easier cities to which NY'ers can transition. For me, speaking as a NY'er, going to Indianapolis or thereabouts would be a harder sell.

Have you ever been to Indianapolis? It is a good-sized city with some nice areas. Everyone on TLS seems to love MSP, but Indy has low COL and can be a really nice place to live if you choose the right areas.

[kapachino]

I should probably also add that I have a bunch of UG debt, so I am a bit debt adverse. Adding a ton of debt on top of what I already have feels like financial suicide. If I pay sticker somewhere, I would literally HAVE to land big law if I didnt want to have to become a high-end "escort" on top of whatever FT job I had to pay back the loans.

GW has told me that I would qualify for need-based grants, but they max out at $16K a year. Other than that they have nothing for me.

Could you go part-time and work during the day? A friend of mine works at a think tank during the day, and takes the Metro out to classes at Baltimore after. He loves it, but then again he's nuts, since he's quite liberal and works for this particular think tank. He doesn't take the full loan amount since he works. I think I was as disappointed as you were when they didn't offer you anything, lol.

[CanadianWolf]

If you rooted against Indiana's basketball team, your scholarship offer may be null & void.

[fakemoney]

I'm in a similar situation, just substiute UMN for IUB, and I've got 60K instead of 120K. There are pro's and con's to the different schools, obviously. In your case, 120K at IUB is basically a full-ride minus COA, which shouldn't be too much in Indiana. It does have appealing aspects, as it's a huge scholarship at a t25-t35 school. Still, I think to go, you really gotta sell yourself on Indiana and the Midwest. GW might not be a bad option if you think you can handle the debt and are ambitious. SJU -- hey, it's a full tuition scholarship, and this is your home. But I'm sure your versed in the challenges of entering the NYC market from anything less than a top school. The fact that you would have next-to-zero debt probably makes it a better option for you than others. It probably comes down to what your ambitions are, and where you want to work.

As for myself, I have a lower scholarship at UMN, but I think the decent-size of MSP market makes taking on some debt more palatable there than in Indiana. I won't go to UMN, however, unless I can see myself staying in the Minneapolis area. It seems like one of the easier cities to which NY'ers can transition. For me, speaking as a NY'er, going to Indianapolis or thereabouts would be a harder sell.

Have you ever been to Indianapolis? It is a good-sized city with some nice areas. Everyone on TLS seems to love MSP, but Indy has low COL and can be a really nice place to live if you choose the right areas.

..

[cowgirl_bebop]

If you rooted against Indiana's basketball team, your scholarship offer may be null & void.

LOL, hopefully they wont know it was me until I have officially accepted their offer. Shhhh... dont tell anyone!

[2014]

Does the SJU scholarship have class rank requirements?

I think the answer is IU-B here or depending on if you applied late, apply earlier next year, pay off your UG debt a little, and potentially retake the LSAT if that is a viable option for a better shot at money from GW or like WUSTL.

If your options above are the end all, I would do IU-B. I think your quality of life will be a lot better than living at home with little hope of getting a job.

[cowgirl_bebop]

Does the SJU scholarship have class rank requirements?

I think the answer is IU-B here or depending on if you applied late, apply earlier next year, pay off your UG debt a little, and potentially retake the LSAT if that is a viable option for a better shot at money from GW or like WUSTL.

If your options above are the end all, I would do IU-B. I think your quality of life will be a lot better than living at home with little hope of getting a job.

Neither scholarship comes with any class rank requirements. IUB requires "satisfactory academic progress" and SJU requires "good academic standing".

Applying next year is not an option. In order to have my UG loans deferred, I would have to be in school. Waiting another year would mean having to pay back my loans until Fall 2012 and then get a deferment, which I simply cannot do. This cycle is it.

[ashrh01]

Because of the generous offers from both schools, I just need to find something upon graduation to help me service any small bit of LS debt as well as my UG debt. Big law is not necessary. Location is pretty much the only thing that has me on the fence. I am leaning towards IUB for obvious reasons, but I am still unsure. My only other options so far are UMD (no scholly info yet) or GW at sticker. My numbers make it unlikely that I would receive any offers from my other schools similar to what SJU and IUB have offered.

So here's the skinny:

IU-B with $40K/year; I'd pay what's left of tuition plus COL:

I dont know a damn thing about the Midwest and have only been there once, which coincidentally was for a basketball game vs. IU. The idea of moving away is a bit exciting, and I think I may enjoy my time there, but I dont know know comfortable I am with living out in Indiana long-term. All of my family is in NY and I have lived in DC for the past 5 years and fell in love with it. I know IUB has a strong alumni base in DC and NY, but obviously they mostly place in IN. Big law is the preferred outcome, but with that scholarship I can also end up in mid-law and be fine. If I dont end up in NY or DC I will be fine with anything along the East Coast (NJ, MD, etc.)

SJU with full tuition; I'd pay virtually no COL:

Because my family lives in NYC, I have been offered a room with my mom and great aunt free of charge if I go to SJU. Her house is about 15 minutes from campus. I would also not have to worry about most of my meals, as that would be covered as well. SJU's offer covers the full cost of tuition for all thre years regardless of tuition hikes, as well as any summer courses I decide to take. Problem is, SJU is near the bottom of a crowded NYC market, even with it's large alumni base. It is definitely in the right location, but my chances of getting something decent coming out of there are definitely slim.

Bloomington is actually pretty decent, obviously much smaller than what you're used to but not a bad place to live for 3 years. And like someone else said, you could look for jobs in Indy or Chicago. FWIW my brother is a 1L at IUB, he was actually going to go somewhere else until he visited at the last minute and really liked the school. The good thing about living there is it's not too expensive and you can live really close to campus.

[seriously????]

how much undergrad debt are you looking at?
again, this is an anectdote, but I only know one person who went to GW and it was for a full ride, and that person just graduated and is doing doc review. NY may be saturated, but you are a new yorker. That has to work somewhat in your favor. Bloomington will cost 50K more than SJU, but it still might be more manageable unless your UG debt is over 50k. It pretty much comes down to how badly you want biglaw, because like you said, with GW it is biglaw or...And if ure overall debt is around or over 200g's, you need to do biglaw for a long time, and it won't even seem like biglaw, because your salary will be taking at least a 20k hit every year to loans. Coming out of law school with no debt is a beautiful thing, in fact, if you work part time, or hardcore over the summers, you could come out not only debt free from law school, but also tack off a few grand in your UG debt.
What can I say, I am debt averse. My contemplation is between IUB and WUSTL with 20k a year, and I still think that is too much for a non T14.
Check out Bloomington, you may fall in love with it, but from the research that I have done, it is not work in Indy, Chi, or St. Louis. It is mainly work in Indy, with the outside shot to work anywhere else.