Northwestern v. WUSTL Forum

[rad lulz]

I also wouldn't take out all that debt if I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.

This isn't really fair. Most law students take out debt without knowing what they want to do. How many threads do we have asking about trans vs lit or about specific practice areas? I think it's enough if OP knows that he/she OP wants to be a lawyer and has at least some ideas of what he/she wants to do.

I don't think you need to have an idea like "man I really have a boner for municipal bond issue"

But you need to have some idea other than "oh maybe biglaw or PI"

There is precious little time to "keep your options open," especially in the "new normal"

And some people gun for those jobs (PD/DA/Legal Aid) from day 1

[simplycatalina]

I also wouldn't take out all that debt if I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.

This isn't really fair. Most law students take out debt without knowing what they want to do. How many threads do we have asking about trans vs lit or about specific practice areas? I think it's enough if OP knows that he/she OP wants to be a lawyer and has at least some ideas of what he/she wants to do.

I don't think you need to have an idea like "man I really have a boner for municipal bond issue"

But you need to have some idea other than "oh maybe biglaw or PI"

There is precious little time to "keep your options open," especially in the "new normal"

And some people gun for those jobs (PD/DA/Legal Aid) from day 1

I actually do have a very clear idea of what I want to do. My point was that my goals might change slightly. Will answer the other questions and add a poll later, on phone now. Thanks for all of the advice so far.

[Samara]

I also wouldn't take out all that debt if I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.

This isn't really fair. Most law students take out debt without knowing what they want to do. How many threads do we have asking about trans vs lit or about specific practice areas? I think it's enough if OP knows that he/she OP wants to be a lawyer and has at least some ideas of what he/she wants to do.

I don't think you need to have an idea like "man I really have a boner for municipal bond issue"

But you need to have some idea other than "oh maybe biglaw or PI"

There is precious little time to "keep your options open," especially in the "new normal"

And some people gun for those jobs (PD/DA/Legal Aid) from day 1

This is what I meant. There's only so much you can figure out before law school, but IMO the risks of law school are lessened the more you know what you want to do. It's a little early for me to make definitive statements like this, but I think it has helped me tremendously to come into law school having a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do.

[simplycatalina]

1. How much money do your parents have/how much do they make? How much are they contributing? How much money are you contributing? These are important questions. The fund from your grandfather is essentially a scholarship that applies to both schools.

2. If you want CA, heck if you want NYC/DC/Chicago, WUSTL is not going to make that easy.

3. I'd guess that NU is going to have an appreciable edge with PI employers, heck probably with all employers. LRAP/PSLF will cover your debt if you actually get PI work.

If your parents have a decent amount of money and your cash contributions are minimal then I'd lean towards NU. Your goals in both geography and job are not compatible with WUSTL. Is 150k a lot of money? Of course it is, but it is at least close to manageable. Is NU worth 150k more than WUSTL? I don't think it is in the abstract but this is not an abstract situation. Even for free it doesn't necessarily make a ton of sense to go to a school where you are unlikely to end up in the geographies you want or in the type of job you want.

Ya know what doesn't make you flexible? 150k debt. You are much much much more flexible when you aren't strapped by debt. WUSTL wins easily.

This is egregiously simplistic.

I also wouldn't take out all that debt if I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.

This isn't really fair. Most law students take out debt without knowing what they want to do. How many threads do we have asking about trans vs lit or about specific practice areas? I think it's enough if OP knows that he/she OP wants to be a lawyer and has at least some ideas of what he/she wants to do.

1. The tuition I would be paying is primarily from my grandfather's fund. My parents will cover roughly 15k/year, I have a negligible amount of savings (10k). Debt financing the rest. But actually, 150k is kinda a high estimate, just used Georgetown's calculator and ended up with 130k.

2. Yeah, this is why I think WUSTL is not a good option for me--the only place I would be ok with living in the Midwest is Chicago, but definitely leaning towards CA/NY/DC.

3. I am interested in PI work. To address the concerns about my having a lack of direction job-wise, I have very clear ideas of where I want to work/what I would ideally like to do, and I have talked to a number of attorneys in order to develop a more concrete picture of how to get there. I just meant that I understand that students' ideas about what they want to do change slightly (and I guess sometimes drastically) while they're in school. Also, my "flexibility" reference was referring to geographic flexibility, not blindly jumping around between "maybe biglaw or PI". And I actually do have a few years of nonprofit work.

I know WUSTL for free is an amazing option, but considering that I don't want to work in the Midwest, it doesn't seem like a wise decision to me. And then there's the opportunity cost of going to a school for three years that is not likely to allow me to accomplish my goals.

And bk, I'm glad that things have worked out for you.

Really appreciate everyone's advice.

[Micdiddy]

I think you had your mind made up and are looking for hive mind confirmation? I did the same thing about 6 weeks ago so I didn't mean that in a bad way.
You've been answering your own question, IMO. If you simply will be unhappy living in the Midwest no matter how little debt or how great of a job you get, you cannot go to WUSTL. Even for free if it is going to lead toward an almost guaranteed unhappy situation, it shouldn't really be on the table.
BK's first post was really the best one itt. NU at sticker is not such a great thing, but in your case is the better option of the two, IMO. If there was no geographical preference whatsoever, I would likely be advising the other way, just FYI.

[romothesavior]

Some of these comments are a little over the top. Is WUSTL a national powerhouse? No. But this notion that its Midwest or bust (I.e. "You cannot go to WUSTL if you want another market") is just not accurate at all. DC is our number 2 market, and we send a good number to places like NYC, Texas, and Florida. Its a grab bag. And with our new Semester in Practice externship, you can spend at least one semester virtually anywhere in the country.

I am leaning slightly WUSTL on this one but think both are viable. And yes, WUSTL is a better school for those from the midwest than those who aren't. But let's not be so simplistic as to say its Midwest or nothing if you go to WUSTL.

[rad lulz]

Some of these comments are a little over the top. Is WUSTL a national powerhouse? No. But this notion that its Midwest or bust (I.e. "You cannot go to WUSTL if you want another market") is just not accurate at all. DC is our number 2 market, and we send a good number to places like NYC, Texas, and Florida. Its a grab bag. And with our new Semester in Practice externship, you can spend at least one semester virtually anywhere in the country.

I am leaning slightly WUSTL on this one but think both are viable. And yes, WUSTL is a better school for those from the midwest than those who aren't. But let's not be so simplistic as to say its Midwest or nothing if you go to WUSTL.

WUSTL is not a bad option

but I am leaning NW bc OP will want to do OCI

bc 0Ls wanting to do PI is a flame

[bk1]

Some of these comments are a little over the top. Is WUSTL a national powerhouse? No. But this notion that its Midwest or bust (I.e. "You cannot go to WUSTL if you want another market") is just not accurate at all. DC is our number 2 market, and we send a good number to places like NYC, Texas, and Florida. Its a grab bag. And with our new Semester in Practice externship, you can spend at least one semester virtually anywhere in the country.

I am leaning slightly WUSTL on this one but think both are viable. And yes, WUSTL is a better school for those from the midwest than those who aren't. But let's not be so simplistic as to say its Midwest or nothing if you go to WUSTL.

It's more that it is a grab bag and there's a lot of randomness whereas with NU odds are greater than not that you can snag a job in NYC. I just think the risk is so huge coming out of a midwest regional school where getting a job in Chicago is an amazing outcome as opposed to close to par for the course.

[simplycatalina]

Thanks for the advice but I'm pretty set on NU and just wanted to make sure I wasn't making a stupid decision, so I'm glad that both options are viable.