Top Law Schools

If you want to practice in boston would it be better to go to a t14 for (potentially) sticker or BU for free? It would be a lower t14, by the way.

Why don't you get into schools where you have an actual comparison to make first? It's impossible to answer the question you asked. Depends on where you're from, how sure you are Boston is where you want to be, what you want to do in Boston, etc.

I would suggest to attend Top-14 sticker, since you have a shot of big law, even if you are below the median.

Have you actually gotten into a T14 or the full ride at Bu yet?

Pato_09 wrote:I would suggest to attend Top-14 sticker, since you have a shot of big law, even if you are below the median.

lol wut

patrickd139 wrote:Why don't you get into schools where you have an actual comparison to make first? It's impossible to answer the question you asked. Depends on where you're from, how sure you are Boston is where you want to be, what you want to do in Boston, etc.

$5 says he's thinking ED BU for fullride.

$6

This is all hypothetical, but BU full ride for sure. The only way this would even be a question is if OP were turning down HYS.

Pato_09 wrote:I would suggest to attend Top-14 sticker, since you have a shot of big law, even if you are below the median.

This is just wrong.

JCougar wrote:

Pato_09 wrote:I would suggest to attend Top-14 sticker, since you have a shot of big law, even if you are below the median.

This is just wrong.

In the dudes defense, he didn't say a meaningful shot?

Right now i've got to choose between BU for half tuition and Cornell for what currently looks like sticker price. I want to practice in Boston at biglaw and am pretty torn about it. Suggestions?

aktas20d wrote:Right now i've got to choose between BU for half tuition and Cornell for what currently looks like a full ride. I want to practice in Boston at biglaw and am pretty torn about it. Suggestions?

I can't tell whether Cornell is giving you a full tuition scholarship or giving you no money at all. If they are giving you a full scholarship then Cornell hands down.

What's more important to you: Boston or biglaw? Generally I would say:

Boston biglaw > NYC biglaw > other boston legal jobs = Cornell
Boston biglaw > other boston legal jobs > NYC biglaw = BU

That being said, I'd probably go Cornell even with 0 scholarship money. Even after a 1/2 tuition scholarship BU is going to cost you about $150,000 in debt at graduation once you factor in interest accumulating during school. That's just too expensive to justify BU imo.

bk187 wrote:

aktas20d wrote:Right now i've got to choose between BU for half tuition and Cornell for what currently looks like a full ride. I want to practice in Boston at biglaw and am pretty torn about it. Suggestions?

I can't tell whether Cornell is giving you a full tuition scholarship or giving you no money at all. If they are giving you a full scholarship then Cornell hands down.

What's more important to you: Boston or biglaw? Generally I would say:

Boston biglaw > NYC biglaw > other Boston legal jobs = Cornell
Boston biglaw > other Boston legal jobs > NYC biglaw = BU

That being said, I'd probably go Cornell even with 0 scholarship money. Even after a 1/2 tuition scholarship BU is going to cost you about $150,000 in debt at graduation once you factor in interest accumulating during school. That's just too expensive to justify BU imo.

yeah, sorry about that, i went back and edited my post but it was too late. Anyway, cornell hasn't offered me any tuition breaks thus far, and the total debt difference between BU and Cornell at this point is 100k.

Cupidity wrote:

JCougar wrote:

Pato_09 wrote:I would suggest to attend Top-14 sticker, since you have a shot of big law, even if you are below the median.

This is just wrong.

In the dudes defense, he didn't say a meaningful shot?

you'd have an abysmal chance of making
biglaw at BU too, so he isn't making any sense

I would take BU full-ride over GTown sticker. But T13, not so much.

Are you an IP kid? If so, choose BU.

Some of my other Cornell people may be able to correct me on this one, but you would probably get Boston Biglaw around median with ties. You could probably get NYC Biglaw slightly below median. This has been the case for 2012 and 2103. BU is very strong in Boston Biglaw, but you will likely need a higher class ranking (mileage will vary). I would go with free tuition at BU.

bk187 wrote:

aktas20d wrote:Right now i've got to choose between BU for half tuition and Cornell for what currently looks like a full ride. I want to practice in Boston at biglaw and am pretty torn about it. Suggestions?

I can't tell whether Cornell is giving you a full tuition scholarship or giving you no money at all. If they are giving you a full scholarship then Cornell hands down.

What's more important to you: Boston or biglaw? Generally I would say:

Boston biglaw > NYC biglaw > other Boston legal jobs = Cornell
Boston biglaw > other Boston legal jobs > NYC biglaw = BU

That being said, I'd probably go Cornell even with 0 scholarship money. Even after a 1/2 tuition scholarship BU is going to cost you about $150,000 in debt at graduation once you factor in interest accumulating during school. That's just too expensive to justify BU imo.

This strikes me as about right. If you want Boston and have a full ride to BU, then go for it. But it's sounding like you only have 1/2 tuition, which makes things more iffy. I guess what it really comes down to is whether "Boston" is more important than "biglaw" or vice versa.

Sorry. I guess I was confused about the "Full Ride" thing. I would go to Cornell v. BU at half price. If you don't get Biglaw out of BU, you will still be saddled with massive debt.

Not to hate on BU, but...

I run by the law school several times a week as part of my route. It's a little lacking, aesthetically. I know that's not the most important factor, but you do have to take into consideration the feel and environment of the particular building you'll be living in for three years.

Go to BU for 1L, kick ass, and then transfer out to T14.

CodyRuegger wrote:Not to hate on BU, but...

I run by the law school several times a week as part of my route. It's a little lacking, aesthetically. I know that's not the most important factor, but you do have to take into consideration the feel and environment of the particular building you'll be living in for three years.

I have to believe the law tower is nicer on the inside than the outside. At least I hope it is.

BarcaCrossesTheAlps wrote:Go to BU for 1L, kick ass, and then transfer out to T14.

??? - Your advice is to save $20,000 by finishing in the top 10% of his class then transferring to a school comparable to one he has already gotten into? Sounds solid.

I had a very similar situation as OP (had to decide between BU with over half scholarship, and Cornell with just a little bit of scholarship). I ended up going with BU, but I'm not so sure I would have made that same choice again given that my preference sort of shifted to NY, as opposed to Boston. Ended up being a moot point, since I ended up transferring out anyway. And since I transferred out, I can't really speak to what the job situation ended up being like at BU. But it seemed to be the case that the NYC hiring situation out of BU wasn't quite as strong as I would have hoped. However, that doesn't speak to the school's Boston placement. So I guess it ultimately boils down to where you want to be. If you want to have a solid chance for something outside of Boston, I would go with Cornell (which is why I would have picked Cornell in retrospect), but if you only want Boston, then it would certainly make a lot of sense to go with BU. I can say from experience that it is a wonderful place to attend law school, and really miss it.

P.S. Ignore the advice about going to BU with the assumption that you will be able to transfer. Sure, some people, including myself, end up transferring, but the slightest factor could have entirely changed that equation. For example, one point lower on my torts exam, and I would have dropped a grade. One grade drop would have pushed me out of top 10%. And being outside of top 10% may have taken me out of transfer consideration for a number of schools. All from a single point on a single exam. So you can see why that mindset would be problematic.

BarcaCrossesTheAlps wrote:Go to BU for 1L, kick ass, and then transfer out to T14.

Lol. Absolutely do not do this.