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Ok I got waitlisted from W+L last week and while I will consider them if they take me off the WL(if they give me any money, even just a little), I've now got to choose another school. I really feel torn, not because of the schools themselves(I love both UCONN and Cardozo) but because of where I want to live my life, and how much debt I'm willing to take to live in a certain area. There are three schools I've been accepted to that I'm strongly considering at this point(UCONN, Cardozo and Quinnipiac) and one more I'm waiting on(Richmond) that I would strongly consider(not counting W+L). Here's my pro's and cons for each choice.

I know I have a lot of haters as a result of some of the work I do on here who will ignore this, but if your advice is retake/reapply/don't go, please don't post, tell me what you think my best choice is from the options below.

Cardozo(NYC)
Pros
Gave me the most(guaranteed) money(25k a year) and I would graduate with about 100k in debt(I've also asked them for more money and they will let me know by the end of march).

I will be able to commute via public transit(I don't drive so being able to not be dependent on driving/drivers is very important to me)

Is in my favorite part of Manhattan(not a big fan of Manhattan though in general but if I had to go to school in Manhattan Cardozo is where I would most like to go to school)

Cons
I don't really want to stay in NYC, going to college in another state has really opened my eyes to how bizarre we all are, and I'm looking to escpape my friends and family. While I love them all, mentally and socially I don't think I can take living in NYC anymore and If I go to Cardozo, I'll be there for life in all liklihood. This is the only con I have, but it's a big one.

UCONN(Connecticut)
Pros
Hartford is in Connecticut(a state that tends not to be walker, scooterer friendly) but yet has a public transit system so I'd be able to get around. It also is the state capital.

I get to stay in Connecticut, not just for school but to practice and live. Connecticut's not pefect(their lack of sidewalks infuriate me) but I do prefer the state to NYC and the nice clean air to the aggressive loudness of NYC(all my Connecticut friends tend to think I'm an aggressive loudmouth and all my NYC friends tend to think I'm a soft spoken coward).

The building is drop dead gorgeous. I don't want to be one of those "Akron has a lazy river, I'm going to law school to swim" people, but architecture is important to me and after going to school around modern architecture, the idea of going to a school that looks a little like a castle is pretty appealing. If I can't go to Yale, going to a school that will rip them off is as good as I'm going to get in terms of architecture.

Cons

I would have to pay more to go. UCONN only gave me 14.5 in scholly money. While it looks likely I will get Connecticut residency that is not a guarantee and the difference will be 30k a year and 60k total. Without the state residency I would be paying almost 200k to go(a price I am not willing to pay) and if I get it I would be paying around 135(which is near the ceiling of how much I would pay for a school with more opportunities but employment wise, it's basically the same as Cardozo except in a different market. I've also asked them for more money so let's see if anything comes of that.

I would have to find off campus housing and off campus housing that is relatively close to the school. I'm afraid the school will see driving as the default setting and I'll have trouble if I get an apartment far away.

Quinnipiac
Pros
It's my alma matter. Get to keep my old email address.

They are giving me the most money(45,000 with stips) and as of now I would almost only have to pay housing. I am a finalist for a full tuition scholarship with better stips and a 1500 dollar a year stipend and I'll know in several weeks if I qualify.

Potentially cheaper Connecticut alternative than UCONN.
Cons

As of now I have a 50% chance of losing my scholarship(worse if section stacking), if I win the full tuition scholarship that goes up to 75%. If I lose the scholarship, I will end up paying around the same and even potentially more than I would at UCONN(not sure cause of residency etc) and I'd be paying this for worse employment stats.

Quinnipiac tends to have worse employment stats and reputation than the other schools I've mentioned.

Richmond(Virginia)

Pros I like Virginia and while I prefer CT to NY, I would prefer a completely fresh start. Personally though the whole idea of working for the DA in some backwater town in VA sounded awesome when people were talking about it(this is also why W+L was my first choice) even though they saw it as a bad thing.

Cons I haven't been admitted yet(I'd say I have about a little better than a coin flips chance) and don't know the cost compared to UCONN and Cardozo.

Can't go to Quinnipiac with those stipulations. In no world is UCONN worth $100k in debt let alone double that. So i guess Cardozo by default since you won't retake

trebekismyhero wrote:Can't go to Quinnipiac with those stipulations. In no world is UCONN worth $100k in debt let alone double that. So i guess Cardozo by default since you won't retake

Can't put a price on that email address, though.

I'll be brief, since you can't seem to be:

1. What job do you want?
2. What is the COA at each school?
3. Where do you want to work?
4. What's your fallback option if you can't be a lawyer after graduating?

At minimum answer these questions before trying to dismiss any retake/reapply/don't go advice. It's likely gonna be a don't go, but I think we all know how great you are at being rational about your options.

