Help Turd Ferguson out: IU($$$)/Pitt($$)/BU($)/ND($) Forum

[badwithpseudonyms]

Bump for opinions from the evening crowd.

[Blindmelon]

I don't think much of Pitt. I'd take either IUB or ND/BU. ND/BU would probably give you the same prospects, you would just have to choose either a Boston/NYC or Chicago preference. IUB is free... and thats hard to say no to especially with your kind of debt.

[Vincent Vega]

I said IU, because I am in a very similar situation as you, and I have pretty much decided on IU for myself. I am choosing between Illinois ($10k schol/yr), Iowa (full ride with strings), and WUSTL/BU with no scholarships likely. I, however, favor the Chicago market, which places better from IU than the Pittsburgh market does.

Three years ago, I might have taken the more local school (UIUC in my situation, Pitt in yours) but in these times of enormous tuition increases and questionable job prospects, taking the no-strings-attached full scholarship from a T30 school seems like the right thing to do.

Big Ten athletics plus a gorgeous campus and very low COL make me very excited about the time I will be spending in Bloomington. I'm expecting to put down my "deposit" when I visit there next weekend.

[Blindmelon]

I said IU, because I am in a very similar situation as you, and I have pretty much decided on IU for myself. I am choosing between Illinois ($10k schol/yr), Iowa (full ride with strings), and WUSTL/BU with no scholarships likely. I, however, favor the Chicago market, which places better from IU than the Pittsburgh market does.

Three years ago, I might have taken the more local school (UIUC in my situation, Pitt in yours) but in these times of enormous tuition increases and questionable job prospects, taking the no-strings-attached full scholarship from a T30 school seems like the right thing to do.

Big Ten athletics plus a gorgeous campus and very low COL make me very excited about the time I will be spending in Bloomington. I'm expecting to put down my "deposit" when I visit there next weekend.

I'm curious to see how long that'll last. My guess is not very.

[Bankhead]

I've thought about this.

Don't pass up the full ride to a T25 to pay money to go to Pitt. Stay in touch with your contacts and enjoy a new experience for 3 years, especially considering you're planning to spend perhaps the rest of your life in the Steel City. Bloomington is a lovely town and you'll benefit from the excellent faculty and bright fellow students. I'm not saying your career prospects will be necessarily stellar coming out, but if you network adequately you should be ok. Further, if you absolutely hate IU, you could probably transfer down into Pitt even without a stellar class ranking.

Notre Dame is an obvious no, so no need to mention. I can't help you decide on BU. Personally I wouldn't pass up the free ride at IU to pay a shitload at BU. In fact, I made a similar decision last year, choosing IU over a school comparable to BU.

Good luck. I know I championed going to a school in the market you wish to work in, but this is sort of an extreme example because you are paying much less money to attend a much better school.

[Notor]

Go to IUB. Cheap college sports make the Fall awesome and Winter bearable. Also will have a really low cost of living. Given the present economic condition, having to only deal with COL debt, say $15k a year (very liberal), is ideal. IUB is also up-and-coming with cash to burn, and seems to be attracting higher quality students.

Yes, you will have a better percentage chance at Biglaw coming out of ND or BU, but as a 0L I don't think you can intelligently say that you actually want to do that for a living. Also, i'm not sure if a small percentage increase in odds of landing that type of job are worth the extra $$$ of debt which you will incur.

tl;dr: take the money at IUB

[Vincent Vega]

I said IU, because I am in a very similar situation as you, and I have pretty much decided on IU for myself. I am choosing between Illinois ($10k schol/yr), Iowa (full ride with strings), and WUSTL/BU with no scholarships likely. I, however, favor the Chicago market, which places better from IU than the Pittsburgh market does.

Three years ago, I might have taken the more local school (UIUC in my situation, Pitt in yours) but in these times of enormous tuition increases and questionable job prospects, taking the no-strings-attached full scholarship from a T30 school seems like the right thing to do.

Big Ten athletics plus a gorgeous campus and very low COL make me very excited about the time I will be spending in Bloomington. I'm expecting to put down my "deposit" when I visit there next weekend.

I'm curious to see how long that'll last. My guess is not very.

I disagree. They will be at least holding steady for the next couple years with the money they're shelling out ITE. I know you're a 1L and probably haven't been as obsessed with LSN etc. as some of us, but IU has been handing out a nearly incomparable amount of cash this cycle, which will bring up the 25th percentile LSAT considerably, bring up the 75th at least a point or two, and probably raise the median this year or next. All of this combined with the factors that helped raise the ranking last year will help perpetuate the ranking.

EDIT: I just realized the verbiage of this last paragraph was awkward. Here is what I expect in number form.

This year's USNWR LSAT stats:
25: 156
50: 164
75: 165

What I expect from this year's cycle:
25: 160-161
50: 164 (probably 165 next year or year after)
75: 166

[badwithpseudonyms]

Thanks for your opinions, guys. And congratulations Halibut! Be sure to sign the check on that deposit.

Bankhead, I know I asked you a pretty loaded question a few days ago. So I appreciate your taking the time to think it over and get back to me. I was really excited about the IU offer when I got it. Then hesitant. But the poll and feedback have made me feel more comfortable about wanting to take the money.

I'm glad you jumped on this, Blindmelon. You're the biggest champion of BU on TLS, and I was actually hoping to hear what you'd have to say. Free is definitely difficult to say no to.

And Notor's right. Cheap cost of living, IU basketball, Big Ten football, what's not to like about that?