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I'm a rising 2L at Rutgers. I get in-state tuition and have a 10k scholarship. I've got a 3.9 GPA, not sure where I'm ranked b/c Rutgers doesn't rank. My guess is in the top 10%. Next year I'll be on Moot Court and a TA. This summer I worked for a relatively prestigious firm, definately one of the better firms in NJ. I applied to transfer to NYU and should be hearing back any day now. My question is, should I go if I get admitted? Rutgers already told me they wouldn't give me more money, so that is out of the question.

On the one hand, Rutgers is super cheap, I'll graduate with only 60k of debt as opposed to 120k - 130k of debt I'd be looking at with NYU. I really like it at Rutgers and I'm one of the star students. I think I have pretty good prospects of getting a job at a good Jersey firm, and a slim chance of getting a job at a NY firm.

On the other hand, NYU is NYU. It's been my dream school since my sister graduated from there a decade ago. I think I'd have an easier time getting a law firm job in NY, which I prefer. I did not like working at an office park in the burbs in Jersey. My ultimate goal is probably not big law, but maybe academia (I know the chances are slim) or some sort of prestigious public interest, obviously NYU would be more helpful in achieving these endeavors. Also, I'd much rather be hanging out in the village than dodging bullets in Newark for the next two years. I'm also a prestige whore.

Thoughts?

NYU.

nene wrote:
On the one hand, Rutgers is super cheap, I'll graduate with only 60k of debt as opposed to 120k - 130k of debt I'd be looking at with NYU. I really like it at Rutgers and I'm one of the star students. I think I have pretty good prospects of getting a job at a good Jersey firm, and a slim chance of getting a job at a NY firm.

On the other hand, NYU is NYU. It's been my dream school since my sister graduated from there a decade ago. I think I'd have an easier time getting a law firm job in NY, which I prefer. I did not like working at an office park in the burbs in Jersey. My ultimate goal is probably not big law, but maybe academia (I know the chances are slim) or some sort of prestigious public interest, obviously NYU would be more helpful in achieving these endeavors. Also, I'd much rather be hanging out in the village than dodging bullets in Newark for the next two years. I'm also a prestige whore.

Thoughts?

You will regret not going to NYU if you choose to stay at Rutgers.

NYU. /

EDIT: IF you get in

NYU if you get in. But you should have at least applied to Columbia if you are a prestige whore who wants NYC, academia or public interest. Getting admitted or not as a transfer can be very arbitrary.

Are you on law review?

Even if Rutgers were paying you, you should go to NYU.

Wholigan wrote:NYU if you get in. But you should have at least applied to Columbia if you are a prestige whore who wants NYC, academia or public interest. Getting admitted or not as a transfer can be very arbitrary.

Are you on law review?

No, I'm not on Law Review. I thought about applying to Columbia. However, I didn't apply for three reasons. 1. I'm trying to keep my debt as low as possible by living home. Commuting to Columbia would be possible, but it would be a huge pain in the ass. 2. Columbia is also more expensive than NYU, just by a few k but I'm trying to be as frugal as possible. 3. As you can see I really don't like debt and the idea of doubling my debt scares me. However, NYU was really my dream school given it's commitment to public interest, it's location, and the family tradition. It's really the only school I'd be willing to take on all this debt for.

BTW, I'm also URM, not sure how helpful that is for transfers, but fingers crossed.

$10k/yr is nothing compared to the debt you're facing either way. Don't let that persuade you to stay.

No LR? You should most definitely go.

vanwinkle wrote:$10k/yr is nothing compared to the debt you're facing either way. Don't let that persuade you to stay.

No LR? You should most definitely go.

I get the sense OP is living at home. Therefore, debt from Rutgers would be about $15k/year (depending on if OP is taking out any COL $ at all). That's not bad debt at all. Also, OP hasn't even gotten into NYU yet. OP should worry about an NYU acceptance after accepted. There's no reason to play the "what if" game.

Still, with no LR, it's basically a "no brainer" to go to NYU if accepted.

If you are interested in public interest you should certainly transfer, NYU's LRAP program would likely make you debt a non-issue.

keg411 wrote:

vanwinkle wrote:$10k/yr is nothing compared to the debt you're facing either way. Don't let that persuade you to stay.

No LR? You should most definitely go.

I get the sense OP is living at home. Therefore, debt from Rutgers would be about $15k/year (depending on if OP is taking out any COL $ at all). That's not bad debt at all. Also, OP hasn't even gotten into NYU yet. OP should worry about an NYU acceptance after accepted. There's no reason to play the "what if" game.

Still, with no LR, it's basically a "no brainer" to go to NYU if accepted.

Exactly, I live home. Rutgers tuition is about 16k after my scholarship. However, I take an extra 2k per semester for books, food, miscellaneous expenses, car expenses, etc.

I realize I haven't gotten a decision yet and I don't mean to come off as so cocky that I know I will get in; my expectation is that I will be at Rutgers next year, given NYU's selectivity. However, I might not hear back from NYU until early August. If I do get admitted then, that leaves me with almost no time to make a decision. Thats why I'm trying to decide what to do now.

