vzapana wrote:UtilityMonster wrote:Just checked lsn and saw a guy with a 4.0 180 took the ruby already and withdrew from Yale before he even heard back. That may have been a bit rash...
Chance that UChicago admissions officers created that account to make ruby recipients more likely to take the scholarship? 5%
I dunno. He might have needed to accept the scholarship by now. If he got the ruby early, then the response deadline would be early, too, and so he needed to make a choice. I don't think he chose poorly
The response deadline is not until April 15.
domino wrote:^ I'm guessing that dude's ColeWorld--he was saying in another thread that Chicago was his #1 from the beginning of the cycle
Yeah, it was him. Did he offer a reason why Chicago was his #1? I'm guessing he has ties to the area?
abstractcircles wrote:Wow, can't believe I'm posting in this thread....
I just received my Rubenstein today, prior to today I was 100% set on going to Harvard. I have a science background and am planning to go in to patent prosecution or end up as intellectual property in-house council. I also have an interest in "transactional law" - mainly writing contracts for biotech/pharma. I plan to end up in the bay area california (haven't heard from SLS yet.....).
My primary focus is on picking the best choice for making sure I'm employed in my chosen field after law school. Yes in the short term having the Rubenstein would be amazing, but if Harvard gave me a better edge as far as securing a dream job then I may actually earn much more over the next 30 years than I would have saved with the Rubenstein.
Anyone have any advice? Facing a similar situation?
If you want to end up in California and don't want to pay for law school, you could try asking Berkeley to match your scholarship through their matching scholarship program. I have no idea when they get back to people (I've been waiting for weeks). I doubt they will match a $10,000/yr stipend even if they do give you a full ride, though. Berkeley and Chicago were once considered peer schools, and I don't think there is a huge difference between them (I'd also expect to perform much better at Berkeley than UChicago relative to other students, making it just as likely that you get a clerkship or great job offer after graduating, although there is no guarantee... I'm very interested in the r^2 between full tuition scholarship recipients and grades, because I'm incredibly risk averse).
I've been thinking long term about Harvard v. Chicago. With the assumption that you work 30 years and Harvard nets you a mere $10,000 more a year on average, long term it would about pay itself off in real terms. Although the truth is that I have no idea how much more you are likely to earn as a Harvard grad than a Chicago grad (although if Harvard doesn't net its graduates a mere $10,000 more a year on average than Columbia/Chicago, why the obsession over it?), and I doubt there are good numbers on that. It is interesting because I have heard conflicting reports from people who took the Rubenstein and people who picked HYS over what is the better decision.
If what spicyyoda said is true, and the scholarships do not confer any improved employment prospects, I have designed an algorithm that may be somewhat useful:
Pick Harvard if:
You really really want to go to Harvard and
Your parents are loaded (or you are, somehow) and attending would not cause you a financial burden or
You receive significant financial aid or
You want academia or a nontraditional career that Harvard gives you a significant advantage with
Pick Ruby if:
You would have to take on substantial debt to attend Harvard and
You desire a fairly traditional law career
In my case, I want to be something of a public intellectual (write articles for newspapers, teach at a university, write books)
and my parents are helping me pay the costs of law school so I'm actually leaning toward Harvard, despite what appears to be a general consensus that picking Harvard over a Ruby is usually a bad idea. I'll make my decision after going to the ASWs.
