EDIT: Even more info;;;EDIT: New Info;;;Just got off Stanford Waitlist, is it crazy to consider it? Forum

[Notareallawyer123]

EDIT again: tl;dr: Full ride at Chicago vs. 30k Stanford (for this year, will have to reapply for following years)

...

EDIT: Check page 3, Stanford is offering scholarship money.

Hey everyone,

I just made the move to Chicago a few weeks ago to go to UChicago.

And then I just recently got off the Stanford waitlist, which is my dream school, and California is my target market (plus I'm really shooting for a Federal Clerkship).

But the big hang up is that I have a $100k scholarship to Chicago (and to a lesser extent the hours and tons of money making the move).

I'm doubtful I'll get much at Stanford.

So am I crazy to consider this offer to Stanford? Obviously the money difference is huge, but Stanford is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

[El Pollito]

no stanford is awesome you should do it

[jphiggo]

Yes, you are crazy. You have an awesome scholarship at UChi, which is an awesome school. You'll be just fine there.

[Tiago Splitter]

What's the family money situation?

[Mack.Hambleton]

What's the family money situation?

Yeah COA at both is necessary

[Fitz52917]

This is obviously a very personal decision but I turned down a Ruby to go to Stanford and will be a 1L this fall. I don't regret it at all and could not be more excited to get started.

Since it is relevant to your goals, I'll share with you the fact that I talked to a former COA clerk who went to H undergrad and Y for law school and told me to not consider scholarships to Chicago and Columbia if I'm interested in clerk ships and instead go to Stanford. He told me if he could go back in time he would go to S over Y. He also was active in hiring the clerks that replaced him and at his firm.

I talked to other lawyers (partners, clerks, public interest) and Stanford was the most recommended by far.

[Tiago Splitter]

I swear to god I'm gonna kill the next 1L who says they do not regret their decision at all. I didn't even know it was possible for a 0L to say it unironically.

[emkay625]

100K is a lot of money.

Love, a person who just graduated and is about 103K in debt.

[Mack.Hambleton]

This is obviously a very personal decision but I turned down a Ruby to go to Stanford and will be a 1L this fall. I don't regret it at all and could not be more excited to get started.

Since it is relevant to your goals, I'll share with you the fact that I talked to a former COA clerk who went to H undergrad and Y for law school and told me to not consider scholarships to Chicago and Columbia if I'm interested in clerk ships and instead go to Stanford. He told me if he could go back in time he would go to S over Y. He also was active in hiring the clerks that replaced him and at his firm.

I talked to other lawyers (partners, clerks, public interest) and Stanford was the most recommended by far.

You literally just cited a boomer anecdote as your only contribution to this thread.

Also lol at choosing S over Y for clerkships

[hdunlop]

Get your money offer from S and update.

Edit and forget moving costs, Chicago should teach you about sunk costs as you leave

[Fitz52917]

This is obviously a very personal decision but I turned down a Ruby to go to Stanford and will be a 1L this fall. I don't regret it at all and could not be more excited to get started.

Since it is relevant to your goals, I'll share with you the fact that I talked to a former COA clerk who went to H undergrad and Y for law school and told me to not consider scholarships to Chicago and Columbia if I'm interested in clerk ships and instead go to Stanford. He told me if he could go back in time he would go to S over Y. He also was active in hiring the clerks that replaced him and at his firm.

I talked to other lawyers (partners, clerks, public interest) and Stanford was the most recommended by far.

You literally just cited a boomer anecdote as your only contribution to this thread.

Also lol at choosing S over Y for clerkships

The guy I spoke to is about 30 years old and he didn't say to go to S over Y for clerkships but said he felt like everyone who he had met who went to S was happier and he thought the clerkship opportunities you would get are more or less the same.

I don't think anyone can make this decision for OP I just wanted him to know that there are other people who had made similar decision and have done the research and it's not "crazy" especially if he thinks he's be happier at Stanford or wants to live in SF (or LA even) after graduation.

[Br3v]

I'd probably go to Cali

[BiglawAssociate]

What's your total COA via debt? Paying sticker at any school, including Yale, is insane.

Most clerks just end up at biglaw firms/firms and hate their lives. The non-SCOTUS clerkship bonus is garbage, considering how low your clerkship salary is in the first place.

An extra 100k scholarship is probably more like 120k debt, which means probably 3 more years of biglaw to pay it off.

You will likely end up in the same place with a Stanford degree and Chicago degree, except you'd have more bragging rights with a Stanford degree since it has more lay prestige.

Nobody gives a shit where you went to school once you get a job. And frankly, most attorneys who are already practicing probably think attorneys going to school now are stupid (since you really are on average dumber).

So my answer? You will likely hate your life anyway and quit law within a few years, so save yourself 120k or whatever and go the cheaper route.

And if you do PI, it is much better going without debt to a shittier school, and if not that, go to a school with a much better LRAP. You will living like a homeless person anyway, so it's a terrible decision to take on debt for PI.

I would also take with a grain of salt what that 30 year old anecdote said above, since you don't know his financial situation. Something like a third of T-14 students graduate without debt (due to parents being rich), so who knows what his financial situation is. (And yes, in my experience like a third of my friends at T-14 had families with 10 million+. They went to law school for no legitimate reason except and it was a luxury item to them).

And remember, final lesson, money >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>everything else.

