24 hours to decide IUB (10,000) vs. WUSTL (sticker)?!

[LucilleBluth]

Just after I had given up on getting off the waitlist at WUSTL and had gotten all my ducks in a row to go to Indiana yesterday WUSTL let me know that I have until tomorrow to decide to accept an offer of admission.

I'm from Saint Louis so of course everyone is all "omg are you crazy? WUSTL is the best school ever, go there!!" It was my top choice during my admissions cycle and frankly it was a miracle I even got on the wait-list in the first place with my LSAT.

I personally feel that I'd be happier at Indiana as I really enjoyed the atmosphere there but it would be crazy to not at least consider WUSTL.

Does WUSTL prestige really make that much of a difference? My professional goals lean towards public interest/government in the Midwest market rather than attempting the small chance of breaking into big law in the Chicago market, etc.

I would really appreciate some thoughts from the TLS community. Especially since living in the STL makes my perception of WUSTL a bit wonky. (Either it's a ridiculous quasi-Harvard level praise and awe or someone has a friend/relative who graduated from SLU law who talks about WUSTL students as either cut-throat bitches or weirdos )

[flexityflex86]

I personally would be worried about either option in this economy, but I think that WUSTL is the absolute way to go here.

The COL is much lower in STL than Bloomington, which while in an inexpensive state is a very preppy little town. It is a beautiful town as that full of boutique's and upscale places to balance out the classic state school bar scene, which is awesome, but the COL is out of whack relative to the rest of the state.

STL will probably wind up saving you about 5k a year.

For 15k total, the prestige difference and placement different is notable enough to render this not even a question.

Also, who cares if WUSTL is full of all insane weirdos? Are you a weirdo? If yes, you'll fit in. If no, ignore them and succeed.

[NYC Law]

Is the $10k for Indiana the total tuition per year? The scholarship per year? total COA per year?
Do you like Indiana enough to stick around after graduation?

How strongly do you want to do Public Interest/Government work?

I'd lean towards WUSTL, but that's me. If you aren't sure about what sector you want to work in and aren't crazy about the idea of Big Law (and don't mind staying in Indiana), IUB might be the right choice.

ETA: If it's just a $10k per year scholarship at IUB then WUSTL is the winner hands down.

[cinephile]

I'd go with WUSTL, especially if you're only getting $10k total at IU-B. Indiana doesn't have much mobility and if you'd rather work in St. Louis, it seems like a no brainer. Besides, this is your dream school and gives you better options if you did want to try for Chicago.

[stratocophic]

Just after I had given up on getting off the waitlist at WUSTL and had gotten all my ducks in a row to go to Indiana yesterday WUSTL let me know that I have until tomorrow to decide to accept an offer of admission.

I'm from Saint Louis so of course everyone is all "omg are you crazy? WUSTL is the best school ever, go there!!" It was my top choice during my admissions cycle and frankly it was a miracle I even got on the wait-list in the first place with my LSAT.

I personally feel that I'd be happier at Indiana as I really enjoyed the atmosphere there but it would be crazy to not at least consider WUSTL.

Does WUSTL prestige really make that much of a difference? My professional goals lean towards public interest/government in the Midwest market rather than attempting the small chance of breaking into big law in the Chicago market, etc.

I would really appreciate some thoughts from the TLS community. Especially since living in the STL makes my perception of WUSTL a bit wonky. (Either it's a ridiculous quasi-Harvard level praise and awe or someone has a friend/relative who graduated from SLU law who talks about WUSTL students as either cut-throat bitches or weirdos )

WUSTL at sticker is bad. Still a better bet than IUB though because it's so much debt that you're still screwed, but you have worse odds coming out of IUB (so screwed in the worst case either way plus worse chances overall from IUB). Optimal thing to do is to retake and reapply, but if you aren't willing then go to WUSTL. Also, since you're from St Louis, you have a better shot at any firm in St Louis than the normal WUSTL person. That's worth considering as well, since you'll have an even better chance of finding SOME job after graduation from WashU.

Don't listen to the SLU kids. I've had enough experience with them, but I won't go into my personal opinions here. People at WUSTL are subzero chill for the most part.

[Grizz]

10k total from IUB? I'd retake, but if not, WUSTL. Hell, even with 30k from IUB I'd probably still WUSTL. IUB does not travel.

[CanadianWolf]

If you are only being offered $10,000 per year by Indiana, just say "no" because they have trained us to expect $40,000 per year.

[Aberzombie1892]

10k total from IUB? I'd retake, but if not, WUSTL. Hell, even with 30k per year from IUB I'd probably still WUSTL. IUB does not travel.

Fixed for clarification.

[emciosn]

I would say go to WUSTL. That isn't enough money and I think your options would be a little better coming out of WUSTL. I will echo what someone said earlier: if you are from STL that gives you a boost with the firms there, it may make it easier to land a decent summer job/permanent job. The people I have talked to from STL have done really well with STL firms during OCI.

[emciosn]

Also WUSTL has a decent LRAP program if you do government work or something. Dunno about IUB's.

[kdw94780]

Does WUSTL prestige really make that much of a difference? My professional goals lean towards public interest/government in the Midwest market rather than attempting the small chance of breaking into big law in the Chicago market, etc.

If your goals are public interest/government, I think WUSTL clearly wins because during your 3 years you'll have way more opportunities to do internships in St. Louis during the school year than you would at IUB.

Think about it, in St. Louis, we have the 8th Circuit seat, SD of Illinois fed district ct, ED of Missouri fed dc, countless Admin law courts, the St. Louis city and county courts, Land of Lincoln, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, many other smaller public interest orgs, numerous other fed gov agencies like IRS, Fed Reserve Bank, Federal Public Defender.

