Cornell (Half) vs. StJohn's (Full) Forum

[HonestAdvice]

Even if you want to be a prosecutor you should still be planning for a 2nd and 3rd option. It's a very specific job with very few spots. On the point of law school preparation, you could get the same education with wikipedia and a library card. The only value of class is you can generally predict which topics might be tested, and have a structure in place. Another thing to note is that not all professors are good teachers. Many are but the skill set needed to be a law professor isn't equivocal with the skill set to be a good law teacher so you may have professors who are nice people, but poor communicators, aren't great at simplifying things, etc.

[arielsm23]

I think OP doesn't understand that at St. John's, they'd be trying extremely hard to get a legal job at all, much less have their pick. Whereas at Cornell they'd be able to pick BigLaw, public interest, go for clerkships, etc. The reason not many Cornell grads do public interest is because they don't want to, it's just less money.

[arielsm23]

But really this is a little insane OP. You should definitely go to Cornell. It's like driving me crazy.

[Mikey]

But really this is a little insane OP. You should definitely go to Cornell. It's like driving me crazy.

[Hildegard15]

This is the first time I've ever voted in a choosing thread because most of the time I don't feel like I have any valuable perspective as a 0L, but OP please, unless retaking is on the table, pick Cornell.

[Tempo]

Who tf voted for Fordham with half when Cornell with half is an option?

[pterodactyls]

You're not going to be able to talk to anyone that has fully utilized the current LRAP program because it's paired with the Federal PSLF program that began in 2007. The first time anyone will be eligible for full forgiveness after working 10 years in the public sector is 2017.

If you have specific questions about Cornell's LRAP and how it's applied, call their financial aid office.

[Londonbear]

But really this is a little insane OP. You should definitely go to Cornell. It's like driving me crazy.

[silverdoe91]

You're not going to be able to talk to anyone that has fully utilized the current LRAP program because it's paired with the Federal PSLF program that began in 2007. The first time anyone will be eligible for full forgiveness after working 10 years in the public sector is 2017.

If you have specific questions about Cornell's LRAP and how it's applied, call their financial aid office.

Thanks for the info. Actually, I've spoken to them already. I just feel like if there are any negatives about the program they would not be likely to mention it. That's why I'd prefer to talk to the graduates who've been on LRAP before, but I guess since that's not an option, I'll do some more research on it.

[silverdoe91]

Who tf voted for Fordham with half when Cornell with half is an option?

Fordham is more than half, plus their tuition is lower than Cornell and I'd live at home which would save lots in living expenses. Altogether going to Fordham would be about 3 times less expensive than Cornell. I'm just not so sure about their employment reputation within the public interest field, and according to stats online about 25% of the graduates are either unemployed or in school funded positions. If there's anyone who went to Fordham and can give me more insight on that, please let me know or PM me!

It's crazy how out of all the people who voted against Cornell, none of them want to say why. It's kind of difficult to make a reasonable decision when you only have one side of the argument. :/

[stego]

Who tf voted for Fordham with half when Cornell with half is an option?

Fordham is more than half, plus their tuition is lower than Cornell and I'd live at home which would save lots in living expenses. Altogether going to Fordham would be about 3 times less expensive than Cornell. I'm just not so sure about their employment reputation within the public interest field, and according to stats online about 25% of the graduates are either unemployed or in school funded positions. If there's anyone who went to Fordham and can give me more insight on that, please let me know or PM me!

It's crazy how out of all the people who voted against Cornell, none of them want to say why. It's kind of difficult to make a reasonable decision when you only have one side of the argument. :/

dude, get over it. you're talking about 8 people out of over 150. they were probably trolling you.

[dabigchina]

Next OP is gonna tell us they are going to Cooley full ride with a 4.0 GPA stip.

Posting in a troll thread.

[Budfox55]

dude, get over it. you're talking about 8 people out of over 150. they were probably trolling you.

This.

[silverdoe91]

Next OP is gonna tell us they are going to Cooley full ride with a 4.0 GPA stip.

Posting in a troll thread.

I'm not trolling. I'm really grateful for all of the opinions people have given so far. If anyone has any opinions that are different from those already expressed I would appreciate hearing them as well. I'm sorry that some of you feel annoyed at the amount of consideration I've given to this decision. If it irritates you please know that you are welcome to ignore this thread and not respond anymore. But I'd like to keep this thread open in case anyone else has any opinions I have not heard yet. Thanks for understanding and devoting the amount of time you already have to helping me make this decision!

[silverdoe91]

dude, get over it. you're talking about 8 people out of over 150. they were probably trolling you.

This.

I can't be certain of that, because I've legitimately had people outside of this forum recommend I take the full rides over Cornell, because I'm most likely going into PI so ranking doesn't matter as much and I would save a lot of money. So I would hesitate to assume that everyone who picked schools other than Cornell did it purely for fun and did not have some legitimate reasoning behind it.

