BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$ Forum

(Rankings, Profiles, Tuition, Student Life, . . . )

Help this Mormon boy choose a law school!

BU @ $135,996 COA
4
5%
BU if, and only if, the wifey gets a job there
7
9%
W&M @ $63,300 COA
15
18%
BYU @ $62,010 COA
9
11%
New: BC @ ~99,000 COA
47
57%
 
Total votes: 82

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zonto

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by zonto » Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:25 pm

Sending my first BC deposit tomorrow. Wish I found out about the financial aid stuff earlier so I would have another school's deposit back in my pocket...

bhan87

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by bhan87 » Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:28 pm

zonto wrote:Sending my first BC deposit tomorrow. Wish I found out about the financial aid stuff earlier so I would have another school's deposit back in my pocket...
BU and BC are peer schools in the Boston area. Definitely the right choice here imo

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zonto

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by zonto » Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:15 pm

Thanks for the reassurance. I also found it interesting that William and Mary raised their tuition by over 7% this year, whereas BYU raised theirs about 3% and BC raised theirs 2%. Hopefully the trend continues in upcoming years...

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zonto

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by zonto » Wed May 04, 2011 12:42 pm

Anyone have experience with BC Law Scholarship stips? I emailed questions to the school today, but figured I'd see if anyone here knew as well. Seems like they're just based on having roughly the same (or less) income and filing the applications on time every year... Don't see anything about grades or rank.

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Perch

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by Perch » Wed May 04, 2011 2:04 pm

zonto wrote:Anyone have experience with BC Law Scholarship stips? I emailed questions to the school today, but figured I'd see if anyone here knew as well. Seems like they're just based on having roughly the same (or less) income and filing the applications on time every year... Don't see anything about grades or rank.
I think they are guaranteed for all three years, but you should check (as you have already).

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zonto

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by zonto » Wed May 04, 2011 2:09 pm

Update for anyone interested:
Boston College Law School policy is to renew scholarships offered to incoming students for their second and third years. A change in need would mean a significant increase in your income and/or assets; if you anticipate that your family income will be roughly the same or only increase a little over the next couple of years, you should not be concerned. Additionally, there are no grade or class rank stipulations--only that you remain in good academic standing which means maintaining a GPA of at least 2.0.

You are right to want to be very clear about this before beginning law school and I hope this information puts you at ease.

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by sullidop » Wed May 04, 2011 2:19 pm

zonto wrote:Update for anyone interested:
Boston College Law School policy is to renew scholarships offered to incoming students for their second and third years. A change in need would mean a significant increase in your income and/or assets; if you anticipate that your family income will be roughly the same or only increase a little over the next couple of years, you should not be concerned. Additionally, there are no grade or class rank stipulations--only that you remain in good academic standing which means maintaining a GPA of at least 2.0.

You are right to want to be very clear about this before beginning law school and I hope this information puts you at ease.
Regarding the above, it is almost impossible to fall below the 2.0 due to the policy below:

"A student with an unsatisfactory grade (F, D, C-) in a course, if otherwise in good standing at the Law School, has the privilege of removing this unsatisfactory grade. A student seeking to remove an unsatisfactory grade must contact the instructor when the course is next offered to determine the requirements of the course. The student must complete all work required by the instructor for the course in which the unsatisfactory grade was received, including examinations, written work, and such other activity that the instructor grades as part of the course evaluation. The student will receive a new grade for the course, which shall be determined by the student’s most recent performance on the course requirements; provided, however, the student may not receive a grade of higher than C. A student may not retake an exami- nation more than once in the same course."
http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/sch ... _FINAL.pdf
P. 14

whereto4law

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by whereto4law » Wed May 04, 2011 2:50 pm

W&M at a big discount is worth looking at; it's a great school with a strong alumni network.

bk1

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by bk1 » Wed May 04, 2011 2:57 pm

This seems easily BC.

Plus, CoL by BU/BC doesn't seem all that ridiculous (a friend of mine lives in a 1 bedroom within walking distance of BC and on the metro line that goes to both BU and BC for 1300).

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zonto

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by zonto » Wed May 04, 2011 5:03 pm

I guess the ridiculousness is all relative. It's ridiculous for me considering I pay $620 for a good-sized two-bedroom place now with all utilities, TV, and internet included. :(

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by bk1 » Wed May 04, 2011 5:07 pm

zonto wrote:I guess the ridiculousness is all relative. It's ridiculous for me considering I pay $620 for a good-sized two-bedroom place now with all utilities, TV, and internet included. :(
Fair enough. I just wanted to point out that BU/BC area is a chunk cheaper than for DC/NYC schools.

Moving from an area that is only a bit more expensive than where you are now, I feel the pain of having to transition.

mettasutta

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by mettasutta » Wed May 04, 2011 6:01 pm

sullidop wrote:
zonto wrote:Update for anyone interested:
Boston College Law School policy is to renew scholarships offered to incoming students for their second and third years. A change in need would mean a significant increase in your income and/or assets; if you anticipate that your family income will be roughly the same or only increase a little over the next couple of years, you should not be concerned. Additionally, there are no grade or class rank stipulations--only that you remain in good academic standing which means maintaining a GPA of at least 2.0.

