Case Western versus Cleveland-Marshall Forum

[spitfire935]

I am currently trying to decide between CM and Case. I have acceptances to both, but I am unsure why case costs $25k more. I am not from Cleveland, so do law offices generally hire grads from one more-so than the other? What are each of their regional reputation? I have visited Case and I know CM is around the corner so I guess I will need another visit.

I thought that I was dead set on Case Western, but the tuition at CM is less than half and many of the job prospects appear to be the same. What could be worth the extra $75k? Also, I am trying hard not to base my decision solely on finances, however what extras does Case offer for twice the price? USNWR rankings for Case have fallen, and I know you shouldn't rely on them alone, but it is a TT vs TTT selection. Thank goodness I have until April to decide...

Also, I have not visited CM yet, but I love Case.

[Cole S. Law]

Case's tuition is unjustifiable. Vist C-M. Firms/Corporations/Hospitals in Cleveland are full of grads from both schools. Government and judiciary is dominated by C-M. Case seems to draw alot of kids who plan to practice outside the region for some reason. This may partially explain the local government disparity. Also, traditionally it was hard to pay back 180K in combined student loans working for the county prosecutor's office.

[Rawlsian]

Case's tuition is unjustifiable. Vist C-M. Firms/Corporations/Hospitals in Cleveland are full of grads from both schools. Government and judiciary is dominated by C-M. Case seems to draw alot of kids who plan to practice outside the region for some reason. This may partially explain the local government disparity. Also, traditionally it was hard to pay back 180K in combined student loans working for the county prosecutor's office.

Agreed. I can't really come up with a good reason to drop 38,000/yr for Case Western.

I am currently trying to decide between CM and Case. I have acceptances to both, but I am unsure why case costs $25k more. I am not from Cleveland, so do law offices generally hire grads from one more-so than the other? What are each of their regional reputation? I have visited Case and I know CM is around the corner so I guess I will need another visit.

Also, I have not visited CM yet, but I love Case.

I'm not sure, trying looking through firms' websites. Quickly glancing through Jones Day's Cleveland office I noticed they employed 40 Case Western Alums, 21 of them partners. However, they also employed 27 from Cleveland State, 8 of them partners.

[sarlis]

Case's tuition is slightly unjustifiable, for their regional reach makes it to the east coast. if you want to practice in cleveland, absolutely pick cm. I am from cleveland and cm is very well regarded. outside of cleveland though, cm does not travel. go to case in that case (pardon the pun lol)

[BiteyTLS]

Paying for either school at anywhere near full is a poor financial decision.

[sarlis]

Paying for either school at anywhere near full is a poor financial decision.

how much is cm a year?

[Rawlsian]

Paying for either school at anywhere near full is a poor financial decision.

how much is cm a year?

For instate, 16,500/yr.

[king3780]

I'm amazed the thread has made it this far without pointing out that Case Western grads are employed by top Los Angeles firms.

[TTH]

If you want to practice in Cleveland, go to C-M. If you don't, apply to Cincinnati. There's no point going to Case.

[sarlis]

If you want to practice in Cleveland, go to C-M. If you don't, apply to Cincinnati. There's no point going to Case.

explain.

do you mean because of the sticker $ at case?

[Vincent Vega]

Try to get Case to give you a scholarship that makes it competitive with in-state CM.

[TTH]

If you want to practice in Cleveland, go to C-M. If you don't, apply to Cincinnati. There's no point going to Case.

explain.

do you mean because of the sticker $ at case?

I think Case is too expensive, plus it's the same rank as Cincinnati, which is public and in a better city.

[sarlis]

If you want to practice in Cleveland, go to C-M. If you don't, apply to Cincinnati. There's no point going to Case.

explain.

do you mean because of the sticker $ at case?

I think Case is too expensive, plus it's the same rank as Cincinnati, which is public and in a better city.

i got into both and have scholly offers from both that make them pretty equal. I am from cleveland, so I think I might be leaning towards Case...Cincinnati. this is going to be a very tough call. Plus i got into OSU, so an even harder call. haha

any suggestions?

who has better degree mobility?

[underachiever]

In Ohio its

1) Ohio State---clear number 1
2) Split b/t Cincy in the south and Case Western in the north
3) More regional:
Toledo in the NW,
Ohio Northern and Dayton in the West/SW;
Capital in Columbus;
Cleveland Marshall and Akron in their regions respectively (NE)

[sarlis]

In Ohio its

1) Ohio State---clear number 1
2) Split b/t Cincy in the south and Case Western in the north
3) More regional:
Toledo in the NW,
Ohio Northern and Dayton in the West/SW;
Capital in Columbus;
Cleveland Marshall and Akron in their regions respectively (NE)

i have heard that a Case degree is mobile to as far as New England.

What about OSU?