Don't go to any of these schools

Among these options, Cardozo with $100k debt is by far the best.

Wait, if you had to choose one school in Manhattan, you would choose Cardozo..?

If that's true, please reevaluate why you want to attend law school.,,especially since NYU is located in the same neighborhood and I guess it has slightly better employment numbers & reputation. But who cares about that, right?

UVA2B wrote:I'll be brief, since you can't seem to be:

1. What job do you want?
2. What is the COA at each school?
3. Where do you want to work?
4. What's your fallback option if you can't be a lawyer after graduating?

At minimum answer these questions before trying to dismiss any retake/reapply/don't go advice. It's likely gonna be a don't go, but I think we all know how great you are at being rational about your options.

I've followed your interactions with ferrisjso and I've never quite jumped in against your condescension/sheer arrogance, but I think this is the last straw. If you are getting frustrated with his/her choices then just stop trying. Personal attacks like the bold above are no way to try and get your points across. Sit down, UVA.

Ferrisjso - go to Cardozo. With the schools you are considering money will be the biggest factor. Go to the financially safe option and run with it. If you want to escape family and friends in NYC then law school can help build a new community.

Ok finished reading your post.

1 vote for Cardozo. You should make a poll as well, as that might help you see what people think.

Stylnator wrote:

UVA2B wrote:I'll be brief, since you can't seem to be:

1. What job do you want?
2. What is the COA at each school?
3. Where do you want to work?
4. What's your fallback option if you can't be a lawyer after graduating?

At minimum answer these questions before trying to dismiss any retake/reapply/don't go advice. It's likely gonna be a don't go, but I think we all know how great you are at being rational about your options.

I've followed your interactions with ferrisjso and I've never quite jumped in against your condescension/sheer arrogance, but I think this is the last straw. If you are getting frustrated with his/her choices then just stop trying. Personal attacks like the bold above are no way to try and get your points across. Sit down, UVA.

Ferrisjso - go to Cardozo. With the schools you are considering money will be the biggest factor. Go to the financially safe option and run with it. If you want to escape family and friends in NYC then law school can help build a new community.

You're right, I've grown tired of his shtick and I could've been nicer than I was. I should apologize for being condescending to him, but until he can substantively answer these questions, the advice given should never be one of the options, because not enough information was provided to make an informed decision.

I want to be helpful around these parts just like any other well-intentioned poster, and I hope you know that these interactions are meant to amplify the problems with his line of thinking. I'll try to lay off the condescension, but I will never stop refuting what he says or thinks when I see it as significantly and dangerously off base. I'll try to keep from letting my frustrations with what I see as horrible decision-making get the best of me and keep my advice on point.

Back to OP. Answer these questions please, because there isn't a right option for you yet.

This isn't even a question worth asking imo. Cardozo is runaway the best school of the 3, it is substantially cheaper than UConn, and the stips at Quinnipiac make it a terrible choice. Not even comparing the choices to one another, Dozo is the ONLY defensible option. imo UConn at 150+ in debt or Quinnipiac are genuinely worse choices than not going to law school at all. I would not say the same about Dozo at 100k in debt.

I'll say, I really do not believe you understand the magnitude of the debt you are talking about taking out for some of these schools, and I hope you never do: take the cheapest option, be happy its the best option you have, and good luck with whatever.

Thomas Hagan, ESQ. wrote:Wait, if you had to choose one school in Manhattan, you would choose Cardozo..?

If that's true, please reevaluate why you want to attend law school.,,especially since NYU is located in the same neighborhood and I guess it has slightly better employment numbers & reputation. But who cares about that, right?

To be fair I assumed he was talking about schools in Manhattan he has a chance of getting into (not meant as an insult; I couldn't have gotten into NYU). Maybe that's only Cardozo, I don't even know.

Since you don't want BigLaw I would go with the school offering you the most money. As I'm sure you already know salaries are much lower outside of BigLaw, so there's no reason to get yourself into serious debt if you already know you won't have the salary to pay off $100k+ worth of debt. In this scenario Cardozo would be my choice.

UConn gets you the farthest away from me, but dat Cardozo life in NYC might make you miserable, so it's a real tossup here

The answer, of course, is retake/don't go/just do learn coding bro

Retake; don't go.
But if you must, Cardozo and just carve your own life separate from your family. You'll be busy anyways.

Thomas Hagan, ESQ. wrote:Wait, if you had to choose one school in Manhattan, you would choose Cardozo..?

If that's true, please reevaluate why you want to attend law school.,,especially since NYU is located in the same neighborhood and I guess it has slightly better employment numbers & reputation. But who cares about that, right?

I meant location lmfao. Odviously Columbia and NYU are better. Also yeah NYU is also in that location.