You are right to want to be very clear about this before beginning law school and I hope this information puts you at ease.
Regarding the above, it is almost impossible to fall below the 2.0 due to the policy below:

"A student with an unsatisfactory grade (F, D, C-) in a course, if otherwise in good standing at the Law School, has the privilege of removing this unsatisfactory grade. A student seeking to remove an unsatisfactory grade must contact the instructor when the course is next offered to determine the requirements of the course. The student must complete all work required by the instructor for the course in which the unsatisfactory grade was received, including examinations, written work, and such other activity that the instructor grades as part of the course evaluation. The student will receive a new grade for the course, which shall be determined by the student’s most recent performance on the course requirements; provided, however, the student may not receive a grade of higher than C. A student may not retake an exami- nation more than once in the same course."
http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/sch ... _FINAL.pdf
P. 14
Thank you sulli and zonto--I received a scholarship from BC and was wondering about this, too.

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IndyHCKM

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Re: BU $$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by IndyHCKM » Fri May 06, 2011 12:33 am

AP-375 wrote:I voted W&M.
Having done my undergrad at BYU, I believe the network effect of BYU Law is overrated. It's more the mormon network effect rather than the BYU Law effect. If you've got USU on your resume, that should at least be enough for the networking connection when talking with other LDS lawyers out there. "Oh hey, you went to BYU. I went to USU. Now we're cool." That's all it is.
Also, it looks like BYU and W&M are similar in cost, so I would roll with Williamsburg over Provo any day. Maybe when I was 18, Provo was okay, but I'm ready to not spend any more of my life there.
Also, don't understimate the competitiveness at BYU. I've heard it's one of the most competitive schools in the country. You're competing with a bunch of older, RM, married dudes, who are super-focused, disciplined,
and don't party. Not the group I want to be competing against.
Finally, family planning can sometimes be unpredictable, so you'd hate to be in Boston, paying sticker, with your wfe not having the opportunity to work full time for some baby reason or another.
(Disclosure: I'm most likely heading to W&M in the fall.)
First, let me preface this: I don't really know anything at all about any of your schools besides BYU, nor am I a very good judge about the money issues.

That being said, there were two things I wanted to comment on in AP's post here.
1. I must disagree with AP's commentary on the network at BYU. Graduating from BYU undergrad is way different I believe than graduating from BYU Law. BYU is one of the largest private undergraduate institutions in the US. Thousands of kids graduate each year, going into fields all over the spectrum; there just doesn't seem to be much reason to help an LDS BYU grad out over any other LDS grad from any other university. BYU Law on the other hand, is a very small institution, struggling against many other law schools. I think there is a much larger incentive for fellow LDS attorneys to help BYU Law students out, even if that student isn't LDS. BYU as an undergrad institution is what it is. BYU Law is much more malleable, or at least that's how it seems to me. I know somebody who went to a reception and was offered a summer internship before she left the reception, and she's only an admitted student! The professors seem ready to fight for you all the way, and I feel a large portion of the network (both BYU Law and LDS law) are willing to do the same - more so than if you were an LDS student from some other school.

2. The scholarship stipulation is pretty frightening. I agree with AP on this point. The competitiveness of BYU should be a serious consideration. I analyze it this way: it is easy for a single law students to justify bad grades - they only need to convince themselves and maybe some parents a few states away. Married students on the other hand need to convince their spouses; a mighty task indeed. I don't know the statistics, but the reputation, as AP notes, is a bunch of older married RM dudes. Be careful.

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zonto

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by zonto » Fri May 20, 2011 8:17 pm

Got an increased award of $20,000 per year at BU from a letter I sent in after I made seat deposits at multiple schools and withdrew from W&M. I think, with that in mind, next year I am going to be an Eagle!

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Rock Chalk

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by Rock Chalk » Fri May 20, 2011 11:52 pm

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Last edited by Rock Chalk on Wed May 16, 2012 1:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

Gideon Strumpet

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by Gideon Strumpet » Sat May 21, 2011 12:09 am

You can negotiate stips away if you have leverage, by the way, which your acceptances from BU/BC should give you with BYU.

Unless you're leaving out a whole lot of information, BC makes no apparent sense here. You have family, I assume friends, and a lifetime of contacts in Utah. You get the LDS tuition discount, you would be happy staying there, and you say you have people there who can help you out when kids come along. All of this stuff suggests an easier time in school, an order of magnitude lower debt load, and better job prospects for you long term (as long as you're fine with Utah).

Unless your wife has some crazy six-figure job in hand in Boston, going to BC is a gigantic, expensive risk, and a train wreck waiting to happen, with very little to recommend it. I would not go to BU based on the assumption your wife can work there, unless she already has some inside track on one of these jobs or already has an offer.

If you want adventure, take a nice vacation; it's the last thing you should expect to get out of law school.

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zonto

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by zonto » Sat May 21, 2011 1:17 am

Rock Chalk wrote:
zonto wrote:Got an increased award of $20,000 per year at BU from a letter I sent in after I made seat deposits at multiple schools and withdrew from W&M. I think, with that in mind, next year I am going to be an Eagle!
Isn't it still over $20k more than BC? The previous offer was $15k/year and it was like $36k + more expensive, right?
Precisely why I didn't say I would be a (BU) Terrier. :wink:

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Rock Chalk

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Re: BU $$ v. BC $$$ v. W&M $$$ v. BYU $$

Post by Rock Chalk » Sat May 21, 2011 1:30 am

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