UChi Students & Alumni Taking Questions Forum

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To the students who attempted to negotiate their scholarship offers a second time, how long after getting the first revised offer (or 'no') did you request a second reconsideration?

[W$RKliveWELL]

Giving U Chi my final consideration. Tried to negotiate schooly they didnt budge. Difference in debt would be around 98k versus my second choice Cornell. I'm lucky to have been accepted to Chi with my numbers and I'm all out of LSAT takes. Want to practice biglaw in NY or Cali for a few years then transition to business/investment banking. Can anyone justify the difference in cost for me? I'm also a URM if that matters Any advice is appreciated!

[2014]

Chicago gives you waaaaayyyyy better odds at Cali than Cornell. If you are ok with any big law in new york then Cornell will give you a fine chance. Chicago has a pretty large lead both in gross numbers and per capita in elite NY firms as defined by Chambers or Vault, and those firms coincidentally have the biggest class sizes so coming here will very likely give you more choices at "better" firms whereas at Cornell if you end up at medianish (which you should assume you will) you are more likely to be left with one or two offers and who knows if the firm will match your interests, personality, or whatever.

Where firm might matter is for your second job since you want to transition to business (in house?) or banking (good luck!) and corporations seem to hire more from firms that do work for them. I have to imagine that working at one of the more prestigious NYC firms gives you a leg up for your second job both generally and in terms of quality of employer.

So Chicago gives you way better odds at Cali, is likely to place you in a "better" NYC firms and you will probably have more offers to choose between. This will allow you to improve your odds of getting a second job and getting one that you like.

Is that all worth 98k? I have no idea, but either is a defensible choice, it's just about whether the potential sacrifice is worth the money to you.

[W$RKliveWELL]

Chicago gives you waaaaayyyyy better odds at Cali than Cornell. If you are ok with any big law in New York then Cornell will give you a fine chance. Chicago has a pretty large lead both in gross numbers and per capita in elite NY firms as defined by Chambers or Vault, and those firms coincidentally have the biggest class sizes so coming here will very likely give you more choices at "better" firms whereas at Cornell if you end up at medianish (which you should assume you will) you are more likely to be left with one or two offers and who knows if the firm will match your interests, personality, or whatever.

Where firm might matter is for your second job since you want to transition to business (in house?) or banking (good luck!) and corporations seem to hire more from firms that do work for them. I have to imagine that working at one of the more prestigious NYC firms gives you a leg up for your second job both generally and in terms of quality of employer.

So Chicago gives you way better odds at Cali, is likely to place you in a "better" NYC firms and you will probably have more offers to choose between. This will allow you to improve your odds of getting a second job and getting one that you like.

Is that all worth 98k? I have no idea, but either is a defensible choice, it's just about whether the potential sacrifice is worth the money to you.

Thanks for this man really appreciate it. I definitely see what you mean as far as the Cali market. My question would be do you believe ending up median or below at U Chicago puts you in a better position then the same at Cornell? We're talking about a difference of 100k here almost. idk if my aid situation is also similar for most U Chi students where your taking a considerably lesser offer and leaving 100k on the table elsewhere. Still very much confused

[elterrible78]

Chicago gives you waaaaayyyyy better odds at Cali than Cornell. If you are ok with any big law in New York then Cornell will give you a fine chance. Chicago has a pretty large lead both in gross numbers and per capita in elite NY firms as defined by Chambers or Vault, and those firms coincidentally have the biggest class sizes so coming here will very likely give you more choices at "better" firms whereas at Cornell if you end up at medianish (which you should assume you will) you are more likely to be left with one or two offers and who knows if the firm will match your interests, personality, or whatever.

Where firm might matter is for your second job since you want to transition to business (in house?) or banking (good luck!) and corporations seem to hire more from firms that do work for them. I have to imagine that working at one of the more prestigious NYC firms gives you a leg up for your second job both generally and in terms of quality of employer.

So Chicago gives you way better odds at Cali, is likely to place you in a "better" NYC firms and you will probably have more offers to choose between. This will allow you to improve your odds of getting a second job and getting one that you like.

Is that all worth 98k? I have no idea, but either is a defensible choice, it's just about whether the potential sacrifice is worth the money to you.

