Brooklyn(Increased Scholarship) vs. W&L ($$) Forum

[Mick07]

So I thought I was done. I had my decision. I was going to go to W&L. Until I opened up the mail today and got offered 123k over 3 years plus 3 years guaranteed housing from Brooklyn. I'm from NY, I work in NY currently at a firm and wouldn't mind ending up their upon graduation. (It's midsize with a great environment)

With W&L's current offer I'm still going to be taking out about 60k in loans. I have no other debt and am coming straight from undergrad. Like I said earlier, ideally I'd like to end up in New York but don't want to be hamstrung if I would like to go elsewhere.

What is your take on this?

Plan of action? Should I call the Dean of Admissions at W&L and let them know I'll be going to Brooklyn save an increase? (in a nicer way)

Any great selling points at Brooklyn? I'm not interested in PI.

Also as it may factor in the stipulation at W&L is maintaining a 3.0 while Brooklyn I believe is a 3.2.

Thanks in advance!

[drleather]

If you absolutely want to work in NYC, go to Brooklyn. Otherwise, eh...I would go to W&L.

Brooklyn is a good school, but (as has been said many times) it's likely the 5th best law school in NYC, and about 10th in it's standing for big law placement there.

I haven't researched W&L's job placement, but I would be shocked if it wasn't significantly more promising upon graduation than Brooklyn's.

[drleather]

Some advice that I got (when weighing my UMN/Brooklyn issue on another page) is to stop analyzing the debt situation too much, and just remember where you wanted to go prior to that letter from Brooklyn arriving.

When I got the increased offer, I wasn't happy. In fact, it made me frustrated because I had been excited to attend UMN, and the increased offer made me feel like I might be being irresponsible not to go to Brooklyn. The offer didn't make me WANT to attend Brooklyn: it was a bribe from the school for me to disregard my feelings about the school, and think only of money. Screw that. I know debt is important, but the COL of W&L (and, for me, UMN) will help make up some of the difference, and the better job options of W&L will give you a better chance to pay down the debt sooner. Not to mention, you'll get summer jobs that pay (hopefully), and you'll be able to trim some debt there too before you graduate.

I believe that we, as law school applicants, should take debt very seriously, but unless going to a clearly favored school means taking on a completely absurd amount of debt (say, anything above $140K), money shouldn't be an deciding factor. Now, if there are two schools that are neck and neck in reputation and personal opinion, of course.

It's up to you to decide if you'd really rather go to W&L. When you got that scholarship offer from W&L, how did it make you feel? Did it make you excited? How did you feel when you visited the school and walked around? Now compare that with your gut reaction when you got the increased offer from Brooklyn. Did it make you excited? Judging from what you're saying here, it sounds like you feel like I did: that it was more of a monkey wrench in your plans than a blessing.

[ari20dal7]

I agree with everything drleather is saying. That is absolutely the right approach to a situation like this, and this is one of the reasons that I ultimately made my own decision.

[Mick07]

Agree 100% and that is some good advice. I enjoyed my visit to W&L and can really see why you rarely find an upset or disgruntled W&L student. That being send I'm a pretty adaptive person and I could be just as happy at Brooklyn (close to home, SO, cheaper) etc... The thing that I'm tossing around here is that in my opinion I think I could do just as well in the NY market doing well at Brooklyn as I could from doing well at W&L. So tough.

[aximpod]

Agree 100% and that is some good advice. I enjoyed my visit to W&L and can really see why you rarely find an upset or disgruntled W&L student. That being send I'm a pretty adaptive person and I could be just as happy at Brooklyn (close to home, SO, cheaper) etc... The thing that I'm tossing around here is that in my opinion I think I could do just as well in the NY market doing well at Brooklyn as I could from doing well at W&L. So tough.

I don't envy being in your position. It is a difficult choice. I am a 1L at BLS (Brooklyn Law) and I remembered agonizing over whether to attend law school or continue with my job. I ended up going to school after more money was thrown at me.

Am I happy with my choice? I was very very happy after my first semester. I did well...very well... and I was pleasantly surprised at how well every one of my friends were doing in the summer job hunt. I landed a great job at a federal government agency and I thought I was lucky but some of my friends will be absolutely raking it in this summer (a few at v100 firms, a bunch working in house at banks and pharmaceuticals companies). Anyway, the lesson I learned was: The Brooklyn Law name is respected and there are plenty of opportunities out there. You can do very very well in NYC coming out on Brooklyn Law. Not just for firms but also for everything else. This is not some school that everyone looks down on. Federal Judges and certain companies reserved spot(s) for BLS student (as they also do for some other local schools)

As I am finishing up my second semester exams, I am not so optimistic anymore. Law school can be a roller-coaster. Exams are on a curve so you can never be sure how well you will do...or how poorly you will do. I hope my luck and streak continues but you can never be sure.

BUT with that full scholarship of yours and the guaranteed housing...that is tempting. If you are interested in big law and you are confident you can stay in the to 1/3 of the class, I say take Brooklyn Law. Since you like the firm you are working at, they will most likely give you a shot with them when you finish school (that is, if you don't get anything out of OCI).

I know all the big firms give interview slots to their former paralegals and staff during OCI (as long as the student is top 1/3 and on a journal, s/he has just as good a chance as people ranked higher). If your firm recruits from BLS, I think you got very little to be worried about.

[Mick07]

If I could hit rewind I definitely wouldn't have even opened up the envelope. I guess where I am now is that W&L will be a more enjoyable 3 years and will offer me a variety of career options in several different regions whereas Brooklyn I'm limited. This doesn't really matter though due to the fact I would like to stay in NY as mentioned before. I'm sure I could make it work at Brooklyn in terms of QOL. How are the residence halls? I'll be taking a trip down very soon. Any places in particular I should see?

[aximpod]

Feli Hall is super nice. See my previous posts where I described the residence halls.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... yn#p677251

I am not sure how your situation will work out though as housing deposits were all due May 1st and Feli Hall is by far the number one choice of all admitted students.

As long as you are confident you can place yourself in the top 50% of the class, I think you will be doing OK. Working at a firm always help during interviews.

[Mick07]

Wow that does look really nice from the photos. Maybe that's something I'll try to work into the deal if I do attend, guaranteed spot there for 3 years.... I doubt they'd go for it but it would be worth a shot.

[drleather]

Do you like the outdoors?

I say this because one of my primary motivations for leaving Brooklyn is that it is virtually impossible to get to any sort of outdoorsy area (and Prospect Park does not count) outside the city without A) a car and B) 2 hours each way transportation. There are lots of places to ride your bike in Brooklyn, but that's really about it.

I only mention this because W&L would provide ample opportunity to "get away from it all," and Brooklyn couldn't be less amenable to the occassional backwoods excursion.

[Mick07]

I wouldn't say I love the "outdoors" per say meaning I don't do the whole hiking/camping thing. However I am big on athletics and one of the most attractive points of W&L to me is there elaborate and vast intramural program as well as their Dean's Cup (annual softball tournament). Seems like an excellent way to get away from the stresses of school and perhaps one of the reasons that contribute to the greater overall happiness of W&L students as compared to other schools.

[JoshStein]

Did you end up getting W&L to give you any more money because of BLS's generosity?

[GordonBombay]

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Bump

[icydash]

If considering BLS with a full ride, you may want to read this post: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=116652

It's about BLS and section stacking. Which may (or may not-- I only skimmed) be a very real problem.