So I just got into Fordham off the wait-list (seems like a lot of people did), but there was no mention of merit scholarships in their letter. I am waiting on need-based aid but the odds are unlikely.

However, I live right outside the city and was thinking of living at home and commuting to school to save money on COL. Basically like getting a ~$25k scholarship.

What are people's thoughts on Fordham's value if one lives at home to defray cost of living?

Why not just date someone attending Julliard & live together in Julliard's Lincoln Center apts. ?

Still looking like 150k in debt for Fordham right? Seems like a lot for a relatively low shot at Big Law. Higher than lots of other schools sure but there are a shit ton of other schools. What are your numbers?

You won't be the only one.
Whether it makes sense financially is open to debate, but there are a lot of people who will be paying more (ie sticker plus living expenses). You're still talking about a top 30 law school (that outperforms its rankings in biglaw)

you'll be fine You'll freak out in the beginning because OMG you feel like you need every minute to study, but at the end of the semester or year you'll realize it was a good idea and living in the library wouldn't have made a difference in your life.

By the way, what size merit scholarship would you expect having made it off the WAITLIST?

I'm surprised at your level of optimism ITT.

Yeah well unfortunately for my detractors I try to give very honest answers on this forum.

While I disagree with you more often than not (I think tou're a little extreme in your disdain of law school), I think you serve a valid purpose in basically advocating a worst-case scenario
Don't leave.

If I was younger I would do it...... Knock off the CoL in NY and Fordham gets you a LOT for its price when compared to other schools in the same price range.....

Of course, only you can decide if it is worth it for you....

I think I've seen where some people have gotten in off the waitlist with scholarships (Penn State, Wake Forrest A/D/W threads?), so it could happen. I wouldn't think it unreasonable to hope for something.

Don't expect any money from Fordham. They are excessively stingy. The law school is a cash cow for the university. They're building a new building which you will likely never set foot in by the time you graduate. You will essentially be paying for future grads to enjoy a state of the art facility. Fordham and any school outside of the t14 with more than 150k debt is a poor choice. You are still looking at over 150k debt even if you live at home. Why can't you retake?

Ask JenDarby about getying money off the waitlist
The cash cow comment is also wrong, but I don't feel like going into the details

To add to my earlier post. Fordham's nlj250 place for 2011 was 19%. You have an 70-81% chance of never making enough money to pay back those loans. Are you sure this is what you want to do? You got into Fordham, chances are you have other options with less debt. Take the other options retake or don't go.

NLJ250 is not the only chance of paying back your loans; not only that, class of 2010 might be the absolute low point. I don't see it going back to pre-crash 30-35% anytime soon, but about 25% placement in NLJ250 is probably a reasonable estimate. Add to that non-NLJ jobs that have reasonable income potential and it's not quite as doom and gloom as 70-81% chance of destitution (although admittedly at sticker it is a risky proposition)

I've had this argument before, I'm not gonna look up the details again.
Just do your homework and make an informed opinion based on more than just platitudes and incomplete (or even incorrect) data.
(as an example, many grads will do a clerkship before going into biglaw, which doesn't show up on NLJ250)

And the new building opens in the spring of 2014 so you will in fact be in said facility 3L......

Lol if you think NYC construction projects are ever on time. I'm not saying it won't but don't count on it.

OP legal salary jobs are bimodal. Chances are you'll either make 50k or 160k out of law school. You have a greater chance of making 50k coming out of Fordham than 160k. Midlaw doesn't not exist for newly minted grads.

you and I might have a very different opinion of what midlaw entails...

If they were YPed to begin with, then they should get a scholly.

Popcorn.jpg

If by Midlaw you mean 40-50k doing insurance defense then go to Fordham. Do not go to Fordham or any non t14 school expecting biglaw. Chances are that it will not happen. You have a better chance of not making biglaw than making biglaw. All the non t14 schools places less than 50% into biglaw. Going to Fordham at sticker is crazy. Retake, go with other options with less debt or don't go. Those are your only good choices.

this is totally inappropriate. It's uncalled for, and considering what you're implying is inaccurate, it also makes you look ridiculous

Dingbat's response here is spot on. We will be able to see the first official Class of 2013 summer placement stats in a few weeks, but the NLJ 20% number that keeps getting thrown around is very outdated at this point. Although we can't be perfectly accurate, based on a conglomeration of anecdotes, there is widespread speculation that the Class of 2013 will be right around the 30% number, potentially up to 32%.

Regarding your original question OP, if you can live at home without a horrific commute, I would definitely recommend it. Many of your colleagues will and it saves enough money to be worth it and help defray overall law school costs.

Also, just an fyi, literally every single thing that answer23 has posted in this thread is dead wrong other than building delays in NYC are common. So, please, read everything he has posted, then think the exact opposite and you will have an accurate depiction of attending Fordham. Although he is correct that building delays in the city are the norm, Fordham has actually already delayed the opening of the new building from a much earlier expected date and seems intent on having the current date (Fall 2013) be realistic. Based on the amount of construction done last year and this year, I think Fall 2013 is more likely than not to be the actual opening date.

Thanks for everyone's advice. At this point it looks like I will probably be attending Fordham in the fall and living at home.

Feel free to keep commenting on the thread for anyone else also facing this type of decision.