Notre Dame (45k) vs. Emory (78k) vs. W&L (105k)? Forum

[epgenius]

I'm currently awaiting decisions from 10 schools to which I've applied, mostly Top 10 ranked schools and, thus far, the best schools I've been accepted to are ND, Emory and W&L. No matter where I go, at this point, I'm probably gonna be paying an arm and a leg but I was wondering if anybody had any kind of perspective on, given the scholarships I've been offered already (all numbers over 3 years), which seems like the best "bang for your buck" deal? Name recognition is important to me, as well as being in a city. I'm currently in LA and would like, ideally, to either be in DC, Chicago, NY, SF or LA and so, as none of these are in those places, the respective locations are somewhat of a mystery to me. I've been waitlisted at UCLA and am pushing hard to be accepted but, in the mean time, as I can't put in seat deposits everywhere, which of these seems best?

[TripTrip]

Emory. W&L's employment prospects are abysmal compared to Emory's. It's definitely worth the extra $27k.

[jenesaislaw]

What is your total estimated cost of attendance (including interest if you'll be debt-financing any) at each of your options and your most likely additional options?

[Doorkeeper]

If your goal is NY, DC, LA SF or Chicago, then if these are your only options I would retake and reapply if you don't get into any T14 schools. None of these schools are even remote feeders into those markets.

I would also be cautious of attending UCLA unless you got a good scholarship (unless your family is helping you pay for school).

[rad lulz]

What is your total estimated cost of attendance (including interest if you'll be debt-financing any) at each of your options and your most likely additional options?

[epgenius]

If your goal is NY, DC, LA SF or Chicago, then if these are your only options I would retake and reapply if you don't get into any T14 schools. None of these schools are even remote feeders into those markets.

I would also be cautious of attending UCLA unless you got a good scholarship (unless your family is helping you pay for school).

Why should I be cautious about attending UCLA? Right now, (according to LSN), I have a decent shot of getting into USC so, should I be accepted and not get into Cornell (probably my best option remaining) I figured I'd put in the seat deposits to USC but still press for UCLA because the difference in tuition is thousands more than the seat deposits required. I'm not going to receive direct aid for my tuition from my family but, since they live in the area, they would probably help with some of the more normal, everyday expenses.

[Doorkeeper]

If your goal is NY, DC, LA SF or Chicago, then if these are your only options I would retake and reapply if you don't get into any T14 schools. None of these schools are even remote feeders into those markets.

I would also be cautious of attending UCLA unless you got a good scholarship (unless your family is helping you pay for school).

Why should I be cautious about attending UCLA? Right now, (according to LSN), I have a decent shot of getting into USC so, should I be accepted and not get into Cornell (probably my best option remaining) I figured I'd put in the seat deposits to USC but still press for UCLA because the difference in tuition is thousands more than the seat deposits required. I'm not going to receive direct aid for my tuition from my family but, since they live in the area, they would probably help with some of the more normal, everyday expenses.

I said you should be cautious of UCLA without some $$ because their placement numbers are good, but not great. You still need to be around top 1/3 to be competitive for biglaw. I don't know much about their PI placement, but I wouldn't wager $200k on it.

[epgenius]

What is your total estimated cost of attendance (including interest if you'll be debt-financing any) at each of your options and your most likely additional options?

ND = $156,000; Emory = $135,000; W&L = $84,000

My most likely additional options are Hastings, Davis, ASU (I haven't gotten financial aid packages yet though), UCLA (if they take me off the waitlist) and USC.