URGENT: W&M (60K scholarship) vs Cardozo (full ride)? Forum

[bubbletea]

Right, a major concern is that going to Duke forecloses my ability to easily change careers.

[NYC Law]

Right, a major concern is that going to Duke forecloses my ability to easily change careers.

You realize you can pay off your debt in about 5 years on a big law salary in New York, right?

And again, if you aren't sure you want to be a lawyer then just go do something else for a while and figure it out. Better than just jumping the gun and going to a subpar school foreclosing your ability to land a Biglaw job/Prestigious Clerkship/Academia.

[bk1]

Right, a major concern is that going to Duke forecloses my ability to easily change careers.

You realize you can pay off your debt in about 5 years on a big law salary in New York, right?

1. Many people don't last that long.

2. Biglaw is not a guarantee.

[ahduth]

Right, a major concern is that going to Duke forecloses my ability to easily change careers.

If you don't want to be a lawyer, don't go to law school. That one is pretty easy.

If you DO want to be a lawyer, go to Duke. It will give you far more opportunities than any of these other options.

[LSATfromNC]

Pay the deposit at Duke ASAP. Then feel free to panic the rest of the summer while you think about which one of the two to pick.

[TheFutureLawyer]

I'd go to W&M.

[NYC Law]

Right, a major concern is that going to Duke forecloses my ability to easily change careers.

You realize you can pay off your debt in about 5 years on a big law salary in New York, right?

1. Many people don't last that long.

2. Biglaw is not a guarantee.

1. 5 years is about the median length. Although I guess you could still say many don't last that long.

2. Going to Duke makes it about as close to a guarantee as you can get (outside the T6). There's still a ~50/50 chance of making it.

[bubbletea]

My problem is that I think I might like to be a lawyer/I would like to be a lawyer more than I would like the alternatives, but am hesitant to take on huge debt w/o being 100%. Lots of people get into law jobs and end up miserable (see: studies that suggest attornies are among the least happy people).

[quakeroats]

Going to Duke makes it about as close to a guarantee as you can get (outside the T6). There's still a ~50/50 chance of making it.

The odds are quite a bit better than that. 65% of the class of 2012 got big law, and while I haven't counted, a sizable percentage (think 5-10%) could have gotten big law but did something else (DOJ, consulting, banking, etc.)

[quakeroats]

Right, a major concern is that going to Duke forecloses my ability to easily change careers.

Going to law school at all narrows the range of careers you can choose in the near term. Going to Duke is the least narrowing law-school option you have. Duke puts you in the best place to choose whatever law-related field you want, and gives you backup options in case you don't do very well in law school. The only real problem you'll have is if you get to Duke, find out you hate law, and don't have enough wherewithal to get a non-law position on graduation or a few years afterwards (These definitely exist. We sent 2Ls to McKinsey, Goldman, etc.). We have options for students who don't do well in law school and cannot obtain well paying non-law employment. The only type there isn't an option for is the student who doesn't do well enough to get a good law job, doesn't find a well paying non-law job, and doesn't want to do anything law related.

[bubbletea]

Unfortunately I can't retain my scholarship at W&M unless I withdraw other applications by the end of the week. So there's no point in making the deposit to Duke unless I'm sure I want to go there. (Incidentally, I already put down a $250 deposit for Emory (I have an 81K guaranteed scholarship there), but have mentally ruled it out due to the bad press. Now I'm revisiting the Emory option as well...

[NYC Law]

Just go to Dental school and call it a day.

[bubbletea]

Just go to Dental school and call it a day.

LOL. this decision would be infinitely less difficult if i knew what region i wanted to live in.

[blacklawboss]

I had almost similar issue btwn NU, Fordham $ and Cardozo $$$ chose Cardozo. I'm 35 so I wasn't ready to uproot and move to Chi-Town. If I was 25 I'd be in Chi with the debt and faith in the USA. I know I want to live in NYC

[bubbletea]

How's Cardozo working out for you? Somehow I keep coming back to Cardozo even though I know it may not be the "practical" choice. I'm not sure I want to end up in NYC, but it certainly seems like a better place to be for 3 years than colonial Wburg or Durham...

*I know region is crucial in determining where you ultimately practice, and I know I DON'T want to practice in VA.

[bubbletea]

I had almost similar issue btwn NU, Fordham $ and Cardozo $$$ chose Cardozo. I'm 35 so I wasn't ready to uproot and move to Chi-Town. If I was 25 I'd be in Chi with the debt and faith in the USA. I know I want to live in NYC

I'm actually a bit worried about the curve because Cardozo seems to have "bought" so many top students.

[NYC Law]

I think you seriously need to do some soul searching before you make what could be a horrible decision. Take a year off, travel, spend some time in major markets to get an idea of where you want to live and work. If possible get some experience as a legal assistant to see if law is what you really want to do. You can even try retaking and maybe get money out of other top schools.

[AP-375]

I think you seriously need to do some soul searching before you make what could be a horrible decision. Take a year off, travel, spend some time in major markets to get an idea of where you want to live and work. If possible get some experience as a legal assistant to see if law is what you really want to do. You can even try retaking and maybe get money out of other top schools.

TITCR

[blacklawboss]

I had almost similar issue btwn NU, Fordham $ and Cardozo $$$ chose Cardozo. I'm 35 so I wasn't ready to uproot and move to Chi-Town. If I was 25 I'd be in Chi with the debt and faith in the USA. I know I want to live in NYC

I'm actually a bit worried about the curve because Cardozo seems to have "bought" so many top

For a while I struggled with the "practical choice" I think that was more about a name and wearing a sweatshirt. It came down to what was best for me. The faculty at Cardozo has the same sheepskin as higher ranked schools. I am excited about Cardozo becoming part of my journey in becoming an attorney.

[quakeroats]

I think you seriously need to do some soul searching before you make what could be a horrible decision. Take a year off, travel, spend some time in major markets to get an idea of where you want to live and work. If possible get some experience as a legal assistant to see if law is what you really want to do. You can even try retaking and maybe get money out of other top schools.

Assuming you didn't get into Duke off the waitlist, accept and defer.

[Soar]

Go to William and Mary if you aren't sure what you want to do with your degree! Are the people on this forum willing to repay the 100K in debt that comes along with a Duke degree? If you go to Cardozo, you will be limited to NYC, but if you are in the top 1/3 at W&M, you should have more mobility.

[Soar]

Cardozo will probably improve in the rankings over the next decade, but they can't compete with the W&M or Duke pedigree.

[NYC Law]

Go to William and Mary if you aren't sure what you want to do with your degree! Are the people on this forum willing to repay the 100K in debt that comes along with a Duke degree? If you go to Cardozo, you will be limited to NYC, but if you are in the top 1/3 at W&M, you should have more mobility.

So what you're suggesting is that if OP isn't sure what he wants to do with his degree, he should go to a regional school in a region he has no interest in, accrue $45k+ in debt (more like 80k+ once you account for cost of living), and just jump in to law school right away foreclosing out his ability to go to a more elite school should he change his mind later?

[Soar]

He says that he only needs to pay 6K each year with his scholarship, which should bring total debt to 50K or less. Given the OP's insistence on attending law school next year and the options he presented, W&M seems like the best choice unless he wants to work in NY.

[Soar]

W&M grads tend to place well in the entire Northeast. The reason many of them stay in the VA/DC area is due to their preference for that region, not lack of opportunity elsewhere.