Thanks for this man really appreciate it. I definitely see what you mean as far as the Cali market. My question would be do you believe ending up median or below at U Chicago puts you in a better position then the same at Cornell? We're talking about a difference of 100k here almost. idk if my aid situation is also similar for most U Chi students where your taking a considerably lesser offer and leaving 100k on the table elsewhere. Still very much confused

I think part of the real allure of a place like Chicago compared to Cornell is that employers are almost certainly going to go deeper in the class. All else equal, I'd feel a whole lot better off under median at Chicago than I would at Cornell. At the bottom of the class, you're probably in a very tight spot either way. The question ends up being the same one 2014 posed, which is basically where do you want to take the risk: paying $100k for a smaller chance of striking out (though if you strike out, you're $100k deeper in the hole), or NOT paying $100k for a bigger chance at striking out (though if you strike out, you're NOT $100k deeper in the hole).

FWIW, I talked with a professor who has some experience at both schools, and he said there was a noticeable difference in "quality" between the top students at Chicago and the top students at Cornell, but around median there's not much difference at all. What *I* would extrapolate from that is that you're equally likely to find yourself at median at either school. Which just puts you back in the same position you were in already: do I pay $100k for the better options median at Chicago gives me?

It's not an easy question to answer at all, and like 2014 said, either choice is defensible. It's all about your particular preference for risk (including what type of risk you're more comfortable with). Good luck with it, though, man.

[20141023]

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[2014]

Chicago gives you waaaaayyyyy better odds at Cali than Cornell. If you are ok with any big law in New York then Cornell will give you a fine chance. Chicago has a pretty large lead both in gross numbers and per capita in elite NY firms as defined by Chambers or Vault, and those firms coincidentally have the biggest class sizes so coming here will very likely give you more choices at "better" firms whereas at Cornell if you end up at medianish (which you should assume you will) you are more likely to be left with one or two offers and who knows if the firm will match your interests, personality, or whatever.

Where firm might matter is for your second job since you want to transition to business (in house?) or banking (good luck!) and corporations seem to hire more from firms that do work for them. I have to imagine that working at one of the more prestigious NYC firms gives you a leg up for your second job both generally and in terms of quality of employer.

So Chicago gives you way better odds at Cali, is likely to place you in a "better" NYC firms and you will probably have more offers to choose between. This will allow you to improve your odds of getting a second job and getting one that you like.

Is that all worth 98k? I have no idea, but either is a defensible choice, it's just about whether the potential sacrifice is worth the money to you.

Thanks for this man really appreciate it. I definitely see what you mean as far as the Cali market. My question would be do you believe ending up median or below at U Chicago puts you in a better position then the same at Cornell? We're talking about a difference of 100k here almost. idk if my aid situation is also similar for most U Chi students where your taking a considerably lesser offer and leaving 100k on the table elsewhere. Still very much confused

Median or below here is better than the same at Cornell for every market and it isn't even close, I'm very confident in that. Basically the whole V2-10 hires at median or slightly below here and I would be straight up shocked if it were the same at Cornell. Again, these firms are the ones with the biggest summer classes so it isn't just about shameless prestige chasing, it's just a numbers game about who has the jobs to offer.

I still can't tell you if it's worth 98k or not though, only that Chicago is worth some amount more than Cornell for yours and most people's goals, and that amount is abstract and different for every person.

[W$RKliveWELL]

^Thanks for the insight guys really appreciate the perspective. Going to take a vision quest on this one

[Poet&IKnowIt]

Long time lurker here. I'm still deciding between Columbia and Chicago, with similar scholarships from each. I have some questions for the Chicago veterans.

First, what's the social life like at UChicago? Are there groups of people in each class who go out on weekends? There are a lot of rumors floating around out there about the Chicago social scene. It would be nice to hear the student perspective.

Second, does the cost of attendance listed on the school website ($13,590) seem like a high number? The grad housing and apartment rents on craigslist seem to suggest that one could live in Hyde Park for much less. I'm hoping to draw on as few of my loans as possible, so the cost of living is an important consideration for me when debating Columbia vs Chicago.

This thread is really helpful. Thank you!

[20141023]

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[beepboopbeep]

Long time lurker here. I'm still deciding between Columbia and Chicago, with similar scholarships from each. I have some questions for the Chicago veterans.

First, what's the social life like at UChicago? Are there groups of people in each class who go out on weekends? There are a lot of rumors floating around out there about the Chicago social scene. It would be nice to hear the student perspective.

Second, does the cost of attendance listed on the school website ($13,590) seem like a high number? The grad housing and apartment rents on craigslist seem to suggest that one could live in Hyde Park for much less. I'm hoping to draw on as few of my loans as possible, so the cost of living is an important consideration for me when debating Columbia vs Chicago.

This thread is really helpful. Thank you!

There is definitely a social scene. I doubt the people overall are much different than elsewhere; the law school is much less weird than the undergrad. People do pub trivia on Tuesday, bar review on Thursday, and whatever on the weekends. I'm also not really in with the cool kids but the rest of us do stuff too. If you're worried about not having people to drink with, don't worry.

The CoA numbers are definitely high. I'm personally taking about $6k less than the recommended loan amount; something like $2k of that is the health insurance, and $4k or so is CoA+books. Could probably shave another 2-4k off of that living frugally, but I didn't really want to worry about that 1L year.

[Mal Reynolds]

Reg how old are you?

[2014]

There is a pretty large contingent in all three class years who are social/go out/etc. Don't know what else to say on that other than I'm pretty sure you can find like minded people.

I lived slightly under the COA allocation last year living at Regents which is not cheap and I spend pretty recklessly on stupid stuff. I don't live in HP anymore and the COA has been insufficient but would be doable still for people who are better at budgeting like an adult than I am.

[courtneylove]

Difference in debt would be around 98k versus my second choice Cornell.

I graduated a year ago and am still unemployed with about $100k in debt so I'd say Cornell even though I liked UChicago. Don't count your chickens, etc., no matter what this board tells you.

First, what's the social life like at UChicago? Are there groups of people in each class who go out on weekends? There are a lot of rumors floating around out there about the Chicago social scene. It would be nice to hear the student perspective.

Definitely a social scene if you want to be a part of it, and lots of people go out on the weekends + Thursday.

Second, does the cost of attendance listed on the school website ($13,590) seem like a high number? The grad housing and apartment rents on craigslist seem to suggest that one could live in Hyde Park for much less. I'm hoping to draw on as few of my loans as possible, so the cost of living is an important consideration for me when debating Columbia vs Chicago.

That is probably about right... I lived in grad housing with my boyfriend for $900/mo with all utilities included and spent between $100-200 on food and drinking each month. Less is definitely doable though if you're willing to live in a studio, eat in often, etc.

[20141023]

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[applelover]

Difference in debt would be around 98k versus my second choice Cornell.

I graduated a year ago and am still unemployed with about $100k in debt so I'd say Cornell even though I liked UChicago. Don't count your chickens, etc., no matter what this board tells you.

I feel like there aren't enough people on TLS in general who struck out to talk about their experiences (and if there are, they usually stick to the Vale of Tears). If you don't mind me prodding, is there anything you wish that you'd done differently during your job search? (Did you target safety firms in NYC, or only bid on competitive firms in a competitive market, for example?) Also, what do you think caused you to strike out? (Grades? Interviews? Etc.?)

I know this is can be a sensitive subject, but I personally would really like to hear to out law school from the perspective of someone who played the lottery and lost and is now dealing with a huge amount of debt.

+1. If you don't feel comfortable posting it, can you PM me? Thanks!

[courtneylove]

No prob, I'll PM you guys.

[Samsing]

No prob, I'll PM you guys.

Interested as well if you don't mind. Thank you!

[W$RKliveWELL]

No prob, I'll PM you guys.

Interested as well if you don't mind. Thank you!

Just checked back in here would appreciate your insight as well.

[20141023]

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[actexas]

Excuse me if this question has been asked.
Is it a good idea to bring my car to Chicago? I plan to stay on campus (at least first year) unless there is a big saving with sharing a place someone and somewhere else.
(female)

Thanks

[actexas]

Excuse me if this question has been asked.
Is it a good idea to bring my car to Chicago? I plan to stay on campus (at least first year) unless there is a big saving with sharing a place someone and somewhere else.
(female)

Thanks

I have found "car no car" question and answer. Looks like having a car is a better option even for 1L student.

[2014]

Having a roommate and not having a car are two very good and easy ways to save money. If you can afford either or both, living in a studio/1br and/or having a car are both huge conveniences that are definitely worth a premium. I used my car all the time as a 1L.

[beepboopbeep]

I've lived in Hyde Park since 2007 and have not owned a car any of those years. I don't think it's necessary and I've heard some big complaints about parking. But especially if you can get a place that has a reserved spot or easy street parking, it's a big convenience in Chicago in general. Especially w/r/t getting groceries.

[midwest17]

I've lived in Hyde Park since 2007 and have not owned a car any of those years. I don't think it's necessary and I've heard some big complaints about parking. But especially if you can get a place that has a reserved spot or easy street parking, it's a big convenience in Chicago in general. Especially w/r/t getting groceries.

If you're near TI or HPP, a car is not necessary (unless there's something different about law school that makes a car more helpful). I do have Zipcar ($15 annual fee and then about $10 an hour) that I use for the occasional Costco run, which is nice. I wouldn't want to pay for car insurance on a student budget, but it depends on your debt tolerance.