Ferrisjso wrote:

Thomas Hagan, ESQ. wrote:Wait, if you had to choose one school in Manhattan, you would choose Cardozo..?

If that's true, please reevaluate why you want to attend law school.,,especially since NYU is located in the same neighborhood and I guess it has slightly better employment numbers & reputation. But who cares about that, right?

I meant location lmfao. Odviously Columbia and NYU are better.

hahaha okay, scared me there for a sec

I'm also waiting for a reply from Cardozo about additional financial aid considerations and they've also told me that they will get back to me by end of March. Hoping we can keep in touch about negotiations. I'm planning on reaching back out to the Dean on Monday to check in with him before going to Admitted Students Day, where at least I'll be able to then catch him in-person.

Cardozo and it's not even close.

But I think you're choosing law schools for all the wrong reasons. Also, judging by your posts, I wonder if you are intelligent or mature enough to succeed in law school. I mean this in the nicest way possible, truly, but you can't even use proper grammar and you continuously dismiss any advice given to you. You clearly have no idea what it means to take out six figure debt and have a very high probability of being unable to pay it back. What are you going to do if you can't get a job that makes over 60k a year? What if you can't get a job at all? How the hell will you deal with the COL in NYC while making massive monthly loan payments? I really think you should give yourself some time to mature if you can't see that you are tying shackles to your legs and making a decision that will severely damage your life, forever.

But whatever, you'll do what you want anyway.

I probably would not take a out 100k loan for Cardozo

bwaldorf wrote:Cardozo and it's not even close.

But I think you're choosing law schools for all the wrong reasons. Also, judging by your posts, I wonder if you are intelligent or mature enough to succeed in law school. I mean this in the nicest way possible, truly, but you can't even use proper grammar and you continuously dismiss any advice given to you. I really think you should give yourself some time to mature. But whatever, you'll do what you want anyway.

Well most of the time I'm posting from my phone and if people can still understand what im saying its just not worth it to to put in a comma or fix one letter misspellings.

Don't. Go.

Ferrisjso wrote:

bwaldorf wrote:Cardozo and it's not even close.

But I think you're choosing law schools for all the wrong reasons. Also, judging by your posts, I wonder if you are intelligent or mature enough to succeed in law school. I mean this in the nicest way possible, truly, but you can't even use proper grammar and you continuously dismiss any advice given to you. I really think you should give yourself some time to mature. But whatever, you'll do what you want anyway.

Well most of the time I'm posting from my phone and if people can still understand what im saying its just not worth it to to put in a comma or fix one letter misspellings.

It absolutely is if you want to be taken seriously.

Ferrisjso wrote:

bwaldorf wrote:Cardozo and it's not even close.

But I think you're choosing law schools for all the wrong reasons. Also, judging by your posts, I wonder if you are intelligent or mature enough to succeed in law school. I mean this in the nicest way possible, truly, but you can't even use proper grammar and you continuously dismiss any advice given to you. I really think you should give yourself some time to mature. But whatever, you'll do what you want anyway.

Well most of the time I'm posting from my phone and if people can still understand what im saying its just not worth it to to put in a comma or fix one letter misspellings.

Also, I'll repeat what I added to my post after you quoted me:

You clearly have no idea what it means to take out six figure debt and have a very high probability of being unable to pay it back. What are you going to do if you can't get a job that makes over 60k a year? What are you going to do if you can't get a job AT ALL? How the hell will you deal with the COL in NYC while making massive monthly loan payments? I really think you should give yourself some time to mature if you can't see that you are tying shackles to your legs and making a decision that will severely damage your life, forever.

Stylnator wrote:

UVA2B wrote:I'll be brief, since you can't seem to be:

1. What job do you want?
2. What is the COA at each school?
3. Where do you want to work?
4. What's your fallback option if you can't be a lawyer after graduating?

At minimum answer these questions before trying to dismiss any retake/reapply/don't go advice. It's likely gonna be a don't go, but I think we all know how great you are at being rational about your options.

I've followed your interactions with ferrisjso and I've never quite jumped in against your condescension/sheer arrogance, but I think this is the last straw. If you are getting frustrated with his/her choices then just stop trying. Personal attacks like the bold above are no way to try and get your points across. Sit down, UVA.

Ferrisjso - go to Cardozo. With the schools you are considering money will be the biggest factor. Go to the financially safe option and run with it. If you want to escape family and friends in NYC then law school can help build a new community.

What do you think is worse? Someone being "condescending" (actually, he was just acknowledging that the OP has been absolutely fucking ridiculous about this particular point) or being six figures in debt without a job to pay it off?

I know that I'd prefer the hurt feelings, but if you'd prefer the debt, by all means, continue advising financial suicide in the name of being kind.