Good reason to go to best school possible? Forum

[westinghouse60]

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[johansantana21]

Which T14s are you passing up?

[062914123]

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[westinghouse60]

Which T14s are you passing up?

So far, Cornell. Still waiting on HCN (long shots) and MVPD.

[hawkeye22]

Over the past few years, I have decided the correct answer to almost all educational decisions is to take the money and run. I would probably take a ride at a T30 over anything but T6.

[johansantana21]

Over the past few years, I have decided the correct answer to almost all educational decisions is to take the money and run. I would probably take a ride at a T30 over anything but T6.

Silly assessment.

OP, it depends on what your career goals are and whether or not you get into the almighty H. H will beat out full ride at any T30 schools.

[dingbat]

Which T14s are you passing up?

So far, Cornell. Still waiting on HCN (long shots) and MVPD.

Which T30 and how big a scholly?

[rad lulz]

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[westinghouse60]

With 3.4/175 I'm almost certainly out at HLS and CLS, but that would be a pretty easy decision. Got 28k at wake, in state tuition at UNC, 25k at Alabama and a few others. LSN link is in my profile.

I guess there's too much uncertainty to really make a decision at this point, although getting in at one of MVP wouldn't really change my situation much.. I don't think I'd choose a T30 with $$$ over Cornell but not MVP over the same scholly.

[PMan99]

With 3.4/175 I'm almost certainly out at HLS and CLS, but that would be a pretty easy decision. Got 28k at wake, in state tuition at UNC, 25k at Alabama and a few others. LSN link is in my profile.

I guess there's too much uncertainty to really make a decision at this point, although getting in at one of MVP wouldn't really change my situation much.. I don't think I'd choose a T30 with $$$ over Cornell but not MVP over the same scholly.

While there are arguments for a full ride at a lower school over a T14, you're not looking at a full ride. At Wake you'll still be 90k in debt, UNC 120K, etc...

If you had ED'd you would have had a good shot at MVP. But even without ED people with your #'s get into CNMVP (although it's not a slam dunk by any means). But I'd still think 200k at one of those schools, or Cornell if you're OK with working in NYC, is better than ~100K at a T30. H is a solid no unless you're a URM.

In a number of cases I'd say the money's a good bet, but not here. If you were getting that from Vanderbilt and wanted to stay in the South it might be a different story, but go T14 for now.

[dingbat]

With 3.4/175 I'm almost certainly out at HLS and CLS, but that would be a pretty easy decision. Got 28k at wake, in state tuition at UNC, 25k at Alabama and a few others. LSN link is in my profile.

I guess there's too much uncertainty to really make a decision at this point, although getting in at one of MVP wouldn't really change my situation much.. I don't think I'd choose a T30 with $$$ over Cornell but not MVP over the same scholly.

What is your goal in life? If you want biglaw, Cornell's placement compared to the other schools you've heard back from makes it a no-brainer.
If you're not set on biglaw, you should take the $84k at wustl over Cornell at Sticker.
A few spots up or down on the rankings (even if it means breaking into the bottom of the vaunted T14) isn't worth a boatload of debt (unless we're talking about the top few schools - HYS, and maybe CCN)
$84k is a lot more money than you might realize.

[justicefishy]

I got into VP with your GPA but much lower LSATs. No guarantee, but you can get in, especially if you write the supplemental essays for the schools in question.

[vanwinkle]

With 3.4/175 I'm almost certainly out at HLS and CLS, but that would be a pretty easy decision. Got 28k at wake, in state tuition at UNC, 25k at Alabama and a few others. LSN link is in my profile.

I guess there's too much uncertainty to really make a decision at this point, although getting in at one of MVP wouldn't really change my situation much.. I don't think I'd choose a T30 with $$$ over Cornell but not MVP over the same scholly.

You'll still graduate with massive debt from any of these schools. We're talking $100K over three years at a T30 with relatively poor job prospects, vs. $200K at a T14 with at least marginally better job prospects.

Research IBR. If you take all your loans as federal loans, you can manage your debt regardless of amount, have a loan payment based on your income instead of your debt amount, and get the outstanding balance forgiven after a certain amount of time.

It's important to think of IBR alongside the bimodal salary distribution in law today. The vast majority of hiring for new grads pays either $130-160K or under $60K, with no in-between. If you end up making $160K, you'll be making too much to use IBR, but you'll also be making enough to make your loan payments either way. If you end up at $45-50K, you'll be relying on IBR to manage your debts even from a T30.

And what matters most is getting a job. After all, law school is a professional school. If you're more likely to get a job (and I mean any legal job) from the T14, and you'll be managing your debt the same either way, why not take the T14?