[underachiever]

In Ohio its

1) Ohio State---clear number 1
2) Split b/t Cincy in the south and Case Western in the north
3) More regional:
Toledo in the NW,
Ohio Northern and Dayton in the West/SW;
Capital in Columbus;
Cleveland Marshall and Akron in their regions respectively (NE)

i have heard that a Case degree is mobile to as far as New England.

What about OSU?

ITE, I would be inclined to say that almost no one at Case (expect for top 2%) can expect to get decent jobs outside of Ohio in this economy,

OSU i think still out paces Case nationally, but again in this economy i would say the top 5-10% at OSU can try to get into a NY or more likely a Chicago firm but most will end up in Ohio (Cleveland, Columbus, & Cincy) and Ohio State far and away does the best in placing its students into jobs in Ohio.

[TTH]

In Ohio its

1) Ohio State---clear number 1
2) Split b/t Cincy in the south and Case Western in the north
3) More regional:
Toledo in the NW,
Ohio Northern and Dayton in the West/SW;
Capital in Columbus;
Cleveland Marshall and Akron in their regions respectively (NE)

i have heard that a Case degree is mobile to as far as New England.

What about OSU?

ITE, I would be inclined to say that almost no one at Case (expect for top 2%) can expect to get decent jobs outside of Ohio in this economy,

OSU i think still out paces Case nationally, but again in this economy i would say the top 5-10% at OSU can try to get into a NY or more likely a Chicago firm but most will end up in Ohio (Cleveland, Columbus, & Cincy) and Ohio State far and away does the best in placing its students into jobs in Ohio.

Not to mention High Street in Columbus > University Circle in Cleveland

[Case2L]

FWIW, C-M has a reputation in Cleveland that exceeds it's ranking. The job market is pretty bad in Cleveland and there are very few attorney jobs to go around. If you want to stay in the area, it may be wiser to go to C-M and save some money. There are a limited number of circumstances where you might choose Case over C-M:
1. You want to try and leave Ohio or the Cleveland area after graduation
2. You have Cleveland Big Law aspirations
3. You're interested in non-law careers after graduation (Case has a very good reputation among the non-law/lay community)
4. You want to go into academia & Case is the best school that accepted you (it's still a long shot, but there are a good number of Case grads in academia)

[deadpanic]

Case2L,

Do you know if Case is doing away with their part-time program? I'm interested in Case for PT, but there is nothing related to part-time on their application.

[Cole S. Law]

FWIW, C-M has a reputation in Cleveland that exceeds it's ranking. The job market is pretty bad in Cleveland and there are very few attorney jobs to go around. If you want to stay in the area, it may be wiser to go to C-M and save some money. There are a limited number of circumstances where you might choose Case over C-M:
1. You want to try and leave Ohio or the Cleveland area after graduation
2. You have Cleveland Big Law aspirations
3. You're interested in non-law careers after graduation (Case has a very good reputation among the non-law/lay community)
4. You want to go into academia & Case is the best school that accepted you (it's still a long shot, but there are a good number of Case grads in academia)

I would add:

5. Case gives you a scholarship putting the price difference under 7K/year. Case's scholarships are (at least the one they offered me) renewable simply by staying in good standing, so unless you really screw up it won't be yanked after 1L.

[Case2L]

Case2L,

Do you know if Case is doing away with their part-time program? I'm interested in Case for PT, but there is nothing related to part-time on their application.

My guess is that it's a one-time experiment due to the fact that the year they started a PT program, US News started factoring PT students into their ranking.

[spitfire935]

Gotta bring this topic back up to the foreground since it has been sometime and I am no closer to an answer. It seems at this rate I may need to place down payments on both and figure it out as I go. I need to find how much more valuable a degree at Case is (if at all). The difference is $58k provided tuitions stay status quo. These numbers are from being out of state and with scholarships.

The question is, is the $58k with the degree in the long run? What will law firms that would be hiring me think about one over the other? I never thought it would be this hard to make a decision. I am going back to visit each school again before my decision so maybe I will have an epiphany...

[Cole S. Law]

Gotta bring this topic back up to the foreground since it has been sometime and I am no closer to an answer. It seems at this rate I may need to place down payments on both and figure it out as I go. I need to find how much more valuable a degree at Case is (if at all). The difference is $58k provided tuitions stay status quo. These numbers are from being out of state and with scholarships.

The question is, is the $58k with the degree in the long run? What will law firms that would be hiring me think about one over the other? I never thought it would be this hard to make a decision. I am going back to visit each school again before my decision so maybe I will have an epiphany...

You can easily achieve instate tuition at CSU in year 2 if that helps any.

[spitfire935]

I understand I can, but I have to look at both schools and see where I fit in more. I really want to have a somewhat social (if at all possible) life in law school, and of the two in Cleveland, I need to find out where I will fit in better. Right now, it's a toss-up, but we'll see. Man this decision is hard. Anyone from Case, I'd like to hear why I should go there over CM. Cole S. Law has done a good job of trying to win me over for CM.