It's funny, almost everyone here says go to NYU if I get in. Everyone I've spoken to in person has really been on the fence and not given any decisive advice.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

FWIW, I went to the other Rutgers with a similar scholarship and am leaving for Michigan primarily because I didn't make LR. If you had LR, I would have told you to stay.

keg411 wrote:FWIW, I went to the other Rutgers with a similar scholarship and am leaving for Michigan primarily because I didn't make LR. If you had LR, I would have told you to stay.

Did you like Rutgers Camden? I worked with a rising 3L from Rutgers Camden this summer. Congrats on Michigan. You're also waiting to hear from NYU right? I've gathered this from the applicant status thread. Good luck on that. Wow, you really think law review holds that much weight? Would anyone else change their opinion if I was on LR?

nene wrote:

keg411 wrote:FWIW, I went to the other Rutgers with a similar scholarship and am leaving for Michigan primarily because I didn't make LR. If you had LR, I would have told you to stay.

Did you like Rutgers Camden? I worked with a rising 3L from Rutgers Camden this summer. Congrats on Michigan. You're also waiting to hear from NYU right? I've gathered this from the applicant status thread. Good luck on that. Wow, you really think law review holds that much weight? Would anyone else change their opinion if I was on LR?

I'm actually really glad I did my 1L there. They structure the curriculum in a way that is really conducive to success and isn't super overbearing -- it's like they know law school is stressful enough and don't try to kill you with the course load. The curve is also pretty relaxed and a bit higher than most lower T1's/TT's/etc. (Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more on this; I'm actually working with a RU-N rising 2L who is probably transferring to Penn; and he actually made LR).

I'm still waiting on CLS/NYU, but I don't think I'll get in at this point (especially since I got rejected from Penn). But I'm very happy with Michigan.

I voted for NYU.
Your chances at academia coming out of Rutgers are almost nil. You will have a far greater chance coming from NYU.
NYU will give you access to NY as well as NJ firms. The name itself will go a long way later on in your career. You've done very well at Rutgers so far and it shows in your 1L grades, which employers will still see. Your opportunities are far greater at NYU and you say it is your dream school. The money you can pay off after a few years of working. Go for NYU man.

Everyone, thank you for the feedback, it is appreciated. I'm scared shitless of the debt, but after talking with many people and the overwhelming feedback on this thread, I've decided that if I am admitted, I will follow my dream and attend. I don't think I could in good conscience turn down the opportunity to attend such a great school. Plus, even though 130 to 140k is a lot of money, it's less debt than most kids going to top schools will have. Now I just gotta wait and see what happens. Fingers crossed.

nene wrote:

keg411 wrote:FWIW, I went to the other Rutgers with a similar scholarship and am leaving for Michigan primarily because I didn't make LR. If you had LR, I would have told you to stay.

Did you like Rutgers Camden? I worked with a rising 3L from Rutgers Camden this summer. Congrats on Michigan. You're also waiting to hear from NYU right? I've gathered this from the applicant status thread. Good luck on that. Wow, you really think law review holds that much weight? Would anyone else change their opinion if I was on LR?

I transferred from a T25 w/LR to Michigan, so I obviously don't much weight on you staying even if you did get LR. It only really makes a difference if you want a CoA clerkship or academia. You said you may want academia but, since you didn't get LR at Rutgers, hands down transfer to NYU if you get in.

Can you please tell us where you got admitted?

Did you get in?

I was not admitted; I stayed at Rutgers and in hindsight I’m glad because I still landed a great job and had much less debt.

nene wrote:I was not admitted; I stayed at Rutgers and in hindsight I’m glad because I still landed a great job and had much less debt.

I'm glad it all worked out for you. Though, it's INSANE that with that great GPA you weren't admitted.
Transferring seems damn near impossible.

Based on every transfer metric online that I can find, you should have absolutely been admitted. Now I'm starting to think my hope to transfer would be dead even with a high gpa.

I also thought I’d get in; I had straight As, plus my sister is a graduate and I’m a person of color which doesn’t hurt. My grades were not great in undergrad so maybe that’s why? Anyway, good luck to you.

nene wrote:I also thought I’d get in; I had straight As, plus my sister is a graduate and I’m a person of color which doesn’t hurt. My grades were not great in undergrad so maybe that’s why? Anyway, good luck to you.

I have a very hard time believing this. A 3.9 didn't get you in?

suckmysolidsnake wrote:

nene wrote:I also thought I’d get in; I had straight As, plus my sister is a graduate and I’m a person of color which doesn’t hurt. My grades were not great in undergrad so maybe that’s why? Anyway, good luck to you.

I have a very hard time believing this. A 3.9 didn't get you in?

It was 2011 though, the transfer market seems like it was very different back then. Now it’s for sure a $$ game for schools to admit students and offset costs, from what I see it was just picking up around that time, no? Those stats are for sure good enough to get in today tho.. very impressive

NYU, but have you tried to negotiate your scholarship at Rutgers?