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I'm in a pretty tough situation and am not really sure who to turn to for help or direction. I got accepted to B.C. Law back in December (no notice yet of scholarships/grants/etc., but I know they could come in the future). A few nights ago I opened the mail and found out that Temple Law has given me $90k - a few thousand dollars short of a full ride. Of course, my predicament is a fairly predictable one.

I took a tour of BC and really really liked it. I hear great things about the student life there and I feel like I really can fit in there. B.C. obviously carries a lot more prestige than Temple, is better ranked, and to me seems like a better school. I feel like I'll be amongst better students at B.C., but that's just me speaking from very little (actually absolutely no) experience.

I'm trying to make a pro/con list in my head, but the situation isn't really clearing up. Of course the money factor is the most dominating force here. I would live a MUCH more comfortable life in Philly with basically no debt. But is that $90k worth a lower chance at a getting a good job? I've worked as a paralegal in a big firm for about two years now and know that this is the kind of environment I want to stay in. Without having to pay for tuition, the next three years would be more or less stress free, allowing me to focus more on school and not having to worry about how I will supplement my income. The idea of debt to me is very daunting... I'm not sure how I'll deal with $250k in debt hanging over my head for years and years to come.

I'd really appreciate any help/advice you can offer.

Cheers,

Michael

Retake is your best option. BC at full boreis suicide. Temple with a full ride is maybe..?..ok if you have 0 interest in selective jobs.

mdveight wrote:I'm in a pretty tough situation and am not really sure who to turn to for help or direction. I got accepted to B.C. Law back in December (no notice yet of scholarships/grants/etc., but I know they could come in the future). A few nights ago I opened the mail and found out that Temple Law has given me $90k - a few thousand dollars short of a full ride. Of course, my predicament is a fairly predictable one.

I took a tour of BC and really really liked it. I hear great things about the student life there and I feel like I really can fit in there. B.C. obviously carries a lot more prestige than Temple, is better ranked, and to me seems like a better school. I feel like I'll be amongst better students at B.C., but that's just me speaking from very little (actually absolutely no) experience.

I'm trying to make a pro/con list in my head, but the situation isn't really clearing up. Of course the money factor is the most dominating force here. I would live a MUCH more comfortable life in Philly with basically no debt. But is that $90k worth a lower chance at a getting a good job? I've worked as a paralegal in a big firm for about two years now and know that this is the kind of environment I want to stay in. Without having to pay for tuition, the next three years would be more or less stress free, allowing me to focus more on school and not having to worry about how I will supplement my income. The idea of debt to me is very daunting... I'm not sure how I'll deal with $250k in debt hanging over my head for years and years to come.

I'd really appreciate any help/advice you can offer.

Cheers,

Michael

Are you from Boston? This is way early for BC to give out scholarships. Send them your Temple offer in a few weeks and see if they will negotiate.

Make a poll and include retake as a choice
It will come out Retake, Temple, BC
and retake or Temple will be 90+% of the votes

Wait a few more weeks for the BC schollys to start coming out then you can get a better decision of what to do. BC at full would be a bad idea probably but they haven't sent out any scholarships yet that I know of so just wait it out then evaluate.

You're not going to like this, but if biglaw is what you want retake is going to be the best option unless you get a substantial scholly from BC. Per LST, Temple places about as many students into biglaw+AIII clerkships (16%) as students who are in the "not employed" category (12.5%). Bad odds.

BC for sure. Temple is terrible. The only good school in Philadelphia (or all of PA) for anything is Penn. Everything else is bad.

DaRascal wrote:BC for sure. Temple is terrible. The only good school in Philadelphia (or all of PA) for anything is Penn. Everything else is bad.

Hes done it again

BC at sticker is suicide.

There's a 40% chance you'll never get a job as an attorney if you go to temple. There's a 10% chance you'll get the job you want.

Temple is far superior, but it still sucks.

Gotta retake.

I'm pretty sure I would have listed "retake" as an option if it were one that was either a) a possibility or b) one I wished to pursue even if it were one. This is the situation I'm in right now, and am seeking advice based on the options currently in front of me.

If you have rock solid ties to philly, temple full ride wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I wouldn't even consider temple without ties and interest in remaining in philly permanently.

BC at sticker is a startlingly bad idea.

mdveight wrote:I'm pretty sure I would have listed "retake" as an option if it were one that was either a) a possibility or b) one I wished to pursue even if it were one. This is the situation I'm in right now, and am seeking advice based on the options currently in front of me.

Everyone here is looking out for your best interests when recommending a retake. You said you want big law and neither place particularly well in big law. That is why you should retake.

But if you're going to be stubborn about it, go to Temple on a full ride and be prepared for small law, gov't or unemployment.

BC at sticker would be disastrous.

Your chances of getting big law are very slim, just don't go to law school if that's your goal and you can't get better options

BigZuck wrote:Your chances of getting big law are very slim, just don't go to law school if that's your goal and you can't get better options

It is a very rare occurrence that I concur with an opinion given by my good friend Big Zuck. However, if your goals are big law, then the above poasters are correct. Either retake or consider making small law a goal. There are numerous pros and cons to working in both biglaw and small law so I would also encourage you do some research on that as well.

mdveight wrote:I'm pretty sure I would have listed "retake" as an option if it were one that was either a) a possibility or b) one I wished to pursue even if it were one. This is the situation I'm in right now, and am seeking advice based on the options currently in front of me.

your funeral, kid. can't say you weren't warned.

mdveight wrote:I'm pretty sure I would have listed "retake" as an option if it were one that was either a) a possibility or b) one I wished to pursue even if it were one. This is the situation I'm in right now, and am seeking advice based on the options currently in front of me.

How is NOT going to law school this cycle not even a possibility? That's an absurd statement. Your second point might well be valid, but your first is just silly.

You're asking people whether shooting yourself in the head (BC) or the chest (Temple) is the better choice.

Retaking and getting half ride at BC would be shooting your pinky off. It beats the other options, though.

deadpanic wrote:

mdveight wrote:I'm pretty sure I would have listed "retake" as an option if it were one that was either a) a possibility or b) one I wished to pursue even if it were one. This is the situation I'm in right now, and am seeking advice based on the options currently in front of me.

Everyone here is looking out for your best interests when recommending a retake. You said you want big law and neither place particularly well in big law. That is why you should retake.

But if you're going to be stubborn about it, go to Temple on a full ride and be prepared for small law, gov't or unemployment.

BC at sticker would be disastrous.

TITCR

BC at sticker is suicide. Retake is by far your best option but if you want to be a stubborn mule and act like a year off is the end of the world, Temple is the better option.

romothesavior wrote:

deadpanic wrote:

mdveight wrote:I'm pretty sure I would have listed "retake" as an option if it were one that was either a) a possibility or b) one I wished to pursue even if it were one. This is the situation I'm in right now, and am seeking advice based on the options currently in front of me.

Everyone here is looking out for your best interests when recommending a retake. You said you want big law and neither place particularly well in big law. That is why you should retake.

But if you're going to be stubborn about it, go to Temple on a full ride and be prepared for small law, gov't or unemployment.

BC at sticker would be disastrous.

TITCR

BC at sticker is suicide. Retake is by far your best option but if you want to be a stubborn mule and act like a year off is the end of the world, Temple is the better option.

Year offs are great btw.

Sticker at BC is absurd. For goals of biglaw, you must retake.

Well... sticker is out of the question. Just got a nice buy 1 get 2 years free scholarship.

BC IT IS!