Plus, WUSTL likely has more clinics since we're among the top 4 or so. In particular, we have the Congressional and Admin Clinic in DC.

From what I hear, PI/govt employers like to see internship experience. I just don't see you getting the same opportunities in Bloomington.

[ndirish2010]

Retake/reapply. Sticker at WUSTL is not good.

[JamMasterJ]

Retake/reapply. Sticker at WUSTL is not good.

+1

[kdw94780]

Retake/reapply. Sticker at WUSTL is not good.

+1

+1 unless you have a compelling reason to go this year. You can do some PI work and in the meantime retake.

[scammedhard]

Retake/reapply. Sticker at WUSTL is not good.

The economy sucks and it looks like it's not picking up anytime soon. Retake.

It would help us if you shared your numbers as well.

[kehoema2]

I personally would be worried about either option in this economy, but I think that WUSTL is the absolute way to go here.

The COL is much lower in STL than Bloomington, which while in an inexpensive state is a very preppy little town. It is a beautiful town as that full of boutique's and upscale places to balance out the classic state school bar scene, which is awesome, but the COL is out of whack relative to the rest of the state.

STL will probably wind up saving you about 5k a year.

For 15k total, the prestige difference and placement different is notable enough to render this not even a question.

Also, who cares if WUSTL is full of all insane weirdos? Are you a weirdo? If yes, you'll fit in. If no, ignore them and succeed.

Are you serious? I've never been to St. Louis, but had an apartment in Bloomington for $330 a month and the only utilities I had to pay were electric and cable(if desired).

[bartleby]

go to WUSTL sticker unless IUB tuition is $10k.

OP said that he was lucky to get waitlisted with his LSAT score. retake/reapply isn't the best answer if there's a good chance he might not do better than this cycle.

[ndirish2010]

go to WUSTL sticker unless IUB tuition is $10k.

OP said that he was lucky to get waitlisted with his LSAT score. retake/reapply isn't the best answer if there's a good chance he might not do better than this cycle.

Not much to lose by retaking. Why isn't it the best answer?

[scammedhard]

go to WUSTL sticker unless IUB tuition is $10k.

OP said that he was lucky to get waitlisted with his LSAT score. retake/reapply isn't the best answer if there's a good chance he might not do better than this cycle.

Then he/she shouldn't go to law school. ITE, odds of finding a job from WUSTL that will allow him/her to service the WUSTL-acquired debt are not very good. Rather than putting oneself in a difficult situation, a lot of the times the best options is to not go.

Retake/reapply, or don't go are the only viable options here.

[LucilleBluth]

Thanks everyone for your fast responses, I really do appreciate it with my time crunch. I know neither choice is perfect, but I am lucky in that I have $50,000 which my parents have contributed to my law school education from an inheritance and saving like crazy which may not be much in the grand scheme of things but definitely helps.

If I went to WUSTL than I'd probably live at home to save money in all honesty so COL between Indiana and Saint Louis doesn't matter only in the sense that with my small 10,000 a year scholarship at Indiana makes it cost the same to go live out of state versus staying at home in STL.

I do know that retake/reapply does seem like the best option but in all honesty I feel that I could not improve my score enough to make a significant difference in the next cycle.

[blurbz]

I definitely recommend WUSTL, especially with your savings. You'll give yourself more options and you'll be in the city you want to be in. Win. Win.

[JCougar]

If you really want to do PI/government work, WUSTL is a no-brainier. IBR will allow you to pay off your loans in 10 years no matter how much debt you accrue.

Government jobs still kind of want decent grades, but it's nowhere near as restrictive as biglaw. And PI jobs care even less about your grades -- they care about a demonstrated committment to the field. So if you go into law school, especially a school like WUSTL with a lot of clinics and connections to non-profits, and your primary goal from the get-go is public interest, you'll be able to find a job. What PI firms are not looking for are people who were gunning for Biglaw and missed out and now are trying to find any job they can to keep them out of the doc review dungeons.

But if you haven't taken the LSAT three times already yet, you should retake and reapply. That should be a standard rule for everyone going to law school. It's always better to do every single thing you can to get into the best school you can. It's a competitive job market out there, and you have to claw your way to the top any way you can.

With that said, if you change your mind and decide you want to gun for Biglaw, neither option is very smart.

[stratocophic]

Thanks everyone for your fast responses, I really do appreciate it with my time crunch. I know neither choice is perfect, but I am lucky in that I have $50,000 which my parents have contributed to my law school education from an inheritance and saving like crazy which may not be much in the grand scheme of things but definitely helps.

If I went to WUSTL than I'd probably live at home to save money in all honesty so COL between Indiana and Saint Louis doesn't matter only in the sense that with my small 10,000 a year scholarship at Indiana makes it cost the same to go live out of state versus staying at home in STL.

I do know that retake/reapply does seem like the best option but in all honesty I feel that I could not improve my score enough to make a significant difference in the next cycle.

Then you've basically lopped at least 65k off the sticker price between living and eating at home and the 50k. You're cool with ending up in STL, so I'd do it. You can pay off 120-140k on a midsized STL firm salary, and you have the ties for it. Not much worse than people who end up 220 in debt and end up making sub 160 at a TTT NY firm or in secondary market biglaw.

With the caveat that this is contingent on you not being willing to retake, of course.

[crazyblink653]

10K a year at IUB should not be enough to dissuade you from going to WUSTL, especially with the savings and ability to offset COL by living at home. Go to WUSTL. hands down.

[LucilleBluth]

I should add too that I have taken the LSAT four times and I don't feel that my score would improve if I took it a fifth time. If I thought it would make a difference I would take it again. Ultimately my dream goal has been to go to the F.B.I. Academy, (after doing a J.A.G. program but I know they are even more ridiculously selective and competitive than the Academy itself) but of course I want to have other options available.