[FirmBiz]

Hey everyone,

I just made the move to Chicago a few weeks ago to go to UChicago.

And then I just recently got off the Stanford waitlist, which is my dream school, and California is my target market (plus I'm really shooting for a Federal Clerkship).

But the big hang up is that I have a $100k scholarship to Chicago (and to a lesser extent the hours and tons of money making the move).

I'm doubtful I'll get much at Stanford.

So am I crazy to consider this offer to Stanford? Obviously the money difference is huge, but Stanford is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Maybe see if u can defer for a year, pull out and gather some more funds, and go to stanford next year?

Cali is your target market and Stanford is your dream school, maybe thats the place for u.

[BiglawAssociate]

This is obviously a very personal decision but I turned down a Ruby to go to Stanford and will be a 1L this fall. I don't regret it at all and could not be more excited to get started.

Since it is relevant to your goals, I'll share with you the fact that I talked to a former COA clerk who went to H undergrad and Y for law school and told me to not consider scholarships to Chicago and Columbia if I'm interested in clerk ships and instead go to Stanford. He told me if he could go back in time he would go to S over Y. He also was active in hiring the clerks that replaced him and at his firm.

I talked to other lawyers (partners, clerks, public interest) and Stanford was the most recommended by far.

(Future poor).

Never take advice from lawyers without knowing their financial background. It's easy dishing out "don't take the money" advice 15 years later when you aren't fucked with debt.

Clerks get paid shit and the clerkship bonus is shit. Also most clerks end up back in biglaw anyway. If this COA clerk is still talking about regretting his own school decision 10 years later, and even thinking about that shit 10 years later, then he really sounds like an insecure, prestige whore retard whose advice shouldn't matter regardless of his financial background.

[Mack.Hambleton]

Hey everyone,

I just made the move to Chicago a few weeks ago to go to UChicago.

And then I just recently got off the Stanford waitlist, which is my dream school, and California is my target market (plus I'm really shooting for a Federal Clerkship).

But the big hang up is that I have a $100k scholarship to Chicago (and to a lesser extent the hours and tons of money making the move).

I'm doubtful I'll get much at Stanford.

So am I crazy to consider this offer to Stanford? Obviously the money difference is huge, but Stanford is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Maybe see if u can defer for a year, pull out and gather some more funds, and go to stanford next year?

Cali is your target market and Stanford is your dream school, maybe thats the place for u.

You cant defer off the wait list

[jbagelboy]

Accidental quote

[FirmBiz]

Hey everyone,

I just made the move to Chicago a few weeks ago to go to UChicago.

And then I just recently got off the Stanford waitlist, which is my dream school, and California is my target market (plus I'm really shooting for a Federal Clerkship).

But the big hang up is that I have a $100k scholarship to Chicago (and to a lesser extent the hours and tons of money making the move).

I'm doubtful I'll get much at Stanford.

So am I crazy to consider this offer to Stanford? Obviously the money difference is huge, but Stanford is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Maybe see if u can defer for a year, pull out and gather some more funds, and go to stanford next year?

Cali is your target market and Stanford is your dream school, maybe thats the place for u.

You can't defer off the wait list

That suck then. And I assume he can't break the lease without penalty.

[CanadianWolf]

No, you are not crazy to consider the Stanford offer. The better question is whether or not accepting the Stanford offer would be foolish in light of your recent move to Chicago to attend Chicago law with a $100,000 scholarship.

Since your target market is California, much depends upon your finances. Stay put if you will be attending Stanford on loans since Chicago can get you to a federal clerkship & to the West Coast. If from a wealthy & generous family, then it becomes a personal decision, in my opinion.

[snagglepuss]

If your family can soften the difference in cost of attendance, I'd hie to Stanford while you can still shake the UChi stench.

[CLS389]

I had already accepted at Cornell where I had almost a full scholarship when I got off the wait list at Stanford last year and received no money. I simply couldn't afford Stanford. It was heartbreaking to turn down my dream school at the time. However, now I have summer associate offers from top California firms (with no prior ties). At the end of the day, getting a job you love is the end goal. It is possible to go to another well-ranked law school and get the same job as Stanford students. I am transactional so I don't know about clerkships, but I know Cornell has produced several high-ranking California judges too.

Bottomline: If you work hard at UChicago, I don't think your options will be limited by any means.

[WheninLaw]

It would be absolutely insane to go to Stanford without some money. Insane. Don't listen to 0/1Ls.

[jbagelboy]

It would be absolutely insane to go to Stanford without some money. Insane. Don't listen to 0/1Ls.

[legends159]

Stay put unless SLS gives you $100K. The difference is not worth $100K.

I'll counter the 0L/1L anecdotes with my own. I graduated from SLS years ago and just finally paid off my debt after working like a dog in biglaw. All those years and hours just to be at networth positive. If someone gave me $100K to go to another T10 school I'd take it in a heartbeat.

[krads153]

Stay put unless SLS gives you $100K. The difference is not worth $100K.

I'll counter the 0L/1L anecdotes with my own. I graduated from SLS years ago and just finally paid off my debt after working like a dog in biglaw. All those years and hours just to be at networth positive. If someone gave me $100K to go to another T10 school I'd take it in a heartbeat.

I remember when I finally reached a positive net worth - amazing day (no longer poorer than a homeless person). Then I also realized, I don't like practicing law.