[deepseapartners]

So I would hesitate to assume that everyone who picked schools other than Cornell did it purely for fun and did not have some legitimate reasoning behind it.

Because you seem to care a lot about about the people you personally know and how they decided to go to law school, I would maybe ask them if any of them turned down Cornell (or some other Ivy/T14 law school) with a half-tuition scholarship to go to St. John's or Cardozo for free. Not what they would do, but what they actually did. I'm gonna go ahead and guess now that none of them chose Cardozo over Cornell, money or not.

[arisboddle]

I'm just not so sure about their employment reputation within the public interest field, and according to stats online about 25% of the graduates are either unemployed or in school funded positions.

you keep saying stuff like that. That's not really a thing. The only school with a "reputation" in the public interest field is Yale. Everything else just has it's measure of prestige. the reason people are recommending Cornell is because your odds of ANY job are way better coming out of Cornell than St. Johns. And a way greater number of jobs will be available to you coming out of Cornell than coming out of St. Johns. It's like not even close.

What do you even mean when you say you want to work in a PI field? That's so incredibly broad. In any case, Cornell will make you a better candidate for just about any legal job there is. End of story.

If you are really so terrified of paying money for law school don't go but don't cut your career off at the legs at the outset by going to St. Johns, even with a full ride.

If this was the difference between Columbia at half tuition and cornell full ride, there would be arguments to be made. there are no arguments here.

It's like asking whether it'd be better to drink a glass of water or a glass of poison and then when everyone votes "water" asking for more opinions re: the poison option.

[jbagelboy]

Im calling troll.

[silverdoe91]

So I would hesitate to assume that everyone who picked schools other than Cornell did it purely for fun and did not have some legitimate reasoning behind it.

Because you seem to care a lot about about the people you personally know and how they decided to go to law school, I would maybe ask them if any of them turned down Cornell (or some other Ivy/T14 law school) with a half-tuition scholarship to go to St. John's or Cardozo for free. Not what they would do, but what they actually did. I'm gonna go ahead and guess now that none of them chose Cardozo over Cornell, money or not.

Actually, my cousin got into Columbia and NYU with a 170 and 2.5 GPA, but they didn't give him any money bc his GPA was too low, so instead he went to NY Law School. He told me he has a friend who went to SJU full ride who turned down better offers, as well. A lot of people in the non-profit I worked at went to NY Law School too or Cardozo, including the director of my department. They probably went there because of convenience since they were already working as paralegals there and the school was close by. Some of them got internships working at the DA's office or for judges. It might be cutthroat, but it's doable and I don't want to pay an arm & a leg for a brand name if I don't absolutely have to. Of course, I'd love to go to a school like Cornell, it would probably help me tremendously, I'm just trying to be financially realistic about the situation I'm in.

[silverdoe91]

I'm just not so sure about their employment reputation within the public interest field, and according to stats online about 25% of the graduates are either unemployed or in school funded positions.

you keep saying stuff like that. That's not really a thing. The only school with a "reputation" in the public interest field is Yale. Everything else just has it's measure of prestige. the reason people are recommending Cornell is because your odds of ANY job are way better coming out of Cornell than St. Johns. And a way greater number of jobs will be available to you coming out of Cornell than coming out of St. Johns. It's like not even close.

What do you even mean when you say you want to work in a PI field? That's so incredibly broad. In any case, Cornell will make you a better candidate for just about any legal job there is. End of story.

If you are really so terrified of paying money for law school don't go but don't cut your career off at the legs at the outset by going to St. Johns, even with a full ride.

If this was the difference between Columbia at half tuition and cornell full ride, there would be arguments to be made. there are no arguments here.

It's like asking whether it'd be better to drink a glass of water or a glass of poison and then when everyone votes "water" asking for more opinions re: the poison option.

Thanks for the analogy! It really made me laugh and better understand where people on here are coming from.

[michlaw]

Im calling troll.

I second the nomination. A cousin in at Columbia with a 2.5 GPA. That's a unicorn to go with the troll.

[dabigchina]

bravo OP, bravo. your trolling has brought a little ray of sunshine into finals week.

if not troll and you go to any of these random schools, make sure to bookmark this thread so you can't say nobody warned you.

[silverdoe91]

Im calling troll.

I second the nomination. A cousin in at Columbia with a 2.5 GPA. That's a unicorn to go with the troll.

I'm not making up any of these facts. My cousin really did get into Columbia with a 2.5 GPA. You can choose to be blind to reality, but I'm just telling you facts from my life.

[LandMermaid]

Im calling troll.

I second the nomination. A cousin in at Columbia with a 2.5 GPA. That's a unicorn to go with the troll.

I'm not making up any of these facts. My cousin really did get into Columbia with a 2.5 GPA. You can choose to be blind to reality, but I'm just telling you facts from my life.

God, the irony

[michlaw]

I am not doubting you. I had a great great grandchild go to Princeton Law